Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the Tamra Ha’emek elementary school in the Galilee. Photo: Amos Ben Gershom/GPO.

JNS.org – Israeli leaders highlighted the importance of integration as they visited and welcomed Arab-Israeli students to the new school year on September 1.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told young students at the Tamra Ha’emek elementary school in the Galilee, “I want each and every one of you to do two things: First, learn. Second, be good children. Listen to your parents and your teachers.”

Speaking to the diverse student body, who will be learning Hebrew, Arabic and English, Netanyahu added, “I want you to learn history…of the Jewish People, the history of your public. I want you to learn the truth, and the truth says that we were destined to live together.”

Education Minister Naftali Bennett made his comments in Arabic, emphasizing that this will be the first year Israeli Arab students are required to learn in Hebrew due to a program, approved last year, designed to help them more easily integrate into Israeli society.