Jailed soldiers learn Hebrew (Archive photo)
Photo: Shaul Golan
Prison Hebrew 101
Immigrants serving in IDF and jailed in Israel's biggest military prison graduate special Hebrew course with flying colors
TEL AVIV - Israel’s biggest military jail is disciplining disobedient immigrant soldiers in a different way - by teaching them Hebrew.
Lieutenant-Colonel Netzach Rubin, the head of the jail in Tzrifin near Tel Aviv, said he noticed that many of the prisoners, who are mostly from the former Soviet Union, have trouble speaking Hebrew, especially in terms of reading and writing. Rubin then offered to open a crash course and offer lessons for the prisoners.
“A guy didn’t even know how to write his name in Hebrew,” a prison source told Ynet. “The first class had 18 soldiers.”
The source added that commanders were "amazed" at the motivation of the inmates.
'Change for the better'
“The lessons ran from morning to the afternoon and the soldiers received homework and did it like good students,” the source said. “At first, those who avoided joining the class made fun of those who did, but whoever was standing on the outside soon asked to come in.”
Most of the students in the first class finished the course successfully and even received a diploma.
“These troops became self-confident after the lessons and we can definitely see a change in them for the better,” a prison source said, adding that a second class and more advanced one will begin next week.
