Arab Communal Identity in Israel and Lebanon

Abstract

Abstract We questioned whether group identification of Arabs in Israel and Lebanon tends to follow the more traditional pattern of religiously based communal entities or whether national loyalties have superseded the traditional pattern. The hypothesis of continued communal vitality was tested by the administration of a semantic differential containing 11 ethnic labels (Lebanese Moslem, Lebanese Shi'ite, Lebanese Druze, Lebanese Christian, Lebanese Maronite, Lebanese Jew, Israeli Moslem, Israeli Druze, Israeli Christian, Israeli Jew, Palestinian Arab) and the self concept (me-as-I-am), to be differentiated on 14 bipolar adjective scales. The subjects were 205 high school seniors in 10 Israeli and Lebanese schools that belonged to seven distinct and recognized communal groups. Factor analysis and multidimensional scaling showed that both dimensions, the communal (Moslem/Christian/Jewish) and the national (Israel/Lebanon), were clearly present, but that the communal dimension continues to dominate. The labe...