New Article: Shechory-Bitton & Soen, The Refugee Problem as Perceived by Israeli Residents

Shechory-Bitton, Mally, and Dan Soen. “Community Cohesion, Sense of Threat, and Fear of Crime: The Refugee Problem as Perceived by Israeli Residents.” Journal of Ethnicity in Criminal Justice (early view; online first).

 

URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/15377938.2016.1187237

 

Abstract

The study deals with the concentration of African refugees in southern Tel-Aviv neighborhoods. It analyzes the impact of this situation on Israeli residents’ perception of their neighborhood. Based on a sample of 214 people four analyses were conducted: (1) symbolic and real threat felt by the residents; (2) fear of crime, neighborhood disorder, perceived risk, and community cohesiveness; (3) objective exposure; (4) distress. Distress in the neighborhood was found to be a function of fear of crime, perceived risk, and community cohesiveness. Perceptions of symbolic threat play a much more important role than real feelings of threat or fear of socio-economic competition. Likewise, it was found that African refugees are perceived as a threat to the cultural and national homogeneity of Jewish Israeli residents.

 
 
 

New Article: Kranz, Changing Definitions of Germanness across Three Generations of Yekkes

Kranz, Dani.”Changing Definitions of Germanness across Three Generations of Yekkes in Palestine/Israel.” German Studies Review 39.1 (2016): 99-120.
 
URL: https://www.academia.edu/22106615/Changing_Definitions_of_Germanness_across_Three_Generations_of_Yekkes_in_Palestine_Israel
 
Abstract

German-speaking Jews arrived in Palestine in vast numbers from 1933 onwards. They are not Olim (ascenders, Jewish immigrants to Palestine/Israel) in the classical, Zionistic sense but emigrated out of necessity from Europe. Their history in Europe, and their arrival in Palestine reflect a particular integration into the nascent Jewish society, and resulted in a pronounced particularism that was transmitted across generations. To understand the interdependence of self-definition and superimposed ascription within a society that aims at absorbing immigrants, this paper chronicles the different definitions of Germanness amongst three generations of Yekkes (German-speaking Jews) in Palestine, later Israel, by focusing on community building, familial tradition, and everyday praxes of expressing Germanness.

 

 

 

New Book: Mechter and Maya-Mechter, Between the Intimate and the Anonymous in Urban Space

Mechter, Eytan, and Avital Maya. Between the Intimate and the Anonymous in Urban Space. A Socio-Cultural Perspective on Tel Aviv. Tel Aviv: Resling, 2016 (in Hebrew).

 

 

This book seeks to contribute to the socio-cultural discourse on the first Hebrew-cosmopolitan city, a discourse that may serve as an alternative to the conventional economic content in relation to urban processes. The attempt to decipher the secret of the transformation of the first Hebrew city into a “world city” will be made by examining the uniqueness of the culture and ethos of Tel Aviv in connection with universal norms. The socio-cultural discussion presents the tension between rationality and desire that late capitalism is based on, while highlighting the manifestations of this tension in the urban, local, and general arenas–both by the conquest of space through capital and in the design of and objectified consciousness and consumerist styles.

Multiculturalism and density are distinct urban characteristics contributing to urban activity based on openness, creativity, innovation and sophistication, but also reflect expressions of convergence and alienation. The individuation process serves as a central axis f or the translation of the rational subject into an object of consumerist desire as a result of the capitalist system. Individuation and the process of self-branding encourage the growth of various forms of unique and dynamic identities and styles, but hinder the constructions of relationships based on emotions and commitment. “The neighborhood community” is offered in this book as a possible solution to anonymity and the instrumentalism of interpersonal relationships, a solution which enables interpersonal relationships in the metropolin without disrupting the dynamic nature of variability and diversity, while creating a stable core, whether territorial or virtual.

The concluding chapter discusses the spiritual challenge of the big city to cultivate expressions of “Hard Liberty” following Levinas, as a substitute for the splitting of the subject and the self-alienation which endanger the urban soul.

 

Eytan Mechter is a scholar and lecturer of sociology of culture at the NB Haifa School of Design, Holon Institute of Technology, and the Arts Faculty of the Kibbutzim College.Avital Maya Mechter was a lecture of creative education at Hemdat Hadarom college.

 

 

 

New Article: Tamari et al, Urban Tribalism: Negotiating Form, Function and Social Milieu in Bedouin Towns

Tamari, Shlomit, Rachel Katoshevski, Yuval Karplus, and Steven C. Dinero. “Urban Tribalism: Negotiating Form, Function and Social Milieu in Bedouin Towns, Israel.” City, Territory and Architecture 3.2 (2016): 14pp.

 

URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1186/s40410-016-0031-3

 

Abstract

Historically, the tribe was a central pillar of Bedouin society. Recently, the forcibly resettled-Bedouin of Israel’s Negev Desert have experienced profound socio-economic transition and change in addition to spatial relocation. This paper offers a critical examination of the manner in which the tribe has served to inform top-down State-led urban planning, resettlement and housing policies while remaining a vital aspect of Bedouin life. We suggest that in an ironic twist, these policies have generated a new form of urban tribalism that challenges the development of a “modern,” “western” social fabric and practices of citizenship as initially envisioned by State officials.

 

 

 

New Article: Erdreich, Spirituality in Teacher Training at an Islamic College in Israel

Erdreich, Lauren. “Spirituality in Teacher Training at an Islamic College in Israel.” Diaspora, Indigenous, and Minority Education 10.1 (2016): 1-13.

 

URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/15595692.2015.1084921

 

Abstract

This article looks at an Islamic teacher training college in Israel in an attempt to understand how religious revival shapes women’s understandings of being Muslim women professionals in Israel. The college grew out of Islamic revival in Israel; its teacher training program reflects the sensibilities that Islamic revival hopes to foster in women who study there and in the children they will teach. The article is based on ethnographic research at the college. Adopting a theoretical approach to spirituality as a cultural phenomenon, experienced as authentic, yet culturally informed, can serve as a powerful resource for creating social meaning and as a source of pedagogies of change. I illustrate the means by which the institution makes space for a spirituality that infuses teacher training with a sense of social purpose, civil commitment, and personal unity with the divine.

 

 

 

New Article: Golan & Stadler, The Dual Use of the Internet by Chabad

Golan, Oren, and Nurit Stadler. “Building the Sacred Community Online: The Dual Use of the Internet by Chabad.” Media, Culture & Society (early view; online first).

 
URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/0163443715615415
 
Abstract

Religious communities have ongoing concerns about Internet use, as it intensifies the clash between tradition and modernity, a clash often found in traditionally inclined societies. Nevertheless, as websites become more useful and widely accessible, religious and communal stakeholders have continuously worked at building and promoting them. This study focuses on Chabad, a Jewish ultra-Orthodox movement, and follows webmasters of three key websites to uncover how they distribute religious knowledge over the Internet. Through an ethnographic approach that included interviews with over 30 webmasters, discussions with key informants, and observations of the websites themselves, the study uncovered webmaster’s strategies to foster solidarity within their community, on one hand, while also proselytizing their outlook on Judaism, on the other. Hence, the study sheds light on how a fundamentalist society has strengthened its association with new media, thus facilitating negotiation between modernity and religious piety.

 

 

 

New Article: Krumer-Nevo et al, Exclusion and Double Exclusion in the Lives of Drug Traders in Israel

Krumer-Nevo, Michal, Yamit Elfassi, Shifra Sagy, and Maya Lavie-Ajayi. “Neither Seeing Nor Seen. Exclusion and Double Exclusion in the Lives of Young People Involved in the Drug Trade in Israel.” Young 24.1 (2016): 36-52.

 

URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/1103308815613683

 

Abstract

Social exclusion has been identified as a prominent factor informing our understanding of young people involvement in gang life, violence and crime. While the literature on social exclusion focuses on the education and employment systems, there is a limited literature regarding the role played by correctional institutions in exacerbating social exclusion. This article explores the reciprocal relationships between young people involved in the drug trade in Israel and various educational and correctional services in their community. It focuses on a term commonly articulated by the youth, ‘not seeing with the eyes’, which they use to describe themselves as consciously, purposefully and openly ignoring and flouting societal norms. However, the educational and correctional services present a similar attitude, manifesting institutional blindness in connection with the youth and hence contributing to the double exclusion of young men. The article exposes the practices and processes through which this double exclusion takes place.

 

 

New Article: Abu-Raiya and Agbaria, Religiousness and Subjective Well-Being Among Israeli-Palestinian College Students

Abu-Raiya, Hisham, and Qutaiba Agbaria. “Religiousness and Subjective Well-Being Among Israeli-Palestinian College Students: Direct or Mediated Links?” Social Indicators Research (early view; online first).

 

URL: http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11205-015-0913-x

 

Abstract

Espousing a positive psychology orientation, this study aimed to explore the links between religiousness and subjective well-being, and test whether social support and self-control mediate the expected associations between these two variables. Participants were 264 Israeli-Palestinian college students, who were asked to provide demographic information and complete measures of religiousness, social support, self-control, subjective happiness, positive emotions and negative emotions. We found that religiousness was positively correlated with both subjective happiness and positive emotions, but no significant correlation was found between religiousness and negative emotions. Both social support and self-control partially mediated the links between religiousness and both subjective happiness and positive emotions. The findings of the study, as well as its implications and limitations, are discussed.

New Article: Barak et al, Where to Die? A Study of Cancer Patients in Israel

Barak, Frida, Sofia Livshits, Haana Kaufer, Ruth Netanel, Nava Siegelmann-Danieli, Yasmin Alkalay, and Shulamith Kreitler. “Where to Die? That Is the Question: A Study of Cancer Patients in Israel.” Palliative and Supportive Care 13.2 (2015): 165-70.

 

URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/S1478951513000904

 

Abstract

Objective: Most patients prefer to die at home, but barely 30% do so. This study examines the variables contributing to dying at home.

Methods: The participants were 326 cancer patients, of both genders, with a mean age of 63.25 years, who died from 2000 to 2008 and were treated by the palliative care unit of the Barzilai Hospital. Some 65.7% died at home and 33.4% in a hospital. The data were extracted from patient files. The examined variables were demographic (e.g., age, gender, marital status, ethnic background, number of years in Israel until death), medical (e.g., age at diagnosis, diagnosis, nature of last treatment, patient received nursing care, patient given the care of a social worker, patient had care of a psychologist, family received care of a social worker, patient had a special caregiver), and sociological (e.g., having insurance, having worked in Israel, living alone or with family, living with one’s children, living in self-owned or rented house, family members working).

Results: The findings indicate that the chances of dying at home are higher if the patient is non-Ashkenazi, the family got social worker care, the patient lived in a self-owned house, the patient lived with his family, the family members worked, and the patient’s stay in Israel since immigration was longer. Logistic regression showed that all the predictors together yielded a significant model accounting for 10.9–12.3% of the variance.

Significance of results: The findings suggest that dying at home requires maintaining continued care for the patient and family in a community context.

New Article: Shilo et al, Individual and Community Resilience Factors Among LGBQ in Israel

Shilo, Guy, Nadav Antebi, and Zohar Mor. “Individual and Community Resilience Factors Among Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Queer and Questioning Youth and Adults in Israel.” American Journal of Community Psychology 55.1-2 (2015): 215-27.

 

URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10464-014-9693-8

 

Abstract

Drawing on resilience theories, this study examined the individual and community factors of Israeli lesbians, gays, bisexuals, queers, and questioning (LGBQs) that contribute to positive mental health and the degree to which individual and community protective factors mitigate the adverse effect of risk factors for poor mental health. Differences in resilience factors between LGBQ youth and adults were explored. Data were collected on 890 LGBQ youth and adults. Findings emphasize the role of community-level resilience factors in the lives of LGBQs, and that these support systems differ slightly between the two age groups. Among youth, family support was both a strong predictor for well-being and a protective factor for mental distress. Although family support was found as a resilience factor among adults as well, other community-level factors (friends’ support, LGBT connectedness and having steady partner) were found as protective factors for poorer mental health. These findings suggest for efforts on fostering familial support for LGBQ youth and a multi-level system that offers support at the familial, peer, relationship and community levels for both LGBQ youth and adults.

New Book: Snir, Who Needs Arab-Jewish Identity?

Snir, Reuven. Who Needs Arab-Jewish Identity? Interpellation, Exclusion, and Inessential Solidarities. Leiden: Brill, 2015.

 

In Who Needs Arab-Jewish Identity?: Interpellation, Exclusion, and Inessential Solidarities, Professor Reuven Snir, Dean of Humanities at Haifa University, presents a new approach to the study of Arab-Jewish identity and the subjectivities of Arabized Jews. Against the historical background of Arab-Jewish culture and in light of identity theory, Snir shows how the exclusion that the Arabized Jews had experienced, both in their mother countries and then in Israel, led to the fragmentation of their original identities and encouraged them to find refuge in inessential solidarities. Following double exclusion, intense globalization, and contemporary fluidity of identities, singularity, not identity, has become the major war cry among Arabized Jews during the last decade in our present liquid society.

Table of contents

Preface
Introduction
Chapter One: Identity: Between Creation and Recycling
Chapter Two: Arabized Jews: Historical Background
Chapter Three: Arabized Jews in Modern Times between Interpellation and Exclusion
Chapter Four: Globalization and the Search for Inessential Solidarities
Chapter Five: White Jews, Black Jews
Conclusion
Appendices
I. Iraqi-Jewish Intellectuals, Writers, and Artists
II. Sami Michael, “The Artist and the Falafel” (short story)
References
Index

Reuven Snir is a Professor of Arabic Literature and Dean of Humanities at Haifa University. He has published many books, articles, translations, and encyclopedia entries. His latest book is Baghdad – The City in Verse (Harvard University Press, 2013).

Cite: Wilson, Reflections upon Intercommunal Violence and Territoriality in the Israel/Palestine Conflict

Wilson, Timothy. “Turbulent Stasis: Comparative Reflections upon Intercommunal Violence and Territoriality in the Israel/Palestine Conflict.” Nationalism and Ethnic Politics 19.1 (2013): 58-79.

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URL: http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/13537113.2013.761899

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Abstract

From (at least) the Balfour Declaration of 1917 right down to the present day, the Zionist-Palestinian conflict has been sculpted by external forces. But never entirely so: grassroots patterns of confrontation have also been vital. This article therefore adopts a “bottom-up” approach to the evolution of the conflict since the early twentieth century.