In a revealing move that underscores the deep-rooted failures of Israeli intelligence, the Israeli military has now made Arabic language and Islamic cultural studies compulsory for all intelligence officers—an ironic step for a regime that has spent decades suppressing Palestinian identity, culture, and language, reported the Times of India.
The decision follows the humiliating intelligence collapse that preceded the October 7, 2023 operations by Hamas—a resistance group that, despite Israel’s vast surveillance machinery, exposed the structural weaknesses of the so-called most advanced military in the region.
The reforms, directed by Major General Shlomi Binder, the head of Israel’s military intelligence unit Aman, are now scrambling to fix what decades of arrogance and occupation have eroded—true understanding of the people they seek to dominate.
Shockingly, even cyber and technological officers—those typically detached from the ground realities of occupation—will now be trained in Arabic and Islam, an admission that Israel’s intelligence community has operated in a cultural vacuum for far too long.
By the end of 2026, all Aman soldiers will be forced to study Islam, and about half will learn Arabic—something Palestinians are born into, but Israeli officials must now study in desperation. The figures are a stark jump from the previous years, reflecting just how poorly informed Israeli forces were about the people whose land they continue to occupy and surveil.
Israeli Army Radio’s Doron Kadosh confirmed the creation of a new department within Aman to teach Arabic and Islamic studies—revealing the extent of the Israeli state’s need to “understand the enemy,” while still refusing to see Palestinians as fellow human beings, deserving of justice and freedom.
Focus is also being placed on regional dialects such as Iraqi Arabic and Yemeni variants, particularly those used by the Houthis. A recent Israeli strike failed to eliminate a Houthi leader simply because he was at a qat-chewing gathering—a stunning failure that further illustrates how disconnected Israel is from the cultural fabric of the region.
Instructors from Arabic-speaking communities are now being recruited—yet another layer of irony as Israel turns to the very people it marginalizes to educate its operatives.
The reopening of TELEM, a department promoting Arabic and Middle Eastern studies that was closed six years ago due to budget cuts, signals that Israel is beginning to realize it cannot colonize what it cannot comprehend.
A senior Aman officer openly admitted: “Until now, we haven’t been good enough in the areas of culture, language, and Islam.” Yet instead of recognizing the humanity of the oppressed, Israel still clings to the dehumanizing logic of surveillance, militarism, and control. “We won’t turn our soldiers into Arab kids who grew up in a village,” the officer added—confirming that despite the study of Islam and Arabic, the goal is still to dominate, not to understand.
This entire overhaul reflects not a shift toward peace, but a more insidious attempt to master the tools of oppression through cultural mimicry. While Israel invests in learning the language and religion of those it occupies, millions of Palestinians continue to live under siege, displacement, and apartheid.
