Take note…
Over the last couple of years, and again - very recently, there has been much talk about the ulpanim; several well-known ulpanim have closed down, and the fate of others hangs in the balance. As always, the problem is money and politics; an ongoing battle between the Education Ministry and the Absorption Ministry. Without adequate language skills, making ones way in Israeli society is very difficult.
A short while ago, the students at Haifa's Aba Houshy Ulpan Aleph, became aware of an upcoming bill in the Knesset proposing that the national ulpanim be closed down. On hearing this, their class teacher suggested that they petition against this and write letters to promote the case against closure of these ulpanim. The teacher was on hand to correct their Hebrew!
New Oleh, Jordan Mandell, originally from London, England, has been in the country for seven months. He is a resident of Haifa and attends Aba Houshy - Ulpan Aleph in Kiryat Eliezer, Haifa. Jordan took it upon himself to make the voices of his classmates heard.
Jordan says: “Anyone who knows me will know that writing convincing letters is not one of my strongest skills. I decided to promote my views via something I know more about… video and of course YouTube. The following day I came to ulpan armed with my camera and filmed the students”.
Jordan interviewed a bunch of his fellow students – olim from all over the world, and asked for their comments and opinions.
Alessandra said that she can’t learn Hebrew from a book on her own. Classmate Lauren, from Australia agrees. She said the ulpan helps her develop a network, so important in daily life in Israel.
Miriam from Argentina, who knew a bit of Hebrew before she came, said that she learnt many cultural aspects of life in Israel, as well as getting to know people from other countries. She acknowledges that her Hebrew has improved tremendously from the ulpan. “Anyone can use a dictionary” she said.
Sophia from Russia, who also speaks fluent English, said that she gets a lot of support from the ulpan not only in terms of language, but also in integrating into society here.
Paul likes the fact that they are forced to speak Hebrew all day.
The Gillman family – Andy & Jon, new olim from South Africa say that the teaching methods are good and the teachers are very nice. The ulpan gives them a good grounding, and they would hate to see them close.
Harmony said she has learnt modern Hebrew, when she came she could read the alphabet. She could not have integrated without the ulpan.
Jordan summed it up by saying that the ulpan has had a direct effect on his Aliyah, the Hebrew he learns at ulpan helps him with his daily life.
After asking the principal more recently about the current situation she told her students that everything was “fine for now”.
Jordan told us “Should anything like this happen again the videos are a reminder of how the ulpan has eased our absorption and increased our knowledge of the Israeli way of life. The ulpan did not only teach us to understand Hebrew”.
In conclusion he said “Don’t close the ulpanim they are too important”
These interviews can be seen on YouTube
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