Ambassadors for Israel

Notes from 9/19/19 visit to Arabic language classes at Cholla High School:

Back in June, Rita and Elinor met with Frank Armenta, the Principal of Cholla High School. At that time, he informed us that almost half a million dollars for salaries and equipment were provided by Qatar Foundation International for their Arabic language program.

On 9/19/19, Rita and Elinor visited the Arabic language classes at Cholla High School.  The teacher Nour Jandali welcomed us and informed us that the school is no longer receiving grant money from QFI. We verified that according to the QFI website, schools in Arizona are no longer receiving grant money from Qatar Foundation International.

Ms Jandali, originally from Syria, aims to teach the Arabic language and cultures without bias.  She avoids controversial topics, especially political and religious. She uses principles for effective teaching from STARTALK (STARTALK is a language education program at the University of Maryland, created under the National Security Language Initiative, a federal program which seeks to expand the teaching of strategically important languages in the United States.)  Also, she is guided by ACTFL, the American Council on the National Standards for Foreign Language Education and during the summer, she attends trainings in the United States.

We noticed that the map of the Middle East in the classroom includes Israel and there is a series of books called Creation of the Modern Middle East including one entitled Israel. The lessons were interactive and showed no bias.

She was very interested in the high school Hebrew class that Rita teaches. They discussed teaching Arabic and Hebrew.  Also, she shared with us that she has members of her extended family that are from Israel.  

Notes from September meeting:
We investigated some of the Resources for Teachers on the Qatar Foundation International website:  www.qfi.org
-Israel does appear on maps for the Middle East
-3 major monotheistic religions do appear on lessons: Christianity, Islam, and Judaism
-Much more to explore on this website
 Rita and Elinor will visit Cholla High School Arabic classes in September. (Funded by a grant from Qatar Foundation International)
 We need to find out about BDS and the University of Arizona.
 In August 2019, the UN Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (CERD) challenged the Palestinian Authority Anti-Semitism: “UN urges Palestinians to stop hate speech against Israelis that fuels antisemitism.”