Ethnolinguistic vitality perceptions in Israel in the wake of the Intifada

Abstract

Abstract This study investigated the dynamic nature of the social cognitions measured by the Subjective Vitality Questionnaire and their susceptibility to change as a result of social and historical events. Specificially, it examined changes in the vitality perceptions of Israeli Jewish and Arab youth accompanying the Intifada—the nationalist uprising of the Palestinians living in the territories (the West bank and the Gaza Strip) which Israel has been occupying since the Six‐Day War in 1967. Subjects were 575 tenth grade students from two high schools (one Arab and one Jewish) in the central region of the country. The sample was gathered over three consecutive years (1987–1989) in each school. The 1987 sample represents the period of time six‐seven months before the Intifada; 1988, the period six‐seven months after the onset; and 1989, about a year and a half after the initial outbreak. Results indicated that: (1) the vitality dimensions most sensitive to sociopolitical change are the demographic and status dimensions and the overall vitality measures; (2) the Intifada was more salient for the Arab group. There were more changes in relative vitality perceptions over the three years for the Arab group than for the Jewish group and more of these changes took place earlier. The results are discussed with special reference to the issue of Israeli Arab identity.