A mother whose child just had a surgery and was recovering kept repeating the word “qurbani.” I do not understand Arabic but wondered that this word “qurbani” might be “korban” in Hebrew, so I asked her.

Korban in Hebrew is “what is offered to God or a sacrifice” and means “becoming near or closer to God” in the original root meening. Whever offers korban lays his hand on the head of the animal in order to transfer himself unto the animal and offered it as a replacement of himself, so that he can be closer to God.

I asked her what the Arabic word "qurbani" means and received the expected answer that it means "sacrifice.” Mothers (or fathers too?) often use this expression to express their love by saying, "I want to be sacrificed in your place,” when their children are in hardship. I felt I found a little common ground.

Another time, I was with a mother who was receiving a post-surgery briefing from the doctor, trying to help her communicate using Arabic to English Google Translate. One of her questions to the doctor was "May he be circumcised?" I did not know that Arabs are also circumcised and needed some time to take it in. The Jewish doctor wearing a kippah responded right away as a matter of course, "Please wait a while, because the blood might not clot due to the medicine we use. Another common ground?

イスラエルでは、ユダヤ系の人とアラブ系の人はその恰好ですぐ見分けがつくことが多い。Shevetのお手伝いしているガザやイラク、クルディスタンから来るお母さんは、アラブのヒジブ（被り物）をしている人がいるとそそくさと近寄ってアラビア語で話しかける。名前もキーで、ドクターがモハメッドとかいう名前だったらアラビア語が通じるということでいきなり喜ぶ。そういうわけで、案外みんなユダヤ系かアラブ系かは常に意識をして、区別をしながら生きているような感じがする（外部者としての観察だけど）。

In Israel, all signs are in three languages: Hebrew, Arabic, and English. Looking at the letters alone, Hebrew and Arabic seem completely. However, when I asked Moses, a Jew who taught himself Arabic, he told me that Jewish and Arabic are actually very similar in many ways. Both Hebrew and Arabic are Semitic languages, and although they have different writing systems, they are quite similar in grammar and vocabulary. Without a training people cannot understand each other, but once you understand the similarities and conversion rules if you will, you can learn each other's language quite efficiently.

This is quite abrupt, but I thought of Japanese and Korean. For example, the following Korean writing seems completely foreign to Japanese.

기획재정부는 경제 상황에 대해 “대외여건 악화 등으로 높은 물가 상승세가 지속되는 가운데 투자 부진, 수출 회복세 약화 등 경기 둔화가 우려된다”고 총평했다.

But when you replace the Hangul words which have corresponding Kanji characters with those characters (Koreans used to be using these Kanji characters until 1970) ...

企画財政府는 経済状況에 대해「対外条件 悪化등으로 높은 物価上昇가 持続되는 가운데 投資不振 輸出回復税 弱化등 景気 鈍化가 憂慮된다」고 総評했다.

これ、案外意味わかっちゃいませんか？ユダヤ人(イサクの子孫）とアラブ人（イシュマエルの子孫）、実はかなり近く、近いからケンカしちゃう兄弟なのかもと少し（変な？）親しみを感じた日でした。兄弟の仲直りは神の願いだと思いながら。

On this very same day Abraham and Ishmael his son were circumcised.

Genesis 17:26

アブラハムは幸せな晩年を過ごし、年老いて満ち足り、息絶えて死んだ。そして自分の民に加えられた。その息子、イサクとイシュマエルは、アブラハムを、マムレに面するマクペラの洞穴に葬った。

創世記24：8-9