F
Israeli Arabs are seeking
to establish an institution
of higher learning.
NECHEMIA MEYERS SPECIAL TO THE JEWISH NEWS
niversity
Nechemia Meyers
writes from
Rehovot, Israel.
ramifications of establishing such
an institution of higher learning,
Dr. Bashara declares that "it
wouldn't be an Arab national uni-
versity, but, first and foremost, an
Arabic-language university, par-
allel to the Hebrew-language uni-
versities of Israel."
Moreover, he adds, "most Israeli
Arabs will continue to study at
other institutions of higher learn-
ing both to prepare themselves for
jobs in a Hebrew-speaking job
market and because it will take a
long time before a new institution
can reach what it has taken ex-
isting institutions many decades
to achieve."
With the growing privatization
of higher education in Israel, and
the establishment of dozens of new
colleges, there would be no prob-
lem setting up an Arab school of
this sort, Dr. Bashara says. But
he would prefer a government-
supported institution under the
supervision of the Council for
Higher Education. At the same
time, he also envisions financial
support from the Arab communi-
Arab students may have the chance to attend an Arab university in Israel.
ty in the same way that Hebrew-
language universities enjoy Jew-
ish support.
Substantially in agreement with
Dr. Bashara is Professor Ibrahim
Genies, who heads the Jewish-
Arab Center at the University of
Haifa. He himself feels very much
at home at his present institution,
"where Arab scholars are given
every posSible opportunity." But
he will certainly lend his support
to an Arabic-language university,
even if, at first, it is not on the
FEARING page 114
PH OTO BY RICHARD LOBELL
he growing Palestinization of Is-
raeli Arabs, many of whom now
refer to themselves as Palestini-
ans living in _Israel, has engen-
dered a less than enthusiastic
response in some circles to the re-
cent proposal by Knesset member
Azmi Bashara that an Arab uni-
versity be established in Israel.
Such an institution, critics fear,
would become a hotbed of Arab
nationalism, perhaps even the fo-
cal point for an effort to detach
predominantly Arab areas in the
Galilee and central Israel from the
Jewish state.
This, of course, is
not the way that Dr.
Bashara presents his
scheme. He says that
the proposed univer-
sity would promote an
understanding of
Arab history and cul-
ture, "playing the
same role that He-
brew-language uni-
versities have played
in promoting an
understanding of
Jewish history and
developing a sense of
Jewish continuity."
Dr. Bashara also
argues that Israeli
Arab high school
teachers who earn
their degrees at He-
brew-language uni-
versities aren't able to
give their pupils in Is-
rael's Arabic-language
schools a proper un-
derstanding of their
own culture.
Answering those
who fear the political
113