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This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License
Nitza Davidovitch, Tiblet Aylin
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DOI:10.17265/2159-5313/2020.06.004
Ariel University, Ariel, Israel
Many Ethiopian immigrants to Israel had their names changed to traditional Jewish names when arriving in Israel as children, as part of the melting pot conception. The purpose of the current study was to examine the perception of Jewish-Israeli identity among Jews of Ethiopian descent with the reverse name change they performed in adulthood. For this study, 144 respondents were sampled, of whom 120 had had their name changed when immigrating to Israel. Of those whose name was changed, 100 later changed their name back to the original name given by their parents. The study utilized an attitude questionnaire that sought to explore three research hypotheses. The first hypothesis was that the Jewish Israeli identity of those whose name had not been changed was stronger than that of those whose name was changed. With regard to this hypothesis, significant differences were found in the Jewish identity of those whose name had been changed and those who had not, such that those whose name had been changed portrayed a weaker sense of Israeli identity than those who had not. The second hypothesis was that those who changed their name back had a stronger Jewish Israeli identity than those who did not. The findings indicate that those who changed their name back show a weaker Jewish Israeli identity than those who decided not to revert to their original name. The third hypothesis was that various personal variables have an effect on the perception of Jewish identity, in addition to the name change. The control variables were not found to be significant, i.e., sex and age had no significant influence on Jewish Israeli identity. These findings reinforce the findings concerning the previous hypotheses and indicate that Jewish Israeli identity is considerably connected to the name change. The main research finding is that the name change has an effect on the Jewish Israeli identity of Jews of Ethiopian descent, and this is a double effect. The outcomes of the name change cause these people to feel that they were forced to erase their culture, their original identity, and their original conceptions and norms. For members of the Ethiopian community in Israel, the name change is a symbol of cultural obliteration, a symbol of the attempt to create a melting pot within Jewish society. The reverse name change generates an improvement in their Israeli identity, and appears to be a way for members of the community to portray themselves and their identity within Israeli society.
Ethiopian descent, identity, culter
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