The Benjamin ‘Bibi’ Netanyahu Administration in Tel Aviv has made it clear that all soldiers and officers of the Israel Defence Forces‘ (IDF) Intelligence Directorate will be required to study Arabic and the Quran, even if their position does not necessarily require knowledge of the language. An official announcement in this regard has triggered a sensation in West Asia. While the pro-Palestinian activists consider the move as the moral defeat of Israel, defence analysts are of the opinion that the Zionist Regime has made the decision with future plans in mind.

Galei Tzahal recently reported that a dedicated department for teaching Islam and Arabic would be established within the training system. According to the Israeli media outlet, experienced linguist trainers will lead the department, and they will initially teach the language to translators and radio operators. Later, intelligence officers and common soldiers will learn Arabic. The IDF officials will have to learn the Quran, as well. Sources close to the Defence Ministry have revealed that the IDF officials would have to get familiar with the Islamic religious culture of the Arab World by the end of 2026. During this period, 50% of the IDF employees would have to be proficient in Arabic.

Previously, Israeli schools and colleges had a department, called the Department of Middle Eastern Studies Promotion, which used to teach the languages of other Arab nations and also the Islamic culture. However, the Netanyahu Government shut down the department about six years ago as it decided to reduce the education budget. The Department of Middle Eastern Studies Promotion had around 8,200 centres across the Jewish Nation in 2028. Those centres allowed students to join the Middle Eastern Cadet Course in order to learn the history of Arabic literature, as well as the language. The Jewish Administration has decided to reopen the relevant department after considering the changing regional geopolitical landscape.

Additionally, Israel has planned to open special courses in Houthi and Iraqi dialects. Talking to the IDF Radio, a senior defence official said: “Until today, we were not good enough in culture, language and Islam. We need to improve in these areas. We cannot transform intelligence soldiers and officers into Arab children who grew up in a village, but through learning the language and culture, we can instil in them critical thinking and deep observation.“

The Israeli intelligence officers have claimed that leaders and activists of Hamas, Hezbollah and Houthis often communicate in Arabic. Also, they use various words or lines from the Quran as secret codes in their plots against Israel. Hence, it becomes quite impossible for Hebrew-speaking Israeli intelligence officials to decode those messages. They also fail to take the necessary precautions because of this language barrier. Mossad was able to tap conversations between Hamas fighters before the October 7, 2023 attacks on Israel. As they spoke in Arabic, the Israeli intelligence officials could not understand the details and Tel Aviv had to pay the price with the loss of several innocent lives.

Mossad has faced a similar problem while collecting information from Hezbollah and the Houthis. Although the official language of Iran is Persian, Arabic is also widely spoken in the Islamic Republic. The Israel National News reported that “the main challenge in listening to the Houthis stems, among other things, from the use of the herb qat. Considered a drug in some parts of the world, it can cause inflammation or cancer of the mouth, which complicates understanding the speaker. To address this, teachers and researchers from relevant communities have been recruited to provide authentic and in-depth training“.

Interestingly, the Arab nations, as well as Pakistan, view Israel’s decision in a completely different manner. Most Islamic countries have claimed that the Jews are focusing on learning Arabic and the Quran after losing the war with Iran. They have welcomed the move, stressing that it would help Israel to understand the greatness of Islam and the Islamic culture.

However, defence experts are of the opinion that the Israeli Armed Forces would bounce back in a terrifying manner with Arabic and Quran lessons. It may be difficult for the Islamic nations to handle the strong Israeli pushback in the coming days.

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Published by Koushik Das

Koushik Das (born on May 16, 1976 in Kolkata) is a career journalist. Based in the Indian capital of New Delhi, Koushik writes mainly about foreign policies and current geopolitical issues, and rarely about other topics. His own political ideas are highly influenced by Antonio Gramsci, Louis Althusser, Michel Foucault, Michael Oakeshott and others. English philosopher and political theorist Oakeshott (Dec 11, 1901-Dec 19, 1990) says that “in political activity, men sail a boundless and bottomless sea. There is neither harbour for shelter nor floor for anchorage, neither starting-place, nor appointed destination. But we have to keep afloat”. (Rationalism in Politics, 1962) As a student of Political Science, Koushik loves to share his views on issues, which have great impacts on his thought process (and also on India, South Asia and of course on the global community), with his readers through his website – Boundless Ocean of Politics. By doing so, he tries to keep himself afloat. You will find some of his articles in https://inserbia.info/today/ (https://inserbia.info/today/author/kou_das13_i/), as he has been trying to assess the global geopolitics since 2003. You can also mail him at kousdas@gmail.com View all posts by Koushik Das