Football in Israel, as in the rest of the world, has been inseparable from ethno-national identity. This thesis looks at the different ways in which soccer has helped to shape Arab identity in Israel in the twentieth century. It pays a particular attention to the changing position of the Israeli Arab in the Jewish state and to how being an internal enemy has played out for Israel’s Arabs on the football field. The method used here is text analysis of previous research and of newspaper accounts. \r \r The thesis shows that soccer has been an important arena for the formation of Israeli Arab identity, and for the expression of its relationship to state institutions (Histadrut), existing Jewish sports clubs (Hapoel) and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. This thesis makes two additional points: first that globalization and the accompanying media revolution, which have led to professionalization of the game and the construction of Arab role models, have also been influential in shaping Israeli Arabs’ ethno-national identity; and, second, that the stadium, where Jewish fans have othered Arab players---either those who play as individuals on mostly Jewish teams or those who play on all Arab teams---have pushed Israeli Arabs to identify as Palestinians rather than as ethno-nationally neutral sportsmen. Arab footballers in Israel, then, are faced with a dilemma, for they must choose between playing in the top league and serving as role models for Arab youth, while “buying” into Zionist ideology, and playing for an Arab team of inevitably lesser status. The thesis concludes that one possible way to overcome this conflicted identity and to bridge the Jewish-Arab ethno-national divide would be to engage Jewish and Arab youth in joint football programs from an early age. Organizations like Football For Peace, for example, could help build foundations for the two sides so they can plan even in the current stalemate for a shared future.
- Football as an Arena of Arab Ethno-national Identities: The case of Modern Israel
- Tahl Mayer
- Chandler Rosenberger (Advisor)
- Brandeis University, Graduate School of Arts and Sciences; Master of Arts (MA)
- Master of Arts (MA), Brandeis University, Graduate School of Arts and Sciences
- Brandeis University
- Brandeis University, Graduate School of Arts and Sciences
- 10192/13; 9923879940401921
- Copyright by Tahl Mayer 2011
- Interdepartmental Program in International and Global Studies
- English
- Thesis