The simplest way to answer this question would be to say Hebrew. But of course there’s a lot more that we can say about the languages of Israel.
The official language of Israel
Since 2018, there has been only one official language of Israel: Hebrew.
Hebrew is a language with a long history that stretches back for thousands of years, but the variety of Hebrew that is used for everyday communication in the modern day state of Israel is Modern Hebrew. It was modernized and revived as a native language by linguists like Eliezer Ben Yehuda in the 19th century.
Biblical Hebrew and other historical forms of Hebrew are used for Jewish prayer and religious ceremony, but not for everyday conversation. But, all things considered, Biblical Hebrew and Modern Hebrew are still quite similar.
The Arabic language in Israel
Up until 2018, Arabic was also an official language of Israel alongside Hebrew. While approximately 80% of Israeli citizens are Jewish, approximately 20% are Arabs with Israeli citizenship. (This number does not include Palestinians living in East Jerusalem, the Westbank, and Gaza who are not Israeli citizens.) Arab Israelis are allowed to use Arabic for administration and education in their communities, but since 2018 it no has official status. The change seems largely symbolic.
In addition to Arab Israelis, approximately half of Jewish Israelis have roots in Arabic speaking countries such as Morocco, Iraq, and Yemen. Many older Israelis who immigrated to Israel from Arab lands can speak Arabic dialects, as well as some of their children.
Immigrant languages in Israel
The Jewish population of Israel mainly descends from Jewish immigrants who came to Israel as part of the Zionist movement, or for religious reasons. And this kind of immigration continues to this day. As a result, if you visit Israel you will likely hear a smorgasbord of languages like Russian (the most widely spoken immigrant language), French, English, Yiddish, Spanish, Amharic (spoken by Jewish immigrants from Ethiopia), and others.
Around 60% of Israelis speak Hebrew as their first language, but most of the others can speak it fluently, having learned it since their childhood or through living in Israel for many years.
Historical minority languages in Israel
There are also some communities of linguistic minorities that have been in what is now Israel for hundreds of years, since before Israel existed as a state. This includes the Circassian community which numbers around 4000 people, living in two villages in northern Israel. There is also an Armenian community of around 10,000 people, and a small but long-standing Greek community.
If you’re learning Hebrew, click here to visit HebrewPod101.
Click here for ArabicPod101.
