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All of the Above: Identity Paradoxes of Young People in Israel

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All of the Above: Identity Paradoxes of Young People in Israel All of the Above: Identity Paradoxes of Young People in Israel The 3rd Youth Study of the Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung Changes in National, Societal, and Personal Attitudes Published by: Dr. Ralf Hexel and Dr. Roby Nathanson Editor: Hagar Tzameret-Kertcher Researchers: Prof. Eppie Ya'ar, Dr. Mina Zemach, Dr. Taghreed Yahia-Younis, Dahlia Scheindlin, Yasmin Alkalai, Ziv Rubin Commentators: MK Isaac Herzog, Minister, MK Michael Eitan, Minister, MK Shlomo Molla, David Hadari, Sha’anan Street, Ibtisam Mara'ana, Prof. Bernard Avishai, Prof. Natan Sznaider, Prof. Mathias Albert, Boris Zaidman Translator: Sandy Bloom 2010 1 © All Copyrights belong to the Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung. The authors are the sole responsible for the contents of the articles which do not reflect the opinion of the editors or the Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung. © 2010 by Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung, Israel office and Macro Center for Political Economics Cover by Assaf Ben-Ari, [email protected] Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung p.o box 12235 Herzliya 46733 Israel Tel. +972-9-9514760 E-Mail [email protected] ISBN 978-965-7523-08-7 Printed in Israel 2 Content Introduction Dr. Ralf Hexel 5 Part One: Analysis of Findings Chapter 1 Preface and Summary 11 Chapter 2 Attitude Survey Results: Social-Political Identities of Israeli Youth Dr. Mina Zemach 31 Chapter 3 Political and Social Attitudes of Israeli Youth: Trends over Time Prof. Eppie Ya'ar and Yasmin Alkalai 121 Chapter 4 Israeli Youth - Where Are They Headed? Analysis of Political Trends Based on a Quantitative Research Study Dahlia Scheindlin 218 Chapter 5 Social and Political Viewpoints and Attitudes of Arab-Palestinian Youth in Israel Dr. Taghreed Yahia-Younis 245 Chapter 6 Face to Face: Interviews with Adolescents and Young Adults in Israel Dr. Mina Tzemach 281 Part Two: Commentary on Youth in Israel Chapter 7 Response to the Report on the Identity of Israeli Youth, 2010, with a Focus on Youth at Risk MK Isaac (Buji) Herzog, Minister 347 Chapter 8 The Young Generation’s Vision: What Kind of Country Would They Like Israel to Be? MK Michael Eitan, Minister 355 Chapter 9 Attitudes and Identity of Ethiopian Youth in Israel MK Shlomo Molla 363 Chapter 10 Youth at Performances of "Hadag Nahash": The Law of Conservation of Energy Sha’anan Streett 368 Chapter 11 Young Arab Women in Israel: The Impossible Integration of Gender and Ethnicity Ibtisam Mara’ana 375 3 Chapter 12 Isra-Russian Youth: Post-Israeli Nationalism or Post-Jewish Zionism? Boris Zaidman 382 Chapter 13 "The Smallest Shall Become a Thousand, and the Least a Mighty Nation" (Isaiah 60:22) David Hadari 390 Chapter 14 Young People in Israel - 2010: Comments on a conducted survey Prof. Natan Sznaider 400 Chapter 15 American Jews and the Attitudes of Young Israelis Prof. Bernard Avishai 407 Chapter 16 Israeli Youth, 2010: Refractions through the Prism of the German Shell Youth Study, 2010 Prof. Mathias Albert 416 Part Three: Background Information and Demographics Chapter 17 Periodic Demographic Data about Israeli Youth Ziv Rubin 425 About the Authors 443 4 Introduction The 2010 Youth Study of the Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung constitutes the third survey conducted by the Foundation in collaboration with the Macro Center for Political Economics. Its purpose was to examine the attitudes and ideological perceptions of adolescents and young adults in Israel. The impetus for the first study was the occasion of Israel's fiftieth Independence Day in 1998. The second survey of the series took place in 2004, in the very midst of the Second Intifada, and the third and final one took place in 2010. Thus the results of the third survey, in this book that appears before you, enable us to examine changes and trends that took place over twelve years in the attitudes and ideological perceptions of Israeli youth. All three surveys polled members of the same age groups and asked questions that belonged to the same subject groupings: the situation and status of Israel in general, the personal expectations of the respondents regarding their futures and personal happiness, and their attitudes toward the following issues: Zionism, the State's democracy and institutions, minorities in Israel, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, Germany and the Holocaust. For the first time, in-depth interviews were conducted with 80 youths in the 2010 Youth Study to complement the survey and provide a more profound understanding of its findings. The main goals of Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung activities involve strengthening of democracy and encouraging the active involvement of citizens in molding politics and society. To promote these goals, the Foundation is assisted by its representatives in Israel (since 1978). The Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung uses a broad variety of methods and resources such as conventions and workshops, international dialogue programs, publications, training courses, research studies and surveys. In its activities, the Foundation places an emphasis on training adolescents and young adults and providing them with the 5 knowledge, educational, and discussion skills they need in order to to take part in social and political processes while expressing their aspirations and attitudes. The results of the study in front of us document the reality of the lives of youth who face a world that lacks security and clarity. Their attitudes and values are influenced by life in the State of Israel: after 62 years of existence, Israel still feels threatened by its neighbors and is far from making peace with the Palestinians and Arabs in general. To this mix we add the financial and general global crisis of 2008-2009, as well as the challenges that accompany climate changes and globalization. All these serve to demonstrate just how limited is the scope of the nation-state and its institutions, with regards to spheres of action and influence. Thus we ask: What can youth rely on, in our day and age? What can possibly inspire them? Where will they find stability and security? Who can serve as role-models in the formative years of their lives? Their values, attitudes and identities are fashioned when they wrestle with these questions and others. From the youths' points of view we can extrapolate how our society is likely to look in the not-too-distant future. These viewpoints serve as seismographs for societal changes and future developments. The third youth survey (2010) of the Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung shows that our youth have developed a dialectic response to the reality of a complex, contradiction-laden world. In general, they have created a basic pattern of "All of the above": this worldview does not resolve the contradictions in their perceptions of reality, but integrates them into their personal attitudes. Basically, while the youth are in favor of peace with the Palestinians, many reject compromises in the peace process and prefer the status quo. They view democracy as an important basic value, yet about half would prefer that Arab Israelis were not represented in the Knesset. The complex and emotionally charged circumstances of their country do not arouse their general fear or apathy. Instead, the youth display robustly positive, optimistic attitudes vis-á-vis everything connected to their hopes for the future and their personal welfare, future marital partner, family and profession. Their attitude toward politics and politicians is patently negative. This trend was accompanied by a progressive decrease in trust in liberal-democratic 6 values and government institutions; simultaneously, Jewish-national outlooks progressively increased. According to religious youth, mainly haredi ones, the Jewish nature of the State and society are significantly more important than democracy. With regards to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict: the conventional wisdom among Jewish youth is that the Arabs do not acknowledge the existence of the State of Israel and if they had the opportunity, they would destroy it. The attitudes of the young Arabs are very different than those of their Jewish contemporaries. They feel that acquiring a higher education is of greatest importance; they, like minority groups in other societies, view education as the springboard to social advancement and economic welfare. At the same time, the young Arabs feel that they are not sufficiently integrated into Israeli society. They exhibit worrisome levels of alienation, especially in the in-depth interviews that were conducted. These attitudes of youth in Israel do not portend well for the chances of peace-making between Israel and its Arab neighbors. With regard to Israel's future as a democratic and pluralistic society, the attitudes described above represent a major challenge to those social and political agents who are committed to the values and goals of the founding fathers of the State of Israel. Israeli youth of 2010 evinced more interest in the Holocaust than did their corresponding age-group in 1998. While 68% of youths in 1998 said they were personally interested in the Holocaust, that figure went up to 81% twelve years later, in 2010. Thus it seems that the Holocaust has become an important unifying force in Israeli society. It should be noted that this Holocaust interest is not directly connected to modern-day Germany. While the youth are aware of the role played by the Germans in the genocide, today's Germany is generally viewed as a different country, one that is friendly to Israel. Yet, though the attitudes of Israeli youth vis-á-vis Germany have undergone a significant improvement since 1998, the Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung has no intentions of attempting to sideline the Holocaust memory in its activities. As expressed by Germany's former president Johannes Rau, in his speech to the Knesset in 2000 - it is important that lessons from the past continue to serve as the firm basis of the mutual shaping of the future. 7 The study in front of us is composed of two parts.
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