Search results

Examining the social laboratory of the Israeli and Palestinian societies to better understand social conflicts and the construction of diverse and conflicting collective narratives, this book gives readers a window into Professor Shifra Sagy s unique approach to intergroup conflicts and peace education

Our research deals with "intergroup relation†and relates to the way individuals from specific groups perceive people from the "other†group. Do they tend to separate from them, or to integrate between the two cultures, and how they build social interactions with them (Berry, 1990). Based on a theoretical and research frame of intergroup relations, the relations between two minority groups are studied: Palestinian Muslim and Christian Citizens of Israel—two Palestinian Arab religious groups, living in the state of Israel, where the dominant group is Jews.The current study examined the relations between socioeconomic status (SES) and identity and acculturation strategies in relations between groups At first, the research model examined the differences between Muslims and Christians. Then, the relations between SES (independent variable) and the adoption of the strategies (dependent variable) among the two groups. As expected, significant differences were found between Muslims and Christians in most variables. Christians reported higher levels of SES than Muslims. In addition, Christians adopted more social competition, while Muslims tended more to adopt integration. Possible explanations for the findings are presented in the discussion. Further study could examine whether the findings of the current study were changed by the events occurring in the Arab world from 2011 to 2014: the government coups, civil wars and the horrendous acts of the terrorist organization "ISIS†in various Arab countries.

PurposeThis study aims to examine inter‐group relations between two religious minorities, Palestinian Christians and Muslim citizens of Israel, by measuring perceptions of in‐group and "other" group collective narratives.Design/methodology/approachData were collected from a representative sample of 1,121 Muslims and 756 Christians in Israel. The questionnaire presents narratives that are common among Muslim and Christian populations in Israel, relating to eight different historical, social, or political events. Subjects were asked to rate levels of legitimacy, feeling of empathy, and anger towards each one of the presented narratives.FindingsIn comparison to Muslims, Christians reported a lower tendency to give legitimacy to the narrative of the other, showed more emotions of anger, and lower feeling of empathy towards the Muslim narrative. In addition, a content analysis of the narratives that were used in the questionnaire revealed two different patterns of response to narratives. One related to narratives with national issues, where Christians seemed to be excluded from the Palestinian nation, and the other related to narratives with religious issues, where Muslims reported more anger, less empathy and less legitimacy towards the Christian narratives.Originality/valueThe paper presents a new tool based on Sagy, Adwan and Kaplan, developed to examine perceptions of in‐group and "other" group collective narratives. This study examined the tool in a different context of conflict. In addition to the quantitative measures of the perceptions of the collective narratives, the paper describes a new method for analyzing the data collected by this tool.

Abstract
The study focuses on refugee children who live in a temporary transit camp on the Island of Lesbos in Greece, and attend a unique school, which, in the camp's temporary conditions, endeavours to provide the children with safety, security, and an adaptive learning experience. It examines hope among the refugee children by means of the Children's Hope Scale (Snyder, 1997), which was administered to 132 children aged 6-16 who attend the school. The general hope scores among the refugee children were similar to those found in other children's populations. Hope scores in the Adolescent group (aged 12-16) were lower than in the other groups, and highest in the Intermediate group (aged 9-12). Additionally, differences were found between groups of children from different countries of origin. The findings indicate that the Adolescent children are more aware of the difficulties and dangers entailed in fleeing, and of the price they have paid for leaving their homes and being cut off from their extended family and community. The findings highlight the school's contribution as a space, albeit temporary, where the children can function normatively as students in a safe environment that enables new growth in cognitive, emotional, and social realms.

Die palästinensische Bevölkerung vertritt nach außen hin häufig ein homogenes Bild der eigenen nationalen Identität. Bei näherem Hinsehen erweist sich dieses Bild jedoch als trügerisch und in sich brüchig. Dieser Band nutzt Methoden und Konzepte der soziologischen Biografieforschung und der Figurationssoziologie, um den Nahostkonflikt jenseits der Polarität zwischen Israelis und Palästinensern zu analysieren. In einem Vergleich von fünf städtischen Regionen wird die Bedeutung von Zugehörigkeit, kollektiven Selbstbildern und unterschiedlicher Formen sozialer Differenzierung ergründet.