Guttural R
Many Jewish immigrants to Israel spoke a variety of Arabic in their countries of origin and pronounced the Hebrew rhotic as an alveolar tap , similar to Arabic '. Gradually, many of them began pronouncing their Hebrew rhotic as a voiced uvular fricative , a sound similar or (depending on the Arabic dialect) identical to Arabic '. However, in modern Sephardic and Mizrahi poetry and folk music an alveolar rhotic continues to be used.
Arabic language in Israel
Israel's large population of Arabic-speakers, its location in the Middle East, decades of globalization, and the Mizrahi heritage of the majority of Israel's Jewish population have all influenced spoken Hebrew in Israel. After Hebrew and English, Arabic songs (sung both by native Arab speakers and by Mizrahi Israelis) are frequently played on the radio. A-WA's debut single, Habib-Galbi, released in 2015, was the first Arabic language song to reach number 1 on Israeli radio and Arabic plays a very prominent role in the "slang" (street language) of Israel's youth.