Israel school to teach Filipino to Pinoy migrant children

The Philippine embassy in Israel and the Bialik Rogozin International Campus recently signed a memorandum of understanding to institutionalize the teaching of Filipino language and culture to Filipino students in the country.

Philippine Ambassador to Israel Neal Imperial said the agreement would ensure the program’s continuity in promoting awareness and appreciation of Philippine heritage and language among Filipino children born and raised in Israel.

Bialik Rogozin Campus is a special school for children of migrant workers featured in an Oscar award-winning documentary “Strangers No More.”

The school provides its students from around 50 countries equal opportunities to learn and excel regardless of their status or nationality.

Out of the school’s 1,300 students, about 60 percent are Filipinos.

Since the children are only taught in Hebrew at Bialik Rogozin, the embassy realized the need to have a more institutionalized and long-term program to ensure their continuous learning of the Filipino language, Imperial said.

The language program is being funded by the Department of Foreign Affairs Office of the Undersecretary for Migrant Workers’ Affairs and is a part of the reintegration process and promotion of the welfare of the Filipino children. The Philippine embassy in Tel Aviv initiated the program to provide the children of migrant workers, including irregular migrants, with reintegration support through learning of the Filipino language and culture.

Approximately 31,000 Filipinos work and live in Israel. A large majority are concentrated in Tel Aviv, Jerusalem and Haifa.

Most of the Filipinos in Israel work as caregivers.