New Article: Kalagy, Separation and Integration of Educated Bedouin Women in the Negev

Kalagy, Tehila. “Between Separation and Integration: The Case of Educated Bedouin Women in the Negev.” Social Identities (early view; online first).

 

URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/13504630.2016.1161505

 

Abstract

In this qualitative paper, I have examined how women from a conservative minority group handle their encounter with the values of the majority group as they acquire academic education. This examination was undertaken in the general context of the research tradition that addresses the sociological and anthropological attributes of conservative societies when in confrontation with the processes of moderation, and is based on the acculturation model formulated by Berry. The source materials for this qualitative study are based on in-depth semi-structured interviews with 30 Bedouin students. The fact that Bedouin women who wish to study strive to maintain traditional values, such as their manner of dress, indicates their understanding that it is necessary to create change and acquire an academic education in order to earn a suitable salary and aid their communities, while at the same time upholding the boundaries and conventions set by the community. Tradition is thus maintained, and traditional and even religious values continue to exist within the boundaries of the minority group, alongside the stretching of those boundaries and the integration of values from ‘outside’ with those ‘inside.’

 

 

 

New Article: Mor et al, Arab Men Who Have Sex with Men in Israel

Mor, Z., Grayeb, E., and A. Beany. “Arab Men Who Have Sex with Men in Israel: Knowledge, Attitudes and Sexual Practices.” HIV Medicine (early view; online first).

 

URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/hiv.12301

 

Abstract

Objectives
Arab men who have sex with men (AMSM) are becoming visible in society, and reports of HIV infection and sexually transmitted infections (STIs) are emerging. This study aimed to assess the knowledge of AMSM regarding HIV transmission, their attitudes towards condom use and their sexual practices compared with Jewish MSM (JMSM), and to evaluate AMSM–JMSM friendships and sexual encounters.

Methods
Participants in this cross-sectional study completed questionnaires in Arabic or Hebrew. The outcome variable was unprotected anal sex (UAI) in the previous 6 months with a partner(s) whose HIV status was discordant or unknown. AMSM and JMSM indicated if they had friends or sexual encounters from the other ethnic group.

Results
The questionnaires were completed by 342 (16.2%) AMSM and 1775 (83.8%) JMSM in 2012. AMSM were more likely to be religious, ‘closeted’ and married than JMSM; their knowledge regarding HIV transmission was inferior and attitudes towards condom use were less favourable. AMSM reported less alcohol and drug use than JMSM, were more likely to be attracted to and have sex with women, and reported a greater number of sexual partners and more UAI. Being AMSM was a predictive variable for UAI in the multivariate model. While 178 AMSM (52.0%) reported that most of their close friends were JMSM, 251 (73.4%) had only/mostly sexual encounters with JMSM. Among JMSM, 41 (2.3%) reported that their close friends were AMSM, and 308 (17.3%) had only/mostly sexual encounters with AMSM.

Conclusions
The knowledge of AMSM regarding HIV transmission and their attitudes towards condom use were less favourable than those of JMSM, and they performed more UAI. AMSM may benefit from targeted interventions, including reconciling their same-sex attraction in positive terms. Same-sex attraction and gay identity may provide common ground to strengthen Arab–Jew communication in Israel.

 

 

Thesis: Olafsdottir, The Druze and the Zionists in the Arab-Israeli Conflict

Olafsdottir, Gunnhildur Eva. The Druze and the Zionists in the Arab-Israeli Conflict: An Inter-Ethnic Alliance, BA Thesis. Haverford, Pa.: Haverford College, 2015.
 
URL: http://d-scholarship.pitt.edu/26366/
 
Abstract

The Druze community is an Arab minority with populations inhabiting Israel/Palestine, Syria and Lebanon. They are distinct from other Arabs in the region due to their religion and culture, yet in Israel/Palestine, they participate in the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) alongside Israelis. In 1956 the Druze Conscription Agreement was passed into law requiring all non-religious Druze males to participate in the IDF. However, the Druze fought alongside the Zionists long before 1956, and even before the establishment of the Israeli State in 1948. The Druze have a unique history in the region unlike the histories of other Arabs and the Zionists, and this unique history is an element that has had a major influence on the relations with the Zionists and other Arabs. The Druze are the only Arab minority in Israel/Palestine that are required to participate in the IDF. What is puzzling about this fact is that at first glance the Druze have far more in common with other Arabs than they do with Zionists in terms of their shared Arabic language and Arab ethnic origins. The goal of this thesis is to understand why the Druze have a generally good relationship with the Zionists and a bad relationship with other Arabs. In addition, this thesis will focus on the puzzle of why this Arab minority participates in the IDF by analyzing the Druze-Zionist/Israeli alliance that emerged before 1948 and has continued through the present.

 

 

 

Thesis: Kaplen, The Ethiopian Messianic Jewish Movement of Israel

Kaplan, Jennifer. The Ethiopian Messianic Jewish Movement of Israel: An Evaluative Study for Growth and Sustainability, D.I.S. Thesis. Pasadena, Calif.: Fuller Theological Seminary, 2015.

 

URL: http://search.proquest.com/docview/1754414979

 

Abstract

The journey of immigration and integration of the Ethiopian Jews of Israel is a remarkable story. From traditional society and Torah-based Judaism in Ethiopia to high-tech society and Rabbinic Judaism in Israel, the gap is the largest in Israeli pluralistic society. The results are often low socio-economic status, family crisis, and discrimination. A sub-group of the Ethiopian Jews is the Ethiopian Messianic Jews of Israel, whose identity is further compounded by their faith in Yeshua (Jesus) as Messiah. This research investigates the background and growth of their congregations in the missiological context of Israel. The research also investigates the integration levels of their leaders and how this affects the congregations, and draws conclusions regarding the movement’s sustainability for the future.

 

 

 

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: Isleem, Druze Linguistic Landscape in Israel

Isleem, Martin. “Druze Linguistic Landscape in Israel: Indexicality of New Ethnolinguistic Identity Boundaries.” International Journal of Multilingualism 12.1 (2015): 13-30.

 

URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/14790718.2013.868467

 

Abstract

The Druze community in Israel is a distinct religious community currently undergoing important ethnolinguistic shifts. The government’s implementation of an official policy has led to the deconstruction and reshaping of the Druze political and national identity to one that differs substantially from that of the Palestinian minority in Israel. In this study, I argue that the visibility, vitality and appreciation of Hebrew in the Druze linguistic landscape are indicative of new ethnolinguistic boundaries of the Druze identity in Israel. The fact that the Druze in Israel are dispersed throughout the Galilee and Mount Carmel area and experience varying levels of language contact as well as divergent economic relations with their Palestinian–Israeli and Jewish–Israeli neighbours, suggests that one cannot expect uniformity in the Druze linguistic markets or the processes of social, cultural and linguistic identification. This study will show that Hebrew has become a dominant component of the linguistic repertoire and social identity of the Druze in the Mount Carmel area since it has become the first choice of communication as the linguistic landscape indicates.

New Article: Kislev, Multicultural Policies on Migrants’ Identification: Israeli Diaspora in the USA

Kislev, Elyakim. “The Transnational Effect of Multicultural Policies on Migrants’ Identification: The Case of the Israeli Diaspora in the USA.” Global Networks 15.1 (2015): 118-39.

URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/glob.12043

Abstract

While it is difficult to gauge the effect of multicultural policies within countries, it is even more difficult to measure them across countries. In this article, I use fundamental multicultural changes that have occurred in Israeli society in recent decades as a case study, and track their effect on how Israelis who reside in the USA identify with Israel. Analysing the US census and the American Community Survey, I have focused my research on three groups of Israeli-born migrants in the USA – Israeli Arabs, ultra-Orthodox Jews and the Jewish majority. Findings indicate that originating from a minority community in the homeland predicts not only a different rate, but also different longitudinal trends of Israeli identification. I offer several possible explanations for these variations, but an in-depth analysis of the Israeli case indicates that the transnational effect of the changing multicultural agenda in Israel is the leading mechanism at play.

News: Busy month of November at the Azrieli Institute of Israel Studies (Concordia)

 

•     Family law in Israel: The tension between religious and civil legislation, with Rabbi Yitshak Cohen on Monday, November 3^rd at 11:30 am (1590 Docteur Penfield, room SB-407)
  • o   http://azrieli-institute.concordia.ca/news-and-events/events/lectures/documents/cohenflyer.pdf

 

• The Azrieli Series of Holocaust Survivor Memoirs presents One Story at a Time on Monday, November 10^th at 7:30 pm (Bibliothèque et Archives Nationales du Québec, 475 blvd. de Maisonneuve St Est)
  • o   The Azrieli Foundation is pleased to host a film and readings featuring their newly published authors.
  • o   RSVP by November 3^rd to launch@azrieli.ca

 

• A double lecture on Arab minority and the IDF: Historical perspectives with Randall Geller and Yakub Halabi on Wednesday, November 12^th at 2 pm (1590 Docteur Penfield, room SB-407)
  • o   http://azrieli-institute.concordia.ca/news-and-events/events/lectures/documents/gelerhalabiflyer.pdf

 

• JI Segal Awards on Wednesday, November 12^th at 7:30 pm (5151 Cote St Catherine)
  • o   The Jewish Public Library presents the JI Segal awards (http://www.jewishpubliclibrary.org/en/events+programs++courses/ji+segal+awards/)
  • o   One of the awards will be presented by the Azrieli Institute of Israel Studies.

 

• A World Without Jews: The Nazi Imagination from Persecution to Genocide with Prof. Alon Confino at 11:00 am on Friday, November 14 (Room LB-1014,McConnell Library Building (1400 De Maisonneuve W.))
  • o   http://www.concordia.ca/cuevents/artsci/history/2014/11/speaker-series-alon-confino.html

 

• Lecture with Aviva Halamish on Tuesday, November 18^th at 2:30 pm.  Her topic will be 1934: A Year in the Life of the Jewish Community in Palestine (the “Yishuv”) pm  (1590 Docteur Penfield, room SB-407)
  • o   http://azrieli-institute.concordia.ca/news-and-events/events/lectures/documents/halamishflyer.pdf

 

• Coffee with Uri Dromi on Wednesday, November 19 at 2 pm (1590 Docteur Penfield, room SB-407)
  • o   http://azrieli-institute.concordia.ca/news-and-events/events/lectures/documents/dromifinalflyer.pdf

 

• On Wednesday, November 26^th at 11 am (1590 Docteur Penfield, SB-407), the Institute will be presenting a fall seminar.
  • o   http://azrieli-institute.concordia.ca/news-and-events/events/seminars/documents/advertisingposterforNovemberseminar_000.pdf

 

• The Azrieli Institute of Israel Studies is proud to host this year’s AIS Conference: Sustainable Israeli: A Changing Society in the 21^st Century.  Should you wish to submit a proposal, please click on the link provided (http://azrieli-institute.concordia.ca/news-and-events/conferences/) to read the Call for Papers.

We look forward to seeing you at one or all of these upcoming events.  For more information, please do not hesitate to contact the office or checkout our website.  Also, LIKE us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Azrieli-Institute-of-Israel-Studies/221296064713188

 

Reminder: How Jewish is the Jewish State? Conference at American University, Oct 28, 2014

See more here: https://israbib.wordpress.com/2014/08/28/conference-program-how-jewish-is-the-jewish-state-religion-and-society-in-israel-american-university-oct-28-2014/

“How Jewish Is the Jewish State?  Religion and Society in Israel” – Academic Conference at American University 

Tuesday, October 28, 9:00 AM – 5:00 PM

Free with RSVP: http://www.american.edu/cas/israelstudies/rsvp  

This all day conference examines the separation of state and religion in Israel, looks into the treatment and the internal structure of non-Jews in the Jewish state, and asks about Jewish religious pluralism and Orthodox dominance. Leading experts from Israel, Europe, and the United States will speak on these questions, drawing upon their own scholarship, teaching, and variant experiences at several different institutions.   A complete conference program is available here: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1lc_F_g00uhs58ZayyBfJudXkF2rhiWUVoLuanaIa7Mg/edit?usp=sharing  Location: SIS Building Abramson Family Founders Room. Pre-paid parking is available in the School for International Service garage and Katzen Arts Center garage (campus map here).

“Israel at the Crossroads of Democracy, Nationalism and Religion”- Free lecture at American University

Tuesday, October 28, 7:30 PM 

Free with RSVP: http://www.american.edu/cas/israelstudies/rsvp  

Lecture by Moshe Halbertal, Senior Fellow at the Shalom Hartman Institute in Jerusalem, Professor of Jewish Thought and Philosophy at Hebrew University, and a faculty member at the Mandel Leadership Institute in Jerusalem, Israel.  Location: Mary Graydon Center (MGC) Rooms 4-5.  Free parking is available in the Katzen Arts Center garage and the Sports Center garage (campus map here).

Conference Program: How Jewish is the Jewish State? Religion and Society in Israel, American University, Oct 28, 2014

“How Jewish is the Jewish State? Religion and Society in Israel”

October 28, 2014

American University, Washington, DC

Scholars are invited to attend “How Jewish is the Jewish State? Religion and Society in Israel,” a day-long academic conference on October 28, 2014 at American University in Washington, DC.  The conference is sponsored by American University’s Center for Israel Studies and Jewish Studies Program.  A limited number of travel subsidies are available for junior faculty and advanced graduate students.  Applications for travel subsidies are due September 15, 2014.  Notification will be made by October 1, 2014.

This conference examines the separation of state and religion in Israel, looks into the treatment and the internal structure of non-Jews in the Jewish state, and asks about Jewish religious pluralism and Orthodox dominance. Leading experts from Israel, Europe, and the United States will speak on these questions, drawing upon their own scholarship, teaching, and variant experiences at several different institutions.

Conference Chairs:
Michael Brenner, Seymour and Lillian Abensohn Chair in Israel Studies, American University and Chair of Jewish History and Culture, Ludwig-Maximilian University, Munich
Pamela Nadell, Patrick Clendenen Chair in Women’s and Gender Studies, American University

Location: The conference will take place at American University in the School of International Service Abramson Family Founder’s Room.  The address of the university is 4400 Massachusetts Avenue, NW, Washington, DC.

Preliminary Program:

8:00-9:00 AM        Registration, Networking, and Coffee/Continental Breakfast

9:00-10:30 AM      Separation between State and Religion
Yedidia Stern ( Bar Ilan University/Israel Democracy Institute)  New Frontiers in the Struggle Between Religion and State
Eli Salzberger (Haifa University): Religion and State: Law in the Books versus Law in Action
Kimmy Caplan (Bar Ilan University): Orthodox Monopolies: A Trojan Horse?
Chair: Pamela Nadell, Patrick Clendenen Chair in Women’s and Gender Studies, American University (AU)

10:30 AM        Coffee Break

11:00-1:00 PM     Non-Jews in the Jewish State
Ahmad Natour (Hebrew University, Jerusalem): Islam and Muslims in the State of the Jews
Amal el-Sana Alh’jooj (McGill University, Montreal): Between Sharia Law, Israeli Law and Traditions: The Case of Bedouin Women in Israel
Ya’akov Ariel (University of North Carolina): Evangelical Christians in Israel
Nurit Novis Deutsch (Hebrew University, Jerusalem): Attitudes among Religious Jews in Israel Towards Non-Jews
Moderator: Calvin Goldscheider, Scholar in Residence (AU)

1:00-2:30 PM     Lunch

2:30-4:30 PM         Jewish Pluralism
Michael A. Meyer (Hebrew Union College Cincinnati): Progressive Judaism, Israeli Style
Fania Oz-Salzberger (Haifa University): Secular Israel: Where from and where to?
Sara Hirschhorn (Oxford University): Religion among American Settlers
Gershon Greenberg (AU): Haredi Attitudes Towards Israeli Statehood
Chair: Michael Brenner, Seymour and Lillian Abensohn Chair in Israel Studies, American University and Chair of Jewish History and Culture, Ludwig-Maximilian University, Munich

4:30-5:30 PM        Reception

7:30 PM    Keynote: “Israel at the Crossroads of Democracy, Nationalism and Religion” Moshe Halbertal (Hebrew University, Jerusalem)

This conference is generously supported by the Knapp Family Foundation.

 

A limited number of travel subsidies are available for junior faculty and advanced graduate students to attend the conference. Click here for details.

Reviews: McGahern, Palestinian Christians in Israel

Reviews of: McGahern, Una. Palestinian Christians in Israel. State Attitudes towards Non-Muslims in a Jewish State. Abingdon and New York: Routledge, 2011.

 

 

Reviews:

• Cardaun, Sarah. “Review.” Journal of International and Global Relations 3.2 (2012): 151-153.
• Ben-Porat, Guy. ”Review.” Ethnic and Racial Studies 36.2 (2013): 379-380.
• Jones, Clive. “Review.” Middle Eastern Studies 50.2 (2014): 346-349.

 

 

 

 

New Article: Beeri and Saad, Minorities-within-Minorities in Israeli-Arab Mixed Municipalities

Beeri, Itai and Mansur Saad. “Political Participation Unconditioned by Inequality and Discrimination: The Case of Minorities-within-Minorities in Israeli-Arab Mixed Municipalities.” Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies (online first).

 

URL: http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/1369183X.2013.871490

 

Abstract

Against the backdrop of rising migration rates, the number of mixed communities in Western states has been growing. Such communities are populated not only by members of a national majority and national minority, but often, also by minorities-within-minorities. This study examines perceptions towards the equitableness of local policy, feelings of discrimination and participation in local politics among minorities and minorities-within-minorities in Israeli-Arab mixed municipalities comprised of Muslims, Christians or Druze, where most of the surrounding population is Jewish. The results confirm that among Israeli-Arabs in general, a perception of local policy as highly inequitable and a strong sense of local discrimination are both related to increased participation in local politics. However, among minorities-within-minorities this relationship did not obtain. Implications of the findings are developed and discussed in the context of local governance, communal abstention from local decision-making processes and the danger of illegitimate political behaviour.