Introduction – Revival of Hebrew

Most nations are identified by territory and language. English is spoken in England , Japanese in Japan, etc. However,  Hebrew is different. To this day, Jews live in various countries and speak various languages. For thousands of years, Jews did not share a physical homeland. Although they hoped to return one day to the ancient land of Israel, they were scattered among many nations and spoke the native languages.

One hundred years ago a Jewish National movement was formed. The main goals of the movement were to revive the ancient national language – Hebrew – and to find ways in which the Jewish people would once again share the same country.

Eliezer Ben-Yehuda (1858-1922) was a key figure in the revival of Hebrew as a spoken language.
Check him out at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eliezer_Ben-Yehuda

And listen to a pod-cast on the life of  Eliezer Ben-Yehuda
www.abc.net.au/worldtoday/content/2007/s2120607.htm

The State of Israel was founded in 1948 with the wish to grant a homeland to the entire Jewish Diaspora (those Jews living outside Israel). The declaration of independence calls all Jews to come and build the new country within which all citizens will be equal. Its three formal languages are Hebrew, Arabic and English.