Nelly Elias

‘Without it I am nothing’: The internet in the lives of older immigrants

This article aims to explore how using the internet may facilitate coping with the challenges of immigration in later life, based on the case of older Jewish immigrants from the Former Soviet Union in Israel. For that purpose, in-depth interviews were conducted with 32 immigrants living in southern Israel. Results indicated that internet usages by the study participants were: (1) Managing health; (2) Nurturing professional interests; (3) Maintaining and extending social networks; (4) Appreciating the past; and (5) Enjoying leisure. Each usage seemed to preserve and even strengthen the participants’ self-worth and improve their quality of life. These findings suggest that older immigrants who use the internet practice, in fact, strategies of successful ageing, which help them to cope not only with the challenges associated with ageing, but also with the tremendous difficulties and losses posed by immigration.

Between Three Worlds: Host, Homeland, and Global Media in the Lives of Russian Immigrant Families in Israel and Germany

This study investigated various roles played by host, homeland, and global media in the lives of immigrant families from the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS, former USSR) to Israel and Germany, as well as the place of different media in family conflicts, consolidation, and parenting strategies. The study was based on focus group interviews with 60 families of Russian-speaking immigrants in Israel and Germany and 73 semistructured, in-depth interviews with immigrant youngsters. The findings of this study demonstrate that the mass media fulfill diverse roles for immigrant families, assisting them face two main relocation challenges: integration “inward” (i.e., cultural transmission and family consolidation) and “outward” integration into their new surroundings.

Illusive Pluralism and Hegemonic Identity in Popular Reality Shows in Israel

The present study aims to examine the pluralistic potential of reality shows, which might allow minorities to shape the programs script and to gain recognition for their particularistic identities. For this purpose, two prime-time reality shows were chosen— The Ambassador and Seeking a Leader—broadcast in Israel in 2005. The analysis of the programs included identification and deconstruction of their metanarratives and exposure of several mechanisms of stigmatization and othering used against minorities. In addition, the authors analyzed the tactics utilized by minorities to maneuver the script and steps taken by the majority to maintain its cultural dominance. The research reveals that the ostensibly pluralistic nature of reality shows is limited a priori by the hegemonic forces. Although the hegemonic discourse in reality shows is highly sophisticated and disguised, the sense of equality and pluralism that these programs inspire constitutes an even more powerful mechanism of exclusion and cultural domination.

‘Leave us alone!’: Representation of social work in the Russian immigrant media in Israel

This article examines the representation of social workers in the Russian-language immigrant press in Israel. Social work is a public service that did not exist in the USSR and most Russian immigrants were not familiar with it before immigration. This lack of basic knowledge underscores the importance of reliable representation of this major public service in the immigrant media. Nevertheless, the findings show that by taking the immigrants’ side under any circumstances, while distorting the function of the social work services, the immigrant press fails to fulfill its socialization role and does not facilitate its readers’ integration in their new society.

People of the Book

This article sheds light on the “forgotten” medium in the lives of immigrant adolescents, books, by focusing on the youth from the Former Soviet Union, who have immigrated to Israel since 2000. Book reading patterns found in the study reflect the immigrant adolescents’ need to express, comprehend, and legitimize their feelings of sadness, loneliness, and helplessness caused by immigration. The research points, therefore, to the therapeutic function of books, one that enables immigrant youngsters to gain insight into the inner-world of books’ characters, to identify with them, and to learn from their life experiences. Furthermore, books also serve as an accessible cultural resource, as they raise immigrant teens’ self-esteem and confidence, as well as help them to resist the negative stereotypes ascribed to them by local peers.

“One Meets Through Clothing”: The Role of Fashion in the Identity Formation of Former Soviet Union Immigrant Youth in Israel

The study described in this chapter examines the role of fashion in the lives of immigrant children and adolescents from the Former Soviet Union (FSU) in Israel. It is part of a more extensive, ongoing research project concerned with the role of media in the lives of immigrant children and youth, as they explore their new environment and also look back at the life they have left behind (Elias and Lemish, 2008a; 2008b, 2008c). While fashion was not an original focus of this study, it emerged in the interviews as a site where immigrants are constructing hybrid identities, as well as re-affirming old ones, in the realms of gender, adolescence, Russianness and Israeliness. Accordingly, the aim of this chapter is to present a grounded analysis of these aspects of the interviews and to highlight the unique roles that fashion preferences serve as a facilitator of young immigrants’ search for collective and individual identities, as well as for communicative means of expressing them.

LIVING IN GERMANY, LONGING FOR ISRAEL

When I entered for the first time through the doors of the city synagogue, where the Russian cultural club Nash Dom was located, I saw a group of five people, all of them immigrants from the former Soviet Union, aged about 60 and above. Their discussion was very loud and I asked myself what the subject was that touched these people so much. “They cannot stop it; they must finish the wall”—this was the first sentence I heard. “Europeans can say whatever they want, but Sharon will not stop. He promised! He said that even if this wall can save one person’s life, it must be built!” “And what about Sderot?” asked another man. “You can’t build a wall against the Kassams. Israelis must think about stronger measures.” For the next 15 minutes I was introduced to a brief summary of the current security crisis that Israel has been going through for the last four years. Moreover, the people who took part in the discussion seemed deeply excited about the subject and showed an impressive orientation of Israeli geography, its foreign policy and the strategy of the Israeli army. Being Israeli myself, I was used to these kinds of political discussions, but I did not expect to hear it here in Germany, especially not with such emotional involvement. What is going on here? Why is it so important to these people? I asked myself. These questions accompanied me during my research while in Germany and this article represents an initial effort in finding the answers.

Cultural Encoding and Fake Equality in Popular Reality Shows: Lessons from Israel

This paper critically examines the representation of two major minorities in Israel, Arab citizens of Israel and Jewish immigrants, by focusing on the widely popular genre of reality shows. We demonstrate that this genre contains sophisticated mechanisms of differentiation and selection that inevitably exclude and stigmatise minority participants. To demonstrate this thesis the paper takes a close look at two Israeli reality shows that were conceived to have a public value—Wanted: A Leader and The Ambassador. The examination of these shows reveals how Israeliness—presented as the space of equal opportunity—contains discriminatory mechanisms based on national and ethnic affiliations. Thus, the study illustrates that national identity could be utilised as a meta-narrative of universality and inclusiveness, but actually refers to a particular type of identity that is ethnically restricted.