Immigrant intelligentsia and its second generation: Cultural segregation as a road to social integration?

  • Alek Epstein
  • Nina Kheimets
Articles

Abstract

This article deals with the recent wave of migration from the former USSR to Israel, analyses immigrant intelligentsias strategies of action in the public sphere. The authors argument is that by adopting a seemingly separatist course of action and founding educational, cultural, scientific, and political institutions inspired by traditions brought from the country of origin, what the immigrants actually do is try to integrate themselves into the host society as its distinctive but equal members. Thus it is the strategy of cultural segregation that enables the immigrant intelligentsia to occupy its own place in the multicultural mosaic of contemporary Israeli society.

Key words

Immigration intelligentsia cultural integration multiculturalism separatist pluralism Israel 

Résumé

Cet article traite de la dernière vague de migration venue de l’ancienne URSS à destination d ’Israël. On y analyse les actions stratégiques de l’élite intellectuelle immigrante dans le débat public. Les auteurs sont d’avis qu’en adoptant un plan d’action séparatiste, en apparence, et en créant des institutions pédagogiques, culturelles, scientifiques et politiques inspirées par les traditions apportées du pays d’origine, les immigrants essaient en réalité de s’intégrer dans la société d’accueil à titre de membres distincts mais égaux. C’est donc la stratégie de ségrégation culturelle qui permet à l’élite intellectuelle immigrante de prendre la place qui lui revient dans la mosaïque multiculturelle de la société israélienne contemporaine.

Mots-clefs

élite intellectuelle multiculturalisme pluralisme séparatiste Israël 
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Copyright information

© Springer SBM 2000

Authors and Affiliations

  • Alek Epstein
    • 1
  • Nina Kheimets
    • 2
  1. 1.Hebrew University of JerusalemJerusalemIsrael
  2. 2.Open University of IsraelIsrael

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