Sites of Assimilation into Urban Life: Rural Migrants' Clubs in Haifa under the Mandate, 1939–48

Abstract

Culture clubs and social associations were a common social setting in Palestinian towns and in some large villages during the Mandate period. Drawing on a micro-historical approach, this article focuses on four organisations established in Haifa by rural migrants. These organisations are examined as sites of assimilation in the city and they are used as a vantage point from which to observe the daily life experience of their members. The findings suggest that clubs and associations were not only a setting for sports and cultural activities, social gathering or charity. They were an arena for public activity where rural migrants negotiated their position in urban society and participated in developing Palestinian culture.