Yitzhak Epstein

Yitzhak Epstein (יצחק אפשטיין), also known as Yitzhak and Isaac Epstein (Lyuban, Belarus 7 December 1862 – Jerusalem 26 February 1943) 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.

“For a number of years,” Epstein continued, “we have been hearing that the population of [Palestine] 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.

He was also a major proponent in the revival of the Hebrew language, teaching in and directing public schools in Palestine.

Legacy The historian Hillel Cohen characterizes Epstein as having "a more nuanced approach" than many of his Zionist contemporaries and, writing with Yuval Evri, describes him as "one of the more sensitive and open leaders of the new Zionist Yishuv toward the Arabs."

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