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“I May Look 75, but I’m Really a Pioneer”: Concept of Self and Resilience Among Israeli Elder Adults Living in a War Zone

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Abstract

This qualitative study explored concept of self and its connection to resilience among 35 elderly Israeli men and women, who live in a war zone along the border with Gaza. The participants were asked to tell their life stories and to answer questions that dealt with hardships they have faced, including the security threat that characterizes the area. Analyses of the interviews revealed 13 overall themes. The major theme discussed in this article centers on the interviewees’ self concept of being ideological pioneers, who have a strong belonging to the settlements they created in the desert. We conclude that this self-concept relates to resilience among this population, in spite of the hardships they have faced on the personal, familial, communal and social-political levels.

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Notes

  1. Jews from Northern African or Asian countries—sometimes referred to as Sephardim.

  2. Jews of European descent, the hegemonic elite in Israel.

  3. A Labor Zionist youth movement.

  4. The fourth Prime Minister of Israel, from 1969 to 1974.

  5. A garin is a group that goes to settle on a kibbutz.

  6. The Palmach is an acronym for “strike force/company,” the elite unit of the Hagannah, which was the army of pre-State Israel.

  7. Tnuva was the largest dairy and vegetable cooperative in the country.

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Acknowledgments

This study was supported in part by The Israel Trauma Coalition Resilience Centers.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Social Work, Sapir College, D.N. Hof Ashkelon, Israel

    Julia Chaitin & Rotem Sternberg

  2. Eshkol Regional Council, Negev, Israel

    Hagar Arad, Lea Barzili, Nira Deray & Shlomit Shinhar

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  1. Julia Chaitin
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  2. Rotem Sternberg
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  3. Hagar Arad
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  4. Lea Barzili
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  5. Nira Deray
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  6. Shlomit Shinhar
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Correspondence to Julia Chaitin.

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Chaitin, J., Sternberg, R., Arad, H. et al. “I May Look 75, but I’m Really a Pioneer”: Concept of Self and Resilience Among Israeli Elder Adults Living in a War Zone. J Happiness Stud 14, 1601–1619 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10902-012-9398-3

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