State-Controlled Education and Identity Formation Among the Palestinian Arab Minority in Israel

Abstract

In many modern nation-states, national identity is not inclusive of all of the state’s citizens; rather, it is limited (in varying degrees) to the members of the dominant group. Because such states are structurally unable to meet indigenous/minority groups’ basic human needs for identity, inclusion, and equality, the formation of ethnically based identity and political organization is a natural alternative. To the extent that such alternatives are considered threatening to the state, it will deal with indigenous/minority groups by developing systems of control, based on varying degrees of force, depending on the state’s claim (or lack thereof) to be “democratic.” In this article, the author examines the role the state educational system plays in identity formation and the state’s system of control among indigenous Palestinian youth in Israel.

Coping Resources as Explanatory Factors of Stress Reactions During Missile Attacks: Comparing Jewish and Arab Adolescents in Israel

“…The identity of this minority is complex as well. On the one hand, they are separated from other Arab countries, but, on the other, as citizens of Israel they have not been integrated into Israeli society (Abu-Saad 2006).…”

Narrating Modernity and Tradition: The Case of Palestinian Food in Israel

“…Although granted formal citizenship, they live in an "ethnic state" in which national identity is not inclusive of all of the state's citizens, but rather is limited to the members of one ethnic group. The Israeli state developed an extensive system for marginalizing and controlling Palestinian people based on segmentation, collaboration, and dependence (Yiftachel 1999;Kemp 1999;Abu-Saad 2006;Lustick 1980;Rouhana 1998). Through massive confiscation of Palestinian Arab lands (Gavison 1999;Lustick 1980), Palestinians became economically dependent on the state's infrastructure.…”

Intertwining Tradition with Modernity: The Case of Palestinian Restaurants in Israel

“…For Palestinians, modernisation entails an adoption of life patterns perceived as more Western and more suited to the specific demands and needs of the Palestinian public. It brings about a rise in educational level, greater professional opportunity, gradual entry into the middle class, recognition of their equal rights in Israel and the consumption of new products (Bishara 1993, Pappé 1994, Al-Haj 1997, Yiftachel 1999, Rabinowitz and Abu-Baker 2002, Blumen and Halevi 2005, Levi 2005, Soen 2005, Jabareen 2006, Abu-Saad 2006, Gvion 2009). …”