Every year, tens of thousands of Arab students in Israel complete their high-school education without a proper command of spoken Hebrew. This language barrier impedes their integration in higher education and the job market and makes it harder for them to secure their rights and to participate in Israeli society.

Arab students study Hebrew for 5–15 hours a week at school. However, the emphasis is on reading, writing, and grammar, and less on spoken Hebrew. Moreover, most Hebrew teachers in Arab schools do not speak Hebrew as their first language, are not fluent in spoken Hebrew, and have not undergone training in teaching Hebrew.

• Arab students’ achievements in the Hebrew matriculation examination have been falling over recent years
• Approximately 50% of Hebrew teachers in Arab schools are not certified Hebrew language teachers
• Over 90% of students report that they have absolutely no exposure to the Hebrew language
• The achievements of Bedouin students in Hebrew are the lowest of all Arabic-speaking students
• There is a clear and statistically significant correlation between the level of Hebrew at the end of high school and integration in higher education and employment
• Improving the level of spoken Hebrew in Arab society is linked to a potential increase of NIS 1.27 billion in annual GDP