Reward and punishment: Patterns in Arab and Jewish school children

To test conflicting hypotheses regarding differences between Christian Arabs, Moslem Arabs, and Jews in reported critical incidents of reward and punishment. 1,440 children, grades 2–12 from Israel and the West Bank, were interviewed on critical incidents of reward and punishment. The groups in Israel represented: Christians, Moslems, non-Orthodox Jews, and Orthodox Jews; on the West Bank: Christians and Moslems. Results show support for Dennis in that the Arab groups were homogeneous and reflected traditional Arab values and strong family orientation. The Jewish groups, while also relatively homogeneous, were significantly different from the Arab groups and reflected values more away from the family and toward the pattern shown by American children.     

Modes of victim blaming in a case of stabbing: Victim and offender ethnicity and observer ethnicity and religious affiliation

This study examined the effects of ethnicity on victim-blaming in a case of stabbing by addressing victim and offender ethnicity as well as observer ethnicity and religion. Jewish (n = 285), Muslim Arab (n = 249), and Christian Arab (n = 51) students from Israeli universities and colleges read a single stabbing scenario, in which we manipulated victim (Arab/Jewish) and offender ethnicity (African/Arab/Jewish). The results showed that participants blamed a Jewish victim more than an Arab victim. Also, our findings indicated that Christian Arabs expressed significantly higher victim-blaming than Jews. However, victim-blaming among Christian Arabs did not significantly differ from victim-blaming among Muslim Arabs, and victim-blaming among Muslim Arabs did not significantly differ from victim-blaming among Jews. Furthermore, the interactions between observer and victim ethnicity and between observer and offender ethnicity were significant. The discussion addresses the findings in the context of prejudice against members of African and Arab communities, the black sheep effect, and defensive attribution. In addition, the discussion suggests that observer ethnic and religious background may be related to blame-attribution mode: fixed (not affected by victim and offender ethnicity) or modular (affected by victim and offender ethnicity). From the practical standpoint, our findings suggest a need for further education on prejudice against minorities and promoting ethnic diversity among practitioners assisting and treating victims.     

Ethnic origin and social control: Jewish and Arab delinquents in IsraelLos delincuentes Arabes y Judios en IsraelL'origine ethinque et le contrôle social: délinquants Juifs et Arabes en Israël

A review of the literature reveals that minorities often receive relatively severe dispositions by the various law enforcement agencies (police, probation, and the courts). This discrimination is usually explained by the prejudices of officers of these agencies. A study of the official statistics of juvenile delinquency in Israel reveals a similar pattern: Arab juveniles are overrepresented among recipients of severe recommendations and decisions. This overrepresentation is mostly due to the harsher recommendations Arab juveniles receive from their probation officers. However, since these officers are Arabs, prejudice cannot be the explanation. An attitudes and opinions survey reveals that Arab probation officers are more concerned with the community's welfare than the Jewish ones. This fact seems to be the cause of the difference in the pattern of recommendations.     

Help that hurts? Perceptions of intergroup assistance

The current research, guided theoretically by the Intergroup Helping as Status Relations Model, explored how high and low status groups (Israeli Jews and Israeli Arabs) perceive offers of help from the high to the low status group. Ninety-three Arab and Jewish participants were asked to imagine and evaluate offers of help from Jews to Arabs in Israel. Consistent with the hypothesis that members of high and low status groups would have different perspectives and goals in their relations, Israeli Arabs viewed help by Israeli Jews more as a way to reinforce existing hierarchy and as a way of asserting the higher groups’ domination. Recognizing the different orientations of members of high and low status groups to potentially conciliatory actions, such as helping behavior, can enhance understanding of the dynamics of intergroup relations and conflict and reveal factors that might fuel intergroup misunderstandings and tensions, which can represent a critical step to improving intergroup relations.     

The impact of cultural,ethnic, and national variables on attitudes towards the disabled in Israel: A review

Studies in Israel relating to attitudes of various ethnic, cultural and religious groups towards the disabled were reviewed. The results indicate that although there were differences in attitudes towards the disabled, these differences appear to be a function of interaction effects between many other variables and not necessarily only related to ethnic, cultural, and religious affiliation.     

Between survival and vision: Boundary-crossing Arab teachers in Jewish schools and Arab teachers in their community

This mixed-methods study examined the experiences of belonging/otherness among Arab teachers in Israel. A group of boundary-crossing teachers: Arab teachers in Jewish schools (AJ; N = 57) was compared with Arab teachers teaching in their own community (AA; N = 103). We found that the AJ group had a multicultural orientation, unlike the AA group, who were community-orientated. These orientations are reflected in different otherness sources, different motivations for selecting a workplace, and differences in identity ratings. While professional and social sources promoted teachers’ sense of belonging in the two groups, the source of AJs' sense of otherness was the national divide as opposed to community-oriented aspects in AAs. Selfefficacy ratings were high in both groups with a significant advantage for AJs, an unanticipated finding given that most of them were women, had attended teacher training colleges rather than universities, and were rarely homeroom teachers. Arab teachers' involvement in Jewish schools was partial with a low proportion of classroom educators or teachers in managerial roles. AJs tend to leave their national identity outside the school, and are not involved in political discourse or in the staffroom power relations. The phenomenon of integrating AJs is relatively new, and within a segregated education system that limits the opportunities for Jews and Arabs to meet, it can provide a viable, albeit limited, tool to inhibit prejudice and antagonism between Jews and Arabs.     

Contact with a multicultural past: A prejudice-reducing intervention

This paper introduces the notion of contact with a multicultural past as a new type of indirect intergroup contact. It presents results of a study which evaluated the effects of an educational program utilizing the proposed framework. The program aimed to facilitate the engagement of Polish students (N = 427) with historical Jewish heritage in their places of residence. The intervention proved highly successful at increasing students' knowledge of and interest in local history which both contributed independently to an increased inclusion of the outgroup (Jews) in the self and in turn to more positive attitudes towards them. The implications of using contact with a multicultural past in societies with low levels of direct intergroup contact are discussed.     

The mirror image phenomenon in the context of the Arab-Israeli conflict

This investigation evaluated whether the mirror image could be confirmed and extended to include an ally and an enemy's ally. At the time of the 1973 Arab-Israeli War, 50 Arab students (chiefly from the confrontation states) who were attending Pakistani universities completed five semantic differental scales (brave-coward, honest-deceitful, kind-cruel, peaceful-agressive and dependable-unreliable) on two matricss: (1) Self-image and Enemy-image, (2) Ally-image and Enemy's Ally-image. Fifty Israeli students at Hebrew University also completed the scales. Thus, both groups rated Americans, Arabs, Israelis and Russians for the appropriate categories. Results confirm the mirror image from both Arabs and Israelis and its extension to Ally-image and Enemy's Ally-image. The data are somewhat clearer for the Arabs. Ratings for Israelis' Ally (Americans) are about as high as Self. The discussion offers possible explanations of the results.     

Identity and intergroup perception in Israel

Several studies done in Israel during the past 10 to 15 years on identity and intergroup perception are reviewed with a view towards relating these two areas of research. Problems of methodology are discussed. The methodology of concept differentiation supplemented the more common questionnaire approach. The groups that served as objects of scrutiny were religiously observant, traditionalist, and nonobservant Jews: members of the Oriental and European Jewish communities; Christian and Moslem Arabs; and Arabs and Jews in Israel, in general. The dimensions of evaluation, symmetry, and differentiation were applied to seemingly heterogeneous content and yielded three hypotheses: (1) group membership is positively related to evaluation; (2) status differential between groups is inversely related to symmetry of evaluations; and (3) identity/ intergroup perception evolves through stages of differentiation, ambivalence, and integration. The hypotheses fit the data, especially when changes in self and mutual evaluations are taken into account.     

Factors affecting emigration intentions in the diaspora population: The case of Russian Jews

The present study formulated a new theoretical model predicting emigration intentions in diaspora populations and tested it among Jews living in Russia. The study sample consisted of Jews and their relatives living in the vicinity of five large cities in Russia (n = 824). The results obtained demonstrated that a more negative attitude toward the country of residence and a more positive attitude toward the historical homeland were associated with stronger emigration intentions. A higher preference for the self-enhancement values and a lower preference for the conservation values were associated with stronger emigration intentions. The effect of the self-enhancement values on emigration intentions was complex: while their direct effect was positive, their indirect effect (through attitude toward Russia) was negative. The effect of the conservation values on emigration intentions was indirect (through attitudes toward Russia and Israel). Perceived socioeconomic conditions in the country of residence affected emigration intentions indirectly, through attitude toward Russia, whereby a higher level of perceived discrimination and a lower level of perceived economic conditions were associated with a less positive attitude toward Russia and stronger emigration intentions. Jewish identification also affected emigration intentions indirectly, through its positive connection with attitude toward Israel. Age negatively affected emigration intentions, both directly and indirectly (through its effect on values and perceived economic conditions). Religiosity and family ethnic composition affected emigration intentions indirectly, whereby a lower level of religiosity and a higher proportion of Jewish relatives in the family were associated with stronger emigration intentions.     

Entertainment and Stereotype: Representation of the Palestinian Arab Citizens of Israel in Reality Shows on Israeli Television

The present study aims to gain an understanding of the patterns of representation and appearances of Palestinian citizens of Israel in the genre of reality shows in Israel. This genre has become extremely dominant in the television-broadcasting schedule. The mere fact that Arab people are visually present in TV entertainment, and in reality shows more specifically, should not lead us to conclude that Israeli TV is witnessing a move toward pluralism. It is important to examine the precise mode of representation of the “others.” That is to say: we must look at the visibility of Arab participants in those reality shows in which they appear (research question 1); how Arabs are represented in such programs (research question 2), and at the types of interaction between Arabs and other, Jewish-majority, participants in the program (research question 3). Content analyses were conducted for all reality shows broadcast on Israel's commercial TV channels between 2003 and 2007 that included Arab participants. Results show the reality show genre is still firmly ruled by a Jewish hegemony that represents the Palestinian Arab as the “other” and that the overwhelming majority of spectators are Jewish.     

Israeli Arabs’ acculturation patterns and attitudes toward honor killings

Many studies on honor killings have been conducted in Arab and Muslim countries, but few have addressed the issue in relation to Arab and Muslim populations living in Western countries, who are influenced by the values of two cultures: their traditional-patriarchal culture of origin and modern-liberal Western culture. The purpose of the present study was to examine the connection between acculturation patterns and attitudes of Israeli Arabs toward honor killings. A structured quantitative questionnaire was administered to a sample of 409 Arab Israeli, 179 men and 230 women, with a mean age of 34.1 (SD = 12.04). The findings show that 44% of study participants adopted a pattern of separation from Israeli society, 37.7% a pattern of integration, 9.5% a pattern of assimilation, and 8.8% a pattern of marginalization. A two-way ANOVA test found an interaction between acculturation patterns and gender in relation to attitudes toward honor killings. The attitudes of women who adopted the assimilation pattern toward honor killings were more negative, whereas men who adopted this pattern showed more positive attitudes toward honor killings. The importance of the study for research and its educational-preventive aspects are described.     

Prejudice: The status politics of spiro AgnewPrejuicio: La politica de status de spiro AgnewPrejuge: La “status politics” de spiro Agnew

The placement of Vice-Président Agnew in the domain of “status politics” led the author to predict an association between attitudes toward Agnew and attitudes toward two minority groups, Jews and Blacks. To test this prediction, 152 second- and third-generation Greek-American males from Cincinnati, Ohio were interviewed during the summer of 1970. The attitudes of the respondents were assessed by Likert and Guttman procedures. Gamma (g) associations ranging from ?.46 to ?.55 were found between the two types of attitudes; negative attitudes toward Jews and Blacks were accompanied by positive attitudes toward Agnew. Generally, the results were in support of the status-politics interpretation of Agnew's politics. The author suggests that Agnew's status politics may have been instrumental to the “interest politics” of the conservative American establishment which was being challenged by the various minorities during the 1960s.     

Psychological well-being and ethnic identities of Jewish adolescents planning emigration from Russia and Ukraine to Israel: Changes during the post-perestroika period

This study examines psychological well-being and ethnic identities of Jewish adolescents planning emigration from Russia and Ukraine to Israel. Measurements were conducted in 1999 (n = 654) and in 2005 (n = 243). The adolescents were questioned about half a year before they left their homeland. In Russia, adolescents who planned emigration in 2005 had less emotional and behavioral problems and suffered less from loneliness than their peers in 1999. In Ukraine, no improvement was found in psychological well-being; moreover, the school competence of adolescents who planned emigration in 2005 was lower compared to their peers in 1999. Adolescents who planned emigration from Russia and Ukraine in 2005 reported a more positive attitude towards their homeland and stronger identification with the ethnic majority in their homeland than the adolescents who planned emigration in 1999. The emigrants’ attitude towards Israel did not change from 1999 to 2005. Their identification with Jews was weaker in 2005 as compared with 1999. In both cohorts, the adolescents’ attitude towards Israel was more positive than their attitude towards Russia or Ukraine, and their identification with Jews was stronger than that with Russians or Ukrainians. In 1999, Russian/Ukrainian and Jewish-Israeli facets of the emigrants’ ethnic identity were contradictory, while they were complementary in 2005.     

Inter-religious feelings of Sunni and Alevi Muslim minorities: The role of religious commitment and host national identification

This paper examines inter-religious attitudes from the perspective of Muslim minorities living in Western Europe. We examine both Sunni and Alevi Muslims of Turkish origin living in Germany and the Netherlands, and focus on their global feelings towards multiple religious out-groups (Christians, Jews, Muslim out-group, and non-believers). We hypothesize that Sunnis would dislike religious out-groups more than Alevis, and that these group differences in religious out-group feelings can be explained by group differences in host national identification and the three B’s of religious commitment: belonging (religious identification), behaviour (religious practices), and belief (liberal values). Sunnis were found to be rather negative towards Alevis, and Alevis were even more negative towards Sunnis. Furthermore, as expected, Alevis had more positive feelings towards Christians, Jews and non-believers, and this was related to their stronger host national identification, lower religious group identification, lower involvement in religious practices, and stronger endorsement of liberal values. We conclude by pointing at the need to distinguish between subgroups of Muslims instead of treating them as a uniform collective.     

Attitudes toward an enemy and personality in a war environment

The aim of the present study was to investigate the effects of war environment on political attitudes toward an enemy and on personality development. High school students from an Israeli town on the border of “Fatahland” and a town in central Israel were asked to fill out: A questionnaire on their political views toward the Israel-Arab conflict and the Repression-Sensitization (R-S) scale (Byrne et al., 1963). Results showed three factors in the students' political views: (a) Return of the Controversial Territories (Samaria, Judea, Gaza Strip, Golan Heights and Sinai); (bj Credibility of the Arabs in negotiation; (c) The policy of the previous government in its return of certain territories in Sinai.It was found that the students in the border town were less opposed to return the Controversial Territories than the students in the non-border town. Repressers in both towns gave more credibility to the Arabs in negotiation than did sensitizers. Girls agreed more with the policy of the previous government in its return of the territories in Sinai than boys. Results also showed that the students in the border area as well as boys in both towns were more repressive in their personality type than the students in the more peaceful area and girls of both towns respectively.     

Perceived threat and Israeli Jews’ evaluations of Russian immigrants: the moderating role of Jewish and Israeli identity

The study examined the moderating effect of Israeli and Jewish identity on the relations between perceived relative personal threat as well as perceived group threat and Israeli Jews’ evaluations of Russian immigrants’ attributes. Results revealed that, with regard to perceived relative personal threat, among low Jewish identity and high Israeli identity participants, perceived relative personal threat was negatively related to the evaluations of immigrants. In contrast, among high Jewish and low Israeli identity participants, perceived relative personal threat was associated positively with evaluations of immigrants. Concerning perceived group threat, evaluations of immigrants by participants of low Israeli identity, as compared to high Israeli identity, and high Jewish identity as compared to low Jewish identity, were more positive mainly at lower levels of perceived group threat. Based on the Common Ingroup Identity Model, the results are interpreted by viewing Israeli Jews and immigrants as two subgroups contained in a superordinate group, namely the Jewish people.     

Understanding others Kellyian theory,methodology and applicationComprendre les autres la théorie de Kelly: methodologie et applicationEntendimiemto de los otros la teoría de Kelly: metodología y applicación

This article discusses Kelly's theory of personal constructs and its Repertory grid technique as means of revealing the nature of cultural differences and similarities. It shows how Kelly's theory relates to cognitive theory, implicit personality theory and subjective culture theory. According to Kelly, people and groups are best understood in terms of the ways they anticipate events. People are all psychologists since they employ constructs. These bases of discrimination are bipolar in nature and open to revision. A group's culture is summarized by its members' shared superordinate constructs. Kelly's Commonality Corollary explains that members of a group are similar because they use the same constructs to order events. Kelly's Sociality Corollary states that, in order to enter into a relationship with others, people need first to subsume the others' personal constructs. His custom-built Repertory grid elicits constructs by having a person decide how in a matrix other people, for example, are similar and different. In the rated grid form, each person or element is rated from most to least on the positive pole of each construct. Either principal components or cluster analysis or multidimensional scaling can reveal the interviewed person's superordinate dimensions of appraisal. As an emic technique, the grid is contrasted with the semantic differential and other fixed-format tests. A review of the personal construct literature shows that many individuals and cultural groups have been explained in their own terms. In this research, difference is construed as interesting and others are understood by construing their construction processes as a first step towards approval.     

Does religion matter? Italians’ responses towards Muslim and Christian Arab immigrants as a function of their acculturation preferences

A 2 × 2 × 2 experiment examined the role of immigrants’ religion and perceived acculturation strategy on majority members’ attitudes. Acculturation strategies were manipulated along the two dimensions of contact and culture maintenance. Italian majority members (N = 247) read fictitious but seemingly real interviews with Arab immigrants, in which the immigrants’ religion (Muslim vs. Christian) and acculturation preferences (desire for contact and for culture maintenance) were manipulated. MANOVA showed a main effect of contact: majority members associated immigrants who were perceived to favour contact with more positive attitudes, empathy, trust, positive stereotypes and metastereotypes, and lower levels of threat. MANOVA also showed a main effect of culture maintenance: when immigrants were perceived to abandon their culture, majority members reported lower levels of symbolic threat and greater empathy towards them. A significant Religion x Culture maintenance interaction effect emerged on majority members’ stereotypes and contact intentions: Muslim immigrants who were perceived to abandon their heritage culture elicited more favourable responses than Muslim immigrants who were perceived to maintain their heritage culture. Taken together, these findings suggest that desire for intergroup contact amongst immigrants, independently of their religion, can promote harmonious intergroup relations with the majority group.     

Symmetrical and asymmetrical interethnic perception in Israel

Asymmetrical ethnic perception within the Israeli population has been demonstrated by several past studies. Jews of Western origin generally revealed unfavorable attitudes toward Jews from Oriental origin, whereas the latter group revealed favorable attitudes toward Jews of Western origin and related less favorably toward themselves. The present study raises the question whether there exists an unequivocal assymmetry in interethnic perception in Israel, or whether under specific conditions, in which close contact between the groups exists, and where the status of Orientals is equal to that of the Westerners, asymmetry might not be found. Ethnic stereotypes were investigated among 463 students in vocational high schools. The findings show the emergence of symmetrical ethnic perception within that population. Symmetry has reached its optimal level among children of mixed parentage, who rated equally—Western or Oriental Israelis. In addition, contrary to previous results, students of Oriental origin did not differ from Western students in their attitudes toward Arabs. The difference between the present study and previous studies is discussed.