Yishaq Epstein
Yitzhak Epstein, also known as Yitzhak and Isaac Epstein was a Russian-born Jewish linguist and educator in Palestine. He is most remembered for his text “The Hidden Question,” which focused on relations between Zionists and Arab Palestinians. He pioneered the “natural method” of teaching Hebrew, in which the teacher makes explanations only in Hebrew.
Biography
Yishaq Epstein moved to Rosh Pina in Palestine in 1886. He participated in the acquisition of Palestinian land by an organization headed by the German Zionist Arthur Ruppin. He witnessed the expulsion of 600 Druze inhabitants from the Palestinian village of Metula in 1908.He was among the founders of the group "Brit Shalom" in 1925.
He was brother of the writer Zalman Epstein.
Writings
"The Hidden Question"
Epstein presented his essay "The Hidden Question" as a speech at the Seventh Zionist Congress in Basel, Switzerland in 1905. He focused on “one trivial thing we have overlooked so long in our lovely country: there exists an entire people who have held it for centuries, and to whom it would never occur to leave.”“For a number of years,” Epstein continued, “we have been hearing that the population of exceeds 600,000. Assuming that this number is correct, even if we deduct from it 80,000 Jews, there are still over half a million Arabs,…80 percent of whom support themselves exclusively by farming, and own all the arable land. The time has come to dispel the misconceptions among the Zionists that land in Palestine lies uncultivated for lack of working hands, or laziness of the local residents. There are no deserted fields. Indeed, every Arab peasant tries to add to his plot from the adjoining land…
“Therefore,” Epstein concluded, “when we come to take over the land, the question immediately arises: what will the Arab peasant do when we buy their lands from them?” Epstein’s foreboding was ignored by most of his Zionist contemporaries, and his suggestions were also directly attacked in the press by other Zionists such as Moshe Smilansky.
"A Question that Outweighs All Others"
Epstein again urged Zionist leaders towards reconciliation with Palestinian Arabs in his article "A Question that Outweighs All Others," published in 1921 in the Hebrew publication Doar Ha-Yom. In the piece, he "focused on the advantages of Zionist settlements for the Arabs, and emphasised that these advantages should be institutionalised, rather than remain a by-product of Zionist activity."Hebrew schools in Palestine
As principal of the Hebrew school in Rosh Pinna, Epstein encouraged Arab children from neighbouring Al-Jauna to enroll, although only four did so.He was also a major proponent in the revival of the Hebrew language, teaching in and directing public schools in Palestine.