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American Jews Israel: The Sources of Politicized Ethnic Identity

Reasons to assume strong support for Israel from American Jewry. Spiritualized ethnic identity Means to maintain Jewish continuityPlace to recognize Jewish social valuesPsychological and symbolic gratification. Is Israel Important to American Jews?. . Both sessions opened with responses to very g

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American Jews Israel: The Sources of Politicized Ethnic Identity

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    1. American Jews & Israel: The Sources of Politicized Ethnic Identity Kenneth D. Wald & Bryan Williams

    2. Reasons to assume strong support for Israel from American Jewry Spiritualized ethnic identity Means to maintain Jewish continuity Place to recognize Jewish social values Psychological and symbolic gratification

    3. Is Israel Important to American Jews?

    4. Research Question What accounts for variability in the political centrality of Israel among Jews in the United States? Examine the micro-foundations or “readiness for mobilization” through an opinion survey of American Jews.

    5. Dependent Variable Disposition of American Jews to “perceive the sociopolitical landscape from the vantage point of the ethnic group” (Lapid,1987) Also known as Politicized ethnic identity (Sears et al., 2003) Politicized collective identity (Simon and Klandermans, 2001)

    6. PEI Scale Which of the following statements best describes the importance of the Arab-Israeli conflict to you personally? 1. It is the single most important issue for me 2. It is among the top three most important issues for me. 3. It is among the top five most important issues for me. 4. It is not among the top five most important issues for me. In the next national elections, how important will the candidates’ positions on the Arab-Israeli conflict be in your voting decision – very important, somewhat important, or not important? Which of the following statements best describes the importance of U.S. support for Israel to you personally? 1. It is the single most important issue for me. 2. It is among the top three most important issues for me. 3. It is among the top five most important issues for me. 4. It is not among the top five most important issues for me. Have you ever “written a letter, made a telephone call, or done anything else to express your views on the Arab-Israeli conflict directly to a government official, newspaper, or magazine? (Yes/No)

    7. Distribution of PEI

    8. Sources of Individual Differences Hypothesis: Strong ethnic attachment promotes PEI Constructivist approach to ethnicity Core domains of attachment (Kotler-Berkowitz, 2005) Cultural Social Cognitive

    9. Data Zogby “culture polls” of 1999-2000 Period of relative calm and stability in Arab-Israeli conflict Screened to locate self-identified ethnic groups Produced Jewish subsample (n=589)

    10. Independent Variables Cultural attachment – synagogue attendance Social attachment – neighborhood, friendships, age (+), education (-), generation in US (-), economic resources (-) Cognitive attachment – pride in ethnic heritage, ethnic identity, emotional tie Misc. controls – gender, Middle East affect, discrimination

    11. Influences on PEI

    12. Predicted Values of PEI

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