Etnicity, ethnic conflict and the meaning of work among Jews and Arabs in Israel

Moshe Sharabi

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceedingChapterpeer-review

Abstract

This exploratory research examines the Meaning of Work (MOW) of 1201 Jews and286 Arabs, (or Palestinians that have Israeli citizenship), who are working in the Israelilabor market. It is a unique study since there are very few studies on cultural values andno studies on work values, which compare between different ethnic groups who havebeen living in the same country/ land for more than fifty years. While the work valuesamong Jews in Israel have been studied for several decades, there has been no attempt tostudy work values among the Israeli Arabs and it is the first time that the MOW of IsraeliArabs is examined and compared to Jews' MOW. Between the two ethnic groups whohave different cultures, there is alienation, mistrust and social tension that stems mainlyfrom the escalating ethnic conflict (the regional Israeli-Arab/Palestinian conflict). Thefindings reveal significant differences in most of the MOW core dimensions. Arabs'work centrality is significantly higher than Jews' work centrality, while Jews economicand intrinsic orientations are higher than that of Arabs. There were no differencesbetween Jews and Arabs regarding interpersonal orientation. The demographic variablesexplained very low percentage of the variance related to the MOW indices among Jewsand Arabs. The MOW differences between Arabs and Jews can be explained by thecultural differences (individualistic Jewish culture vs. collectivistic Arab culture), by highdegree of segregation, by the employment discrimination and primarily by the Israeli-Arab/Palestinian conflict.

Original languageEnglish
Title of host publicationMinority Groups
Subtitle of host publicationCoercion, Discrimination, Exclusion, Deviance and the Quest for Equality
PublisherNova Science Publishers, Inc.
Pages151-166
Number of pages16
ISBN (Print)9781621008446
StatePublished - Jan 2012

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • General Social Sciences

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