Military intelligence and the securitization of Arabic proficiency in Israel: the limits of influence and the curse of unintended consequences

Since its very inception, Israel’s security apparatus, led by Military Intelligence, has struggled to overcome the paucity of potential Jewish recruits who are proficient in Arabic. Intelligence came dominate Arabic instruction at schools and universities broaden deepen Jews, but no avail. Ironically, military Intelligence’s intervention entrenched own failure. The securitization both devalues imposes on Jews an impoverished proficiency – one that lends itself domination rather than communication. Consequently, too few study Arabic, their remains poor.