Haifa Mayor Yona Yahav has changed the elementary school curriculum in order to require all of the city's 4,000 fifth and sixth grade students to learn Arabic. He explained that teaching the language to Jews will help create better relations with Arabs
"Knowledge of the language on a cultural level will help break down barriers and bring Arabs and Jews closer together," Mayor Yahav stated. He added he looks forward to the program being extended to other cities in Israel.