Liora Sion | University of Copenhagen (original) (raw)

Papers by Liora Sion

In this paper I examine how Arab-Palestinians who teach Arabic in Jewish schools appropriate perf... more In this paper I examine how Arab-Palestinians who teach Arabic in Jewish schools appropriate performative identity strategies through passing as hybrid to gain inclusion into the schools. The paradox is that although these teachers are recruited specifically because they are Arabs, they are expected by teachers and students to conceal their Arabness. I argue that because of the ethno-national bright boundaries in Israel, which do not encourage integration but hybridization into roles defined by the state, Arabs cannot and mostly do not want to pass as Israeli-Jews but as good Arabs who do not reside beyond the binarism Jew/Arab but are in-betweens.

Armed Forces & Society, 2007

Based on anthropological fieldwork, this article studies the experience of two Dutch peacekeeping... more Based on anthropological fieldwork, this article studies the experience of two Dutch peacekeeping units: the " Grizzly " artillery battery that was deployed to Kosovo in 1999 (KFOR2) and the " Bulldog " infantry company that was deployed to Bosnia in 2000 (SFOR8). By examining the units' experience from training through deployment, this article argues that the Dutch army is a threatened organization that suffers from a relatively low status in society. The army gains support mainly by performing peace missions , which soldiers perceive as " feminine " and therefore inappropriate. This article examines how Dutch soldiers train for peacekeeping missions and demonstrates that this training takes the shape of infantry combat exercises, a characteristic that negatively influences the soldiers' level of satisfaction during deployments.

This article applies the case of Tali Fahima, an Israeli woman who was convicted of aiding the en... more This article applies the case of Tali Fahima, an Israeli woman who was convicted of aiding
the enemy during wartime, in order to analyse how the ethno-national community is threatened by members it fails to control and fit into existing categories. The author argues that what makes an assumingly bright boundary so sensitive and problematic to cross is not its impenetrability but its actual vulnerability. The state tries to police uncertain citizens and if necessary to expunge them from the collective in order to imagine the boundaries as bright again. The author examines how Fahima used her privileged body to protect a Palestinian insurgent and the ways in which her body is invested with the meanings of national, ethnic and sexual boundaries and analyses how the Israeli security services, courts, media and public define proper citizenship and
belonging.

In: Security in Everyday Life, New York: Routledge.

In: Stabilizing the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict: Considerations for a Multinational Peace Suppor... more In: Stabilizing the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict: Considerations for a Multinational Peace Support Operation, edited by Michael K. and Kellen, D.

To cite this article: Liora Sion (2016): Ethnic minorities and brothers in arms: competition and ... more To cite this article: Liora Sion (2016): Ethnic minorities and brothers in arms: competition and homophily in the military, Ethnic and Racial Studies To link to this article: http://dx.

Journal of Contemporary Ethnography, 2008

This article addresses the issue of women participation in peacekeeping missions by focusing on t... more This article addresses the issue of women participation in peacekeeping missions by focusing on two North Atlantic Treaty Organization Dutch peacekeeping units in Bosnia (SFOR8) and Kosovo (KFOR2). I argue that soldiers are ambivalent toward what is perceived the "feminine" aspects of peace missions. Although peacekeeping is a new military model, it reproduces the same traditional combat-oriented mind-set of gender roles. Therefore Dutch female soldiers are limited in their ability to perform and contribute to peace missions. Both peacekeeping missions and female soldiers are confusing for the soldiers, especially for the more hypermasculine Bulldog infantry soldiers. Both represent a blurred new reality in which the comfort of the all-male unit and black-and-white combat situations are replaced by women in what were traditionally men's roles and the fuzzy environment of peacekeeping. At the same time, both are also necessary: peacekeeping, although not desirable, has become the main function for Dutch soldiers, and women are still a small minority, although they gain importance in the army. Present government policy prescribes a gender mainstreaming approach to recruiting, partly due to a lack of qualified male personnel, especially after the end of the draft in 1996.

Commonwealth & Comparative Politics, 2009

By using participant observation, this article analyzes the participation of women in peacekeepin... more By using participant observation, this article analyzes the participation of women in peacekeeping missions through the experience of Dutch female peacekeepers in Bosnia and Kosovo in 1999-2000. My argument is threefold. First, I argue that although peacekeeping is a relatively new military model it reproduces in the same traditional combat-oriented mindset of gender roles. Therefore, women are limited in their ability to contribute to peace missions. Second, because peacekeeping missions are perceived by peacekeepers as rather feminine, they are seen as a challenge to male combat and masculine identity. As a result, soldiers reject the participation of women and perceive them as endangering even further the missions' prestige. Third, despite the shared difficulties, women do not support each other and tend to view the other women in a stereotypical way. This contributes to their isolation and self-disapproval.

This article explores how middle-class Jewish men on reserve duty in the Israel Defense Forces fo... more This article explores how middle-class Jewish men on reserve duty in the Israel Defense Forces form a "proper" masculinity through humor and jokes. Reserve service creates a fruitful territory for researching four issues that have not been extensively studied in the literature on masculinities: the relation between gender and age, the periodic reaffirmation of masculinity along the life course, how women are perceived as sexual objects and how informal social pressure is placed on singles to marry and begin families, and how men not only are motivated by homophobia but use images of women and homosexuals to map and interpret power relations and competition between men.

Israel Affairs, 2005

While most sociological and anthropological work carried out in regard to the Israel Defence Forc... more While most sociological and anthropological work carried out in regard to the Israel Defence Forces has focused on regulars, this article provides an inside look into Israel's combat reserves. The analysis is carried out through an examination of the place of humor and joking in the social and organizational life of two different infantry units: a high-grade unit deemed equivalent to the army's regulars and a unit of older troops who carry out less dangerous missions. We argue that reserve duty involves entering a special behavioural frame that is governed by rules different from those of everyday (civilian) life and that these are also special times that offer opportunities for exploring many of the problematic issues that the men face. Humor, in turn, provides fruitful entry points to an analysis of the taboo themes and the muted conflicts of such frameworks. Thus we show how various kinds of humor are related to core issue of socialization, cohesion, motivation, the danger of military work, and images of masculinity.