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C.D.W USA & CANADA RESERVAT & PREPYMNT 800-533-8778; IN NY: 212-629-6090 VAUD 1/9 -31/10 -ITNI3Y-STEIN 553.9966 0Chuck Randolph Travel & Tours Donna Marie and Motion Higher Ground Fenby-Carr Shelby Lee George Benson Jazz DJs including ERIC HARRIS GOING TO THE AIRPORT? BUSINESS OR VACATION 0 . r Staii•at your front door avoid the hassle at the airport and getting there! ROYAL CAB 358-2400 Call us now for special rates with this ad Hebrew Language Binds Israel Together BEN-ZION FISCHLER Special to The Jewish News A ccording to sages, one of the reasons the chil- dren of Israel were redeemed from Egypt was that they did not change their language. Indeed, despite distances of time and place, the Hebrew language — the tongue of the prophets — remained the liv- ing language that has linked Jewry the world over throughout the ages. Despite being scattered as a result of religious persecution and wars or due to hardships, lack of livelihood or work op- portunities, Jews persistently carried within them the nucleus of the rebirth of Hebrew, the language of today. In past centuries Hebrew was used mainly for religious purposes and, to a lesser ex- tent, as a means of com- munication when Jews from different countries met and had no common language, or as a "code language" in the market-place (so as not to be understood by "outsiders"). Nevertheless, in the 19th cen- tury, Hebrew was taught in many Western Jewish com- munities as a literary language and actually spoken in Jerusalem. In this atmosphere, Lithuanian-born writer and teacher Eliezer Ben Yehuda, before making Palestine his home in 1881, wrote about the necessity of Jewish na- tionhood, with Hebrew as its national language. Supported and encouraged by groups of revivalists, he succeeded in his endeavors, despite strong opposition from ultra- religious circles who were adamant that the holy tongue should be reserved for sacred purposes only. Gradually, as a result of what was essential- ly a one-man revolution, Hebrew became the language of the Jewish population of Palestine. Kindergartens, schools • and teachers' seminaries were established where all subjects were taught in Hebrew. It was not, however, without a bitter struggle that Hebrew gained recognition in the years preceding the Jewish state. The German Hilfsverein and the Alliance Francaise established schools in which they considered it imperative to teach certain subjects in French or Ger- man. THis was not viewed favorably, and to their sur- prise they met with a wave of opposition on the part of the Yishuv, the pre-state Jewish community in Palestine. When, for instance, in 1913, the Hilfsverein planned a technical high school (the pre- sent Thchnion) in Haifa, they considered it advisable to teach technical subjects in German. In view of the still undeveloped state of Hebrew, the reaction of the Yishuv was unexpectedly violent. Thousands of children and teachers left the schoolrooms to hold their lessons in the open air in a gesture of de- fiance. In the end, the Yishuv won the language struggle, the first of many for the full recognition of Hebrew. By the end of the First World War, there were some •4 II Because of a one- man revolution, Hebrew became the language of a nation. 57,000 Jews in Palestine. By the end of 1922, the number rose to 84,000, in 1931 to 175,000, in 1942 to 484,000; and in 1948 (on the eve of the establishment of the State of Israel) to 650,000. In 1947, only 22,000 newcomers arrived in Eretz Israel, whereas during the 1948 — newly 700,000 settled in the State of Israel. That is, in the 31/2 years after the state was founded, the number of Jews doubled. These new- comers came from Algeria and Rumania, Poland and the U.S., Great Britain and India, South Africa and China. They did not speak Hebrew and came from different cultural backgrounds and social strata. The immensity of the ab- sorption process can be ap- preciated upon reading a re- cent statement issued by the Australian authorities that declared that an immigration of 2.5 percent per year was beyond the capabilities of Australia — rich, vast Australia, living at peace and without surrounding enemy countries! It was imperative that these ohm (immigrants) master Hebrew — the means by which to understand and become involved in the cultural, social, economic and political life of Israel. Apart from the urgent need to assist these immigrants in -1 4 I