Arab-Israeli Identity
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| View overlooking East Jerusalem, with West Bank barrier visible |
As we read Sayed Kashua's Second Person Singular, we are introduced to a new component of identity that has not appeared much in this class before. Almost all of our readings before now have been devoted to how religious identity plays a role in defining how people view themselves and the city of Jerusalem. However, in the modern era, religion is one of many components of an individual's self identification. One major element of identity, one which can incorporate religious affiliation, is national identity. National identity is especially important in examining the conflict between Israelis and Palestinians, as it is much a conflict between nations as it is a conflict between religious groups. Second Person Singular explores the complexity of living as an Arab Israeli, and how factors like religion, national identity, citizenship, and social class can all influence that identity.
I wanted to look more into the realities of being an Arab living in Israel, and how that impacts the way one identifies. I found an interesting sociological journal article by Halleli Pinson that interviewed Arab and Palestinian high school students living in Israel, and how they identified themselves and their relationship to the Israeli identity. Some of the more interesting concepts introduced by Pinson are that of "Israelization" and "Palestinization". Israelization is the concept of integrating Palestinian and Arab citizens of Israel as equal citizens, while Palestinization is the concept of strengthening Palestinian national identity in contrast to an Israeli identity. Much of the complexity in choosing to identify more an as Israeli versus a Palestinian comes from the religious component of either identity; while Israel strives to be a democratic and egalitarian society, it also holds an inherently discriminatory element in defining itself "as a Jewish state" (Pinson 204). Many Palestinians, who are Muslims, feel that being Jewish is such a core part of being Israeli they cannot identify themselves as Israelis. One of the students interviewed by Pinson states he feels "that to be Israeli you must be Jewish", and so he cannot identify himself as Israeli (Pinson 207). To some people, religious identity and national identity are not that far divorced.
Second Person Singular has taken to a view of Jerusalem based on individuals, opening up more complexities in understanding the city than a purely historical-religious scheme of examination.
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Image from Wikimedia Commons, provided by user Валерий Дед.
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