McDonald's Bans Arabic?

posted by AkherKhabar.Com

American fast-food restaurant chain McDonald's had a presence all over the world - but in some places, it has some strange policies. In Israel, for example, it has apparently banned the use of Arabic - in order to keep customers and employees from feeling uncomfortable.Conal Urquhart writes :It has banned the use of Arabic, which is an official language of Israel spoken by 20% of the population. Russian, which is not an official language but spoken by 20% of the population, is also banned. The rules emerged after one worker, Abeer Zinaty, 20, claimed she was dismissed from the branch of McDonald's in Ramle, near Tel Aviv.Mossawa claims the problem at McDonald's is common throughout Israel where Arabs are banned by some companies from speaking their mother tongue. Many Israeli Arabs and Palestinians from East Jerusalem suppress their language and identity in order to work in Israeli establishments.In a letter to Mossawa, Talila Yodfat, the human resources director for McDonald's, wrote: "There is an instruction known to all the workers of the branches that they speak between themselves and clients just in Hebrew. This is to prevent uncomfortable situations for workers and clients who mostly speak Hebrew."Unfortunately for McDonald's, this admitted policy is probably illegal. The Israeli supreme court has ruled that Arab have a right to use Arabic under the Basic Laws of Israel. If they have a right to use Arabic, then McDonald's probably can't prevent them from speaking in Arabic from each other. Perhaps they can require that they only speak Hebrew to customers, but not when speaking privately with one another.