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Papers by Kassim Alsraiha
Social Identities, 2023
The desire of a minority group to integrate into society on equal terms with the majority is ofte... more The desire of a minority group to integrate into society on equal terms with the majority is often expressed through the first-generation university degree holders of children sent by their parents to the schools of the majority group. The present study describes the multi-identities of Bedouin men and women who studied in the majority education system, a Jewish public school with Hebrew as its language of instruction with a different ethnic, religion, political, and cultural milieu. From the perspective of the theory of social representations, the findings point to a variety of strategies that Bedouin students have utilized in refusing to perform stereotypically minority identities. They force us to reframe their identities showing that they are capable of adopting emancipated representations to create a space in accord with the changing nature of Bedouin society. From their retrospective view, we learned that men built a space that combines representations of what we call “both worlds” while women found themselves managing multiple identities, conflict between roles, social relationship and life stages. The contribution of the research lies in the in-depth understanding of the interpersonal processes associated with social experiences of minority students in their own land (not immigrants), showing how they develop, adopt, and retain multiple identities, straddling social borders.
Diaspora, Indigenous, and Minority Education, 2022
We test Foster’s enduring assertion that “the best vocational education is an academic degree” by... more We test Foster’s enduring assertion that “the best vocational education is an academic degree” by examining a case study of Israeli Bedouin women and men, young professionals who shared with us their personal stories of their parents taking them out of their local separate but equal schools and moving them to the majority schooling system. The narratives we collected enabled us to follow the education journey of Bedouin children whose achievements are attributable not to institutional initiatives but to grassroot alternatives where parents and their children secured their own vocational future. We outline the professional journey of 16 men and women who moved to a Kibbutz school, mastered the majority language, matriculated, and confidently acquired academic degrees. Their narratives attest to professionalization and self-fulfillment but also awareness of the context of their upbringing and the daily pressures to sustain their social equilibrium. These young professionals fashioned themselves in the interstices between identities, developing both a hunger to participate in the global marketplace and loyalty to the local. Ending up holding jobs that contributed to their own society, and refusing to perform stereotypically minoritized vocational identities, they achieved the kinds of lives they have reason to value. Compelled to honor their journeys, we conclude that our case study corroborates Foster’s finding that the best vocational education is an academic degree, as reflected in professional achievement and enhanced opportunities for social mobility.
Journal of Muslim Minority Affairs, 2020
This article offers a theoretical perspective for understanding leadership of minority groups by ... more This article offers a theoretical perspective for understanding leadership of minority groups by exploring the unique challenges and strategies of formal leadership of minority populations. One challenge is to negotiate the tension between minority and majority populations. The second challenge is to transition from traditional leadership patterns to elected public leadership patterns. Ultimately, a new form of hybrid leadership is formed, wherein elected public representatives bridge these conflicting forces, and simultaneously represent the minority group as well as the state and the majority group. The Arab-Bedouin population in the Negev serves as a test case. Methodologically, the article is based on interviews with parliamentarians, mayors, and other elected public officials from the Bedouin community.
Journal of Refugee Studies | Oxford University, 2020
The study focuses on refugee children who live in a temporary transit camp on the Island of Lesbo... more The study focuses on refugee children who live in a temporary transit camp on the Island of Lesbos in Greece, and attend a unique school, which, in the camp's temporary conditions, endeavours to provide the children with safety, security, and an adaptive learning experience. It examines hope among the refugee children by means of the Children's Hope Scale (Snyder, 1997), which was administered to 132 children aged 6-16 who attend the school. The general hope scores among the refugee children were similar to those found in other children's populations. Hope scores in the Adolescent group (aged 12-16) were lower than in the other groups, and highest in the Intermediate group (aged 9-12). Additionally, differences were found between groups of children from different countries of origin. The findings indicate that the Adolescent children are more aware of the difficulties and dangers entailed in fleeing, and of the price they have paid for leaving their homes and being cut off from their extended family and community. The findings highlight the school's contribution as a space, albeit temporary, where the children can function normatively as students in a safe environment that enables new growth in cognitive, emotional, and social realms.
The Arab World Geographer Vol 22, no 1-2 (2019) 186-205, 2019
With the establishment of Israel in 1948, military government was imposed on regions inhabited by... more With the establishment of Israel in 1948, military government was imposed on regions inhabited by the Palestinian-Arab majority, including the Palestinian Arab-Bedouin tribes of the Naqab (Negev). The justification was that the Arab population who remained in Palestine, and became citizenry of the newly established state, perceived to pose a threat to Israel's security. The article examines the establishment and dissolution of the tribal courts in the Naqab during the military government period by means of a critical analysis of official archival documents and newspaper reports published at the time. These sources reveal the power structure and the security considerations for the establishment of the tribal courts in the Naqab. Additionally, the article shows how the case of the tribal courts sheds light on patterns of action employed by the military government and the Israeli political system from 1948 to 1966, and the policies implemented towards the Arab-Bedouin population in the Naqab.
![Research paper thumbnail of Establishing or politicizing- Tribal courts in the Negev during the British mandate and the Israeli military rule [In Arabic]](https://attachments.academia-assets.com/58918466/thumbnails/1.jpg)
](Alsraiha, K. (2019) “Establishing or politicizing: Tribal courts in the Negev during the British Mandate and Israeli military rule”, in Nasasra, M., Kabha, M., & Richter-Devroe, S. (Eds.), Beer al-Saba’ memory: City and district (pp. 70-79). Dar Al-Tifel Al-Arabi Organization, Jerusalem (Arabic).
![Research paper thumbnail of The Tribal law: Segregation or Integration? [In Hebrew]](https://attachments.academia-assets.com/57932066/thumbnails/1.jpg)
](Alsraiha, K. (2017) "The Tribal law: Segregation or Integration". Lexi-Kaye Magazine, 7, 14-17 (H... more Alsraiha, K. (2017) "The Tribal law: Segregation or Integration". Lexi-Kaye Magazine, 7, 14-17 (Hebrew)
Books by Kassim Alsraiha
Palgrave Macmillan, Cham, 2021
Collaborative governance (CG) brings together representatives of all sectors for the purpose of r... more Collaborative governance (CG) brings together representatives of all sectors for the purpose of reaching consensus-oriented decision making. We explore the reliance on local CG in minority society. As the closest tier of government to citizens, local government plays a crucial mediator role between citizens and the state. This is especially important in the case of minorities. In this chapter we focus on local attempts to increase women employment in the Southern Israeli Arab-Bedouin village of Hura. Given low socioeconomic conditions, we find that local authorities reliance on collaborative governance in minorities’ towns plays a crucial role in the attempts to mediate between stakeholders and exceed beyond the provision of basic tasks and responsibilities.
Social Identities, 2023
The desire of a minority group to integrate into society on equal terms with the majority is ofte... more The desire of a minority group to integrate into society on equal terms with the majority is often expressed through the first-generation university degree holders of children sent by their parents to the schools of the majority group. The present study describes the multi-identities of Bedouin men and women who studied in the majority education system, a Jewish public school with Hebrew as its language of instruction with a different ethnic, religion, political, and cultural milieu. From the perspective of the theory of social representations, the findings point to a variety of strategies that Bedouin students have utilized in refusing to perform stereotypically minority identities. They force us to reframe their identities showing that they are capable of adopting emancipated representations to create a space in accord with the changing nature of Bedouin society. From their retrospective view, we learned that men built a space that combines representations of what we call “both worlds” while women found themselves managing multiple identities, conflict between roles, social relationship and life stages. The contribution of the research lies in the in-depth understanding of the interpersonal processes associated with social experiences of minority students in their own land (not immigrants), showing how they develop, adopt, and retain multiple identities, straddling social borders.
Diaspora, Indigenous, and Minority Education, 2022
We test Foster’s enduring assertion that “the best vocational education is an academic degree” by... more We test Foster’s enduring assertion that “the best vocational education is an academic degree” by examining a case study of Israeli Bedouin women and men, young professionals who shared with us their personal stories of their parents taking them out of their local separate but equal schools and moving them to the majority schooling system. The narratives we collected enabled us to follow the education journey of Bedouin children whose achievements are attributable not to institutional initiatives but to grassroot alternatives where parents and their children secured their own vocational future. We outline the professional journey of 16 men and women who moved to a Kibbutz school, mastered the majority language, matriculated, and confidently acquired academic degrees. Their narratives attest to professionalization and self-fulfillment but also awareness of the context of their upbringing and the daily pressures to sustain their social equilibrium. These young professionals fashioned themselves in the interstices between identities, developing both a hunger to participate in the global marketplace and loyalty to the local. Ending up holding jobs that contributed to their own society, and refusing to perform stereotypically minoritized vocational identities, they achieved the kinds of lives they have reason to value. Compelled to honor their journeys, we conclude that our case study corroborates Foster’s finding that the best vocational education is an academic degree, as reflected in professional achievement and enhanced opportunities for social mobility.
Journal of Muslim Minority Affairs, 2020
This article offers a theoretical perspective for understanding leadership of minority groups by ... more This article offers a theoretical perspective for understanding leadership of minority groups by exploring the unique challenges and strategies of formal leadership of minority populations. One challenge is to negotiate the tension between minority and majority populations. The second challenge is to transition from traditional leadership patterns to elected public leadership patterns. Ultimately, a new form of hybrid leadership is formed, wherein elected public representatives bridge these conflicting forces, and simultaneously represent the minority group as well as the state and the majority group. The Arab-Bedouin population in the Negev serves as a test case. Methodologically, the article is based on interviews with parliamentarians, mayors, and other elected public officials from the Bedouin community.
Journal of Refugee Studies | Oxford University, 2020
The study focuses on refugee children who live in a temporary transit camp on the Island of Lesbo... more The study focuses on refugee children who live in a temporary transit camp on the Island of Lesbos in Greece, and attend a unique school, which, in the camp's temporary conditions, endeavours to provide the children with safety, security, and an adaptive learning experience. It examines hope among the refugee children by means of the Children's Hope Scale (Snyder, 1997), which was administered to 132 children aged 6-16 who attend the school. The general hope scores among the refugee children were similar to those found in other children's populations. Hope scores in the Adolescent group (aged 12-16) were lower than in the other groups, and highest in the Intermediate group (aged 9-12). Additionally, differences were found between groups of children from different countries of origin. The findings indicate that the Adolescent children are more aware of the difficulties and dangers entailed in fleeing, and of the price they have paid for leaving their homes and being cut off from their extended family and community. The findings highlight the school's contribution as a space, albeit temporary, where the children can function normatively as students in a safe environment that enables new growth in cognitive, emotional, and social realms.
The Arab World Geographer Vol 22, no 1-2 (2019) 186-205, 2019
With the establishment of Israel in 1948, military government was imposed on regions inhabited by... more With the establishment of Israel in 1948, military government was imposed on regions inhabited by the Palestinian-Arab majority, including the Palestinian Arab-Bedouin tribes of the Naqab (Negev). The justification was that the Arab population who remained in Palestine, and became citizenry of the newly established state, perceived to pose a threat to Israel's security. The article examines the establishment and dissolution of the tribal courts in the Naqab during the military government period by means of a critical analysis of official archival documents and newspaper reports published at the time. These sources reveal the power structure and the security considerations for the establishment of the tribal courts in the Naqab. Additionally, the article shows how the case of the tribal courts sheds light on patterns of action employed by the military government and the Israeli political system from 1948 to 1966, and the policies implemented towards the Arab-Bedouin population in the Naqab.
Alsraiha, K. (2019) “Establishing or politicizing: Tribal courts in the Negev during the British Mandate and Israeli military rule”, in Nasasra, M., Kabha, M., & Richter-Devroe, S. (Eds.), Beer al-Saba’ memory: City and district (pp. 70-79). Dar Al-Tifel Al-Arabi Organization, Jerusalem (Arabic).
Alsraiha, K. (2017) "The Tribal law: Segregation or Integration". Lexi-Kaye Magazine, 7, 14-17 (H... more Alsraiha, K. (2017) "The Tribal law: Segregation or Integration". Lexi-Kaye Magazine, 7, 14-17 (Hebrew)
Palgrave Macmillan, Cham, 2021
Collaborative governance (CG) brings together representatives of all sectors for the purpose of r... more Collaborative governance (CG) brings together representatives of all sectors for the purpose of reaching consensus-oriented decision making. We explore the reliance on local CG in minority society. As the closest tier of government to citizens, local government plays a crucial mediator role between citizens and the state. This is especially important in the case of minorities. In this chapter we focus on local attempts to increase women employment in the Southern Israeli Arab-Bedouin village of Hura. Given low socioeconomic conditions, we find that local authorities reliance on collaborative governance in minorities’ towns plays a crucial role in the attempts to mediate between stakeholders and exceed beyond the provision of basic tasks and responsibilities.