Immigrants' ethnic provocation in the art created by the Russian-Israeli Generation 1.5

Ethnic trauma in migration: FSU-born Israeli women’s narratives in an online support group

“…The unmet expectations and downward social mobility of their families have surfaced among Generation 1.5 in three related forms: Post-Soviet nostalgia and idealization of Soviet childhood (Moshkin, 2019); provocative and critical art depicting the everyday life of Russian immigrants (Prashizky, 2021); and the emerging discourse of ethnic trauma described in this article. These critical narratives challenge Zionist ethos and the image of Aliya as homecoming still widely shared by Israelis.…”

“…The (post)Soviet Aliya of the 1990s, often presented as self-sufficient and successful, unexpectedly shows its underside, telling the story of loss and humiliation. This discursive turn reflects the public activism of Generation 1.5 – journalists, bloggers, artists and poets who advanced the trauma narrative by revealing their hidden wounds (Prashizky, 2021). Hundreds of autobiographical stories recently published by the FB forum reinforced this trend in a concentrated way, making claims about the collective ethnic trauma of Russian-Israeli Generation 1.5.…”

“…The image of ex-Soviet Aliya as educated and upwardly mobile (particularly in comparison with Olim from the Arab countries and Ethiopia) is common in Israeli social science and public opinion (Halamish, 2018; Smooha, 2008). In recent years, this upbeat view has been challenged by the activists of Russian-Israeli Generation 1.5 (aka Gen 1.5), who brought to public scrutiny the negative ethnic and sexual stereotyping, occupational downgrading, and social exclusion experienced by their parents and themselves during their initial years in Israel (Prashizky, 2021; Remennick and Prashizky, 2019).…”