Students on train protest hate crimes by speaking only Arabic
High schoolers riding Jerusalem's light rail speak only Arabic to focus attention on incidents in which people were attacked because of the language they spoke.
Among the participants was Druze student Tommy Hassoun, 21, who was attacked by a gang of ten Jews in Jerusalem in January.
Hassoun, who completed IDF service, said the attackers – who fled but were later arrested – had heard him speaking Arabic.
He said Monday that "my goal is for people not to be afraid of everyone who speaks Arabic and to change the thinking of Jewish society. For them to look at Arabic-speakers the same way they look at Jews."
Ramzi, Hassoun's father, said that "the responses were, to my surprise, very positive. Usually people on trains withdraw into themselves, but here we saw lovely and supportive reactions. There's hope. The fact that people are participating and the fact that people are coming and care is important. We need to hear the silent majority."
The students handed out Arabic phrasebooks and sheets with a code leading to a website with different greetings in Arabic. After the ride, the students and teaching staff held a ceremony near Mount Herzl, at the end of which they sang Hatikvah, Israel's national anthem.
The event was spearheaded by Tag Meir – a coalition of organizations against hate crimes and violence – and the Center for Educational Technology.
Myriam Darmoni, the director of Civics and Shared Life Education at the CET, said that "education is the answer to the worrying and growing phenomenon of hate crimes. Ahead of Lag B'Omer, we decided to light the fire of hope on the Jerusalem light rail. Together with teachers and students, we'll help bring hearts together."
"We condemn all attempts to hurt innocents – on both sides," said Dr. Gadi Gvaryahu, the chairman of Tag Meir.
"The appropriate response to the rise of hate crimes, racism, and price tag attacks, is strengthening the study of Arabic language and culture and meetings between Jews and Arabs. It's not right to hurt the innocent just because they dared speak the Arabic language."
Moshe Tur-Paz, director of Jerusalem's Education Administration, was another participant. "It's enough to ride the Jerusalem light rail and see that tribal isolation in Israeli society is an illusion. We actually live entwined together, and if we don't learn how to do that, we will have a much harder time in this country. This is not an easy path, and there are many risks."
