Constructing Self, Constructing Others: Jewish-Israeli Perceptions of Palestinians and Germans

in Israel Studies Review
Author:
Tal Litvak-Hirsch
Search for other papers by Tal Litvak-Hirsch in
Current site
Google Scholar
PubMed
Close
,
Dan Bar-On
Search for other papers by Dan Bar-On in
Current site
Google Scholar
PubMed
Close
, and
Julia Chaitin
Search for other papers by Julia Chaitin in
Current site
Google Scholar
PubMed
Close
Restricted access

This article explores issues of identity and "otherness" by looking at the construction of Jewish-Israeli identity among Jewish-Israeli young adults in relation to two main external others, Germans and Palestinians. Our main thesis is that the construction of Jewish-Israeli identity is connected to their perceptions of these two different external "others." This argument is discussed from both a theoretical and an empirical point of view. We suggest two modes of discourse that represent the ways in which German and Palestinian "others" are perceived in Jewish-Israeli society, and then demonstrate the interrelationship through examples from interviews conducted with Jewish-Israeli university students who participated in a seminar that touched on topics connected to the Holocaust past and the present Palestinian-Israeli conflict.

  • Collapse
  • Expand