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.     

Criminal activity among Jewish and Arab youth in Israel

This study examines data deriving from the self-reported criminal activities of Israeli Jewish and Arab street corner youth and junior and senior high-school students in Israel. Differences were found between the groups as regards type and levels of criminal activity. The findings indicate that (a) street corner youth committed more crimes than did students; (b) Arab juveniles committed more crimes than did Jewish juveniles; and (c) Arab street corner youth committed more crimes than did members of the other groups. The data are analyzed to determine if the differences revealed between the two ethnic groups reflect (a) possible discrimination against Arab juveniles by the criminal justice system in Israel, and (b) the influence of Arab-Jewish tensions in the region. Special attention is given to the types of juvenile crime typically committed during the current disorders in the occupied territories.     

Arab Contributions to World Knowledge: A Contemporary Curriculum Imperative

American K-12 school curricula are often bereft of acknowledgements of the historical contributions of Arab societies to our present-day intellectual heritage, an oversight most apparent in the sciences. Teachers in a thriving democracy are obliged to introduce contemporary scholarship that reflects the contributions of Arab scientists between the period of 850 and 1200 in the larger area of the Middle East. This article illuminates significant Arab scientists in history and offers appropriate resources for the K-12 classroom.     

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.     

Bargaining with the system: A mixed-methods study of Arab teachers in Israel

Research on minority-majority relations usually focuses on the impact of the hegemony on everyday life. In this study we chose to focus on the way minority teachers bargain with the power relations within their work environment as a microcosm of their strategies in the social arena in general. 163 Arab-Israeli secondary-school teachers completed an online questionnaire and were matched with 163 Jewish teachers according to demographic variables. 25 of the 163 teachers completed the optional open-ended question that comprised the data for the qualitative analysis. In the quantitative analysis, we found that Arab teachers showed less knowledge of the Ministry of Education guidelines regarding teachers’ freedom of speech, conducted fewer discussions of Controversial Public Issues (CPI) and rated the importance of their role as promoting active citizenship lower than their Jewish counterparts. In the qualitative analysis, three main strategies Arab teachers use emerged: ‘evasion’, ‘toning down’ and ‘promoting a shared society’. Arab teachers negotiate between their needs for self-preservation, and their national and professional identities in an implicit cost-benefit assessment. This analysis coincides with Kandiyoti’s (1988) model of women’s bargaining with the patriarchy, corresponding to Arab teachers as a governed minority group that negotiates with the hegemony. In each strategy, there is a different balance between the personal benefits, the risks involved, and the community interests one has in mind. The research sheds light on the precarious position of Arab teachers in Israel, and the flexibility that they are pressed to employ in order to muddle through.     

Social axioms and acculturation orientations of English Canadians toward British and Arab Muslim immigrants

The goal of this study was to examine the role of Social Axioms in the endorsement of acculturation orientations held by members of the receiving society toward immigrants. Acculturation orientations of English Canadian undergraduates toward immigrants from Britain and immigrants of Arab Muslim background were measured. Respondents also completed the Social Axioms Survey (SAS) measuring five basic dimensions of social beliefs. A total of 349 undergraduate students (278 female, 71 male) attending a Southern Ontario University in Canada participated in the study. Results showed that participants endorsed the welcoming acculturation orientations, Individualism, Integrationism, and Intergrationism-transformation, more toward culturally close (British) than culturally distant (Arab Muslim) immigrants. Participants also endorsed the unwelcoming acculturation orientations, Assimilationism, Segregationism, and Exclusionism, more toward Arab Muslim than British immigrants. Additionally, social beliefs were related to the acculturation orientations held by English Canadian undergraduates toward immigrants of both British and Arab Muslim origin. More specifically, Religiosity beliefs were associated with the endorsement of Assimilationist, Segregationist and Exclusionist acculturation orientations toward culturally distant and not toward culturally close immigrants.     

China,Arab States to Co-build the Belt and the Road in Cultural Field

The China-Arab States Forum of Cultural Ministers under the framework of the 3rd Arab Arts Festival took place at the National Mu- seum of China in Beijing on Septem- ber 10. The participants from the offi- cial cultural delegations of China, 10 Arab states and the League of Arab States conducted discussion and ex- changed views on such topics as increas- ing cultural exchange and cooperation, co-building the Belt （the Silk Road Eco- nomic Belt） and the Road （the 21st-cen- tury Maritime Silk Road） in the field of culture, and enhancing people-to-peo- ple communication. Chinese cultural minister Cai Wu and cultural ministers of the 19 participating Arab States ad- opted the Beijing Declaration.     

Arab Mediterranean youth's values: The role of values and value congruence on intentions to Emigrate

This paper analyses the role of personal values, value congruence and intentions to emigrate among Middle East and North Africa (MENA) youth. We use a survey data set (N = 8.087) from Algeria, Egypt, Lebanon, Morocco, and Tunisia, collected among respondents aged 15–29. Results showed that beyond demographic characteristics, such as being male, highly educated and not having a job, personal values predicted higher chances of reporting intentions to emigrate. Logistic regression results showed that stimulation and achievement values predicted higher, and tradition values predicted lower chances of reporting intentions to emigrate. Furthermore, value congruence (i.e., having similar values as those of most of their co-nationals) was related to lower chances of reporting intentions to emigrate. These results support the notion that those who intend to emigrate differ from their co-nationals in terms of value priorities. We discuss the policy implications of our findings.     

Cross-cultural differences in attitudes towards disabled persons: A study of Jewish and Arab youth in Israel

Cultural values may be seen as the primary determinants of altitudes towards deviant or exceptional persons. The present study deals with the attitudes of Jewish and Arab youth in Israel towards the disabled as a function of cultural identity, existence of contact with a disabled person, and type of disability (blindness, amputation, facial disfigurement, or confinement to a wheelchair).A sample of 510 Jews and 655 Arabs filled out the Yuker Altitudes Towards Disabled Persons Scale (ATDP). The results indicated that overall, Jews were more positive towards the disabled than Arabs. Furthermore, the existence of previous contact with a disabled person was a positive factor in the formation of the Jews' attitudes, and a negative factor for the Arabs. In their ranking of different types of disability, Jews and Arabs differed significantly.The results are interpreted in the context of modern versus traditional cultures, whereby the Jewish youths' more tolerant Western approach seems to engender a more positive attitude than the Arab youths' conservative values.     

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.     

Beyond cultural differences: The sociopolitical impact on supervision between Arab supervisees and Jewish supervisors in Israel

Little attention has been given to the cultural and political aspects of the supervisory relationship between Arab Palestinian supervisees and Jewish Israeli supervisors in medical psychology in Israel. This paper presents a focus group of five interns and certified medical psychologists of Arab Palestinian origin who describe their experiences and relationships with their Jewish supervisors. Constant comparison analysis revealed three main themes: fusion between professional and national identities, gaps that go beyond the cultural differences, and a sense of alienation and isolation in the supervision setting. The findings indicate the inevitable presence of the political conflict in the supervision relationship and correspond with findings for other professions such as social work. Clinical and theoretical implications are discussed and practical recommendations for supervisors are offered.     

Using human figure drawing as a tool for examining self-perception and emotional attitudes among Jewish and Arab children in Israel

The study examined ingroup and outgroup perceptions among Jewish and Arab children in Israel. The sample comprised 191 children aged 10–12, 131 Jewish and 60 Arab participants who live in a mixed city. The main instrument used to examine the children's perceptions was a multidimensional analysis of Jewish and Arab figures drawn by the participants, as well as a questionnaire relating to the drawn figures. The findings revealed that, even though they lived in a mixed city and studied in the same classes, the Jewish children differentiated between the figures and overwhelmingly preferred Jewish figures to Arab figures. Moreover, they revealed negative stereotypes and expressed aggression in drawings of Arab figures. In contrast, among the Arab participants, the findings were inconsistent. In most of the variables, they did not distinguish between the various figures. However, in the quality variables, they tended to prefer figures of their own nationality and rejected Jewish figures. The findings are discussed in relation to the context of the residential environment (a mixed city), majority-minority status, and the Israeli-Arab conflict.     

Orientations to Interpersonal Arguing in the United Arab Emirates,with Comparisons to the United States,China, and India

United Arab Emirates (UAE) is currently a hub of 200 nationalities with a variety of lifestyles and religions. Nonetheless, the attitudes of locals towards reasoning with others have not yet been investigated. This investigation studied fundamental orientations to arguing among UAE residents (N = 157), with a range of self-report instruments including argument frames, personalization of conflict, argumentativeness, and verbal aggressiveness. Data analysis showed that UAE respondents had responses comparable to three comparison countries (US, India, and China) in terms of argument motives, but they manifested differences regarding argument frames and taking conflict personally. These are discussed in relation to cultural dimensions and their significance for business and education.     

Exploring the other side of cultural boundary-crossing teaching in the polarized Israeli society: Jewish teachers from the majority group who teach at the Arab minority's schools

One of the methods of multicultural societies for advancing a shared society is cross-cultural teaching. Commonly, teachers from the majority group apply to teaching at the majority's schools through the acculturation process. The current study, however, illuminates the understudied situation, in which teachers of the Jewish majority group in Israel teach at the Arab minority's schools. Our findings indicate that these Jewish teachers are mostly motivated by their ideology and moral values, mainly a yearning to bridge between two hostile societies. These teachers' integration into the minority's schools is challenging due to cultural differences, lack of familiarity with Arabic, and difficulties introducing informal pedagogy, that is not common in Arab schools, discipline problems among students, and a challenging national-political discourse.     

"If only they forgot that I was Syrian and an Arab,I am a human beings too." Syrian university students' experiences of being a foreigner: A phenomenological study

Migration is voluntary or forced relocation of individuals from a familiar physical, social, and cultural environment to an unfamiliar one. While migration is a challenging experience, traumatic experiences that happened before and after migrating may have numerous adverse effects. The aim of this study was to evaluate Syrian nursing students’ experiences of being a foreigner before and after migration and throughout their university lives. Phenomenology, which is a qualitative research design, was used in this study. The study was conducted with 16 Syrian university students’ in Turkey. Data was collected through semi-structured, face-to-face, in-depth interviews. Data was analyzed using interpretive phenomenological analysis, which yielded four main themes and 19 subthemes. The four themes were traumatic experiences that caused them to migrate, problems after migrating, being a foreigner at a Turkish university, and psychological issues. The results show that migration has numerous physical, social, cultural, and mental effects on human lives.