Larissa Remennick, Israel at 75: Thriving on Diversity and Conflict? Part 2 of 3

Shoshana Shier Distinguished Visiting Professor Lecture Series

Larissa Remennick (Bar-Ilan University)

Three Part Lecture Series: "Israel at 75: Thriving on Diversity and Conflict?"

The extreme diversity of modern Israel is both its strength and liability. President Reuben Rivlin warned a few years ago that Israeli social space is increasingly divided into separate tribes, each with its own values and lifestyles, and the walls between these tribes may threaten national solidarity. This lecture series will introduce complex social stratification of the contemporary Israeli society along the lines of ethnic origin, religion and religiosity, and immigration status (natives, long-timers, and newcomers). We will explore the origins and expressions of these internal divisions between Jews and Arabs, and within the Jewish majority – between religious and secular Israelis, those living within the Green Line and West Bank settlers, Ashkenazim and Mizrahim, the Jewish immigrants of Russian and Ethiopian origin, and recently-added non-Jewish labor migrants. The lectures and discussions will foster a deeper understanding of a complex and dynamic social history of Israel and current relations between different segments of this ultimate immigrant society.

Lecture 2: "The 'Tribes' of Modern Israel: Ethnicity, Religion and Politics"

Israeli population is rapidly approaching the state of super-diversity (Vertovec, 2007). I will look at the main lines of ethno-cultural and religious division (Jews and Arabs, Jews of different ethnic descent and religiosity, non-Jewish residents) and sources of conflict in social life and politics. Can we foster national unity and social peace in this divided populace?

Prof. Larissa Remennick left Moscow in 1991 as an early-career social scientist and since 1994 has worked at Bar-Ilan University near Tel Aviv. Her main research interests revolve around social history and migration experiences of Russian/Soviet/Post-Soviet Jews in Israel and in the West. She has written about economic mobility of immigrant professionals; issues of health, gender, and language use; intergenerational relations in immigrant families, and more. Her recent studies focused on the Generations 1.5 and 2.0 of Russian Israelis. Larissa has published three books in Russian, three books in English, and about 150 articles and chapters in the major social science journals.

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This lecture will be delivered in-person at JHB100 and virtually via Zoom. To attend virtually, please click THIS LINK on Wednesday, September 14, at 4 PM.