Between tikkun olam and self-defense: Young Jewish Americans debate the Israeli-Palestinian conflict
Author(s) / Creator(s)
Ben Hagai, Ella
Zurbriggen, Eileen L.
Abstract / Description
In this study, we examined processes associated with ingroup members’ break from their ingroup and solidarity with the outgroup. We explored these processes by observing the current dramatic social change in which a growing number of young Jewish Americans have come to reject Israel’s treatment of the Palestinians. We conducted a yearlong participant observation and in-depth interviews with 27 Jewish American college students involved in Israel advocacy on a college campus. Findings suggest that Jewish Americans entering the Jewish community in college came to learn about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict through a lens of Jewish vulnerability. A bill proposed by Palestinian solidarity organizations to divest from companies associated with Israel (part of the Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions or BDS movement) was also interpreted through the lens of Israel's vulnerability. As the college’s Student Union debated the bill, a schism emerged in the Jewish community. Some Jewish students who had a strong sense of their Jewish identity and grounded their Judaism in principles of social justice exhibited a greater openness to the Palestinian narrative of the conflict. Understanding of Palestinian dispossession was associated with the rejection of the mainstream Jewish establishment’s unconditional support of Israel. Moreover, dissenting Jewish students were concerned that others in the campus community would perceive them as denying the demands of people of color. We discuss our observations of the process of social change in relation to social science theories on narrative acknowledgment and collective action.
Keyword(s)
Jewish Americans narratives Israel BDS collective action victimhood activism social change diaspora intra-group conflictPersistent Identifier
Date of first publication
2017-04-05
Journal title
Journal of Social and Political Psychology
Volume
5
Issue
1
Page numbers
173–199
Publisher
PsychOpen GOLD
Publication status
publishedVersion
Review status
peerReviewed
Is version of
Citation
Ben Hagai, E., & Zurbriggen, E. L. (2017). Between tikkun olam and self-defense: Young Jewish Americans debate the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Journal of Social and Political Psychology, 5(1), 173–199. https://doi.org/10.5964/jspp.v5i1.629
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jspp.v5i1.629.pdfAdobe PDF - 585.09KBMD5: e2a80673a4640cc513f8e4332b9c37c2
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There are no other versions of this object.
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Author(s) / Creator(s)Ben Hagai, Ella
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Author(s) / Creator(s)Zurbriggen, Eileen L.
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PsychArchives acquisition timestamp2018-11-26T12:45:13Z
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Made available on2018-11-26T12:45:13Z
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Date of first publication2017-04-05
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Abstract / DescriptionIn this study, we examined processes associated with ingroup members’ break from their ingroup and solidarity with the outgroup. We explored these processes by observing the current dramatic social change in which a growing number of young Jewish Americans have come to reject Israel’s treatment of the Palestinians. We conducted a yearlong participant observation and in-depth interviews with 27 Jewish American college students involved in Israel advocacy on a college campus. Findings suggest that Jewish Americans entering the Jewish community in college came to learn about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict through a lens of Jewish vulnerability. A bill proposed by Palestinian solidarity organizations to divest from companies associated with Israel (part of the Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions or BDS movement) was also interpreted through the lens of Israel's vulnerability. As the college’s Student Union debated the bill, a schism emerged in the Jewish community. Some Jewish students who had a strong sense of their Jewish identity and grounded their Judaism in principles of social justice exhibited a greater openness to the Palestinian narrative of the conflict. Understanding of Palestinian dispossession was associated with the rejection of the mainstream Jewish establishment’s unconditional support of Israel. Moreover, dissenting Jewish students were concerned that others in the campus community would perceive them as denying the demands of people of color. We discuss our observations of the process of social change in relation to social science theories on narrative acknowledgment and collective action.en_US
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Publication statuspublishedVersion
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Review statuspeerReviewed
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CitationBen Hagai, E., & Zurbriggen, E. L. (2017). Between tikkun olam and self-defense: Young Jewish Americans debate the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Journal of Social and Political Psychology, 5(1), 173–199. https://doi.org/10.5964/jspp.v5i1.629en_US
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ISSN2195-3325
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Persistent Identifierhttps://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12034/1430
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Persistent Identifierhttps://doi.org/10.23668/psycharchives.1767
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Language of contenteng
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PublisherPsychOpen GOLD
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Is version ofhttps://doi.org/10.5964/jspp.v5i1.629
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Keyword(s)Jewish Americansen_US
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Keyword(s)narrativesen_US
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Keyword(s)Israelen_US
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Keyword(s)BDSen_US
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Keyword(s)collective actionen_US
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Keyword(s)victimhooden_US
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Keyword(s)activismen_US
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Keyword(s)social changeen_US
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Keyword(s)diasporaen_US
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Keyword(s)intra-group conflicten_US
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Dewey Decimal Classification number(s)150
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TitleBetween tikkun olam and self-defense: Young Jewish Americans debate the Israeli-Palestinian conflicten_US
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DRO typearticle
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Issue1
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Journal titleJournal of Social and Political Psychology
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Page numbers173–199
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Volume5
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Visible tag(s)Version of Record