Summary of my research acitvities
Since my appointment at the Department of Sociology and Anthropology at the University of Haifa I have developed an intensive research agenda in four main areas. All areas of research are related to international migration both in Israel and abroad.
1. The first area of investigation was derived from my dissertation; it focused on ethnic entrepreneurship and informal self-employment among immigrant groups in the United States. The main focus of my dissertation research was on Mexican immigrants in Chicago. Yet my published research provided a comparative perspective of how and why different ethnic groups (such as Koreans and Middle Eastern immigrants) access the world of business ownership as a channel for socioeconomic mobility. This body of research has contributed to an understanding of the role of ethnicity in business development.
2. The second area of investigation focuses on labor migration in Israel. Four main research projects allowed me to advance knowledge on labor migration in general and on immigration and labor migration in the context of Israeli society in particular. (2.a) The first project dealt with the emergence of new undocumented migrant minorities and the strategies of social, cultural, religious and political organization developed by undocumented migrants (Latinos and Africans) in Israeli society (co-directed with Adriana Kemp from Tel Aviv University). The study portrayed the ways by which policing of immigrants and enforcement controls through detention and deportation shaped the everyday lives of immigrants, their families and communities, and intensify their vulnerabilities. The research identified key social settings (e.g. social and sports clubs, evangelical and Catholic churches, political organizations, and educational frameworks) through which labor migrants developed a sense of community and negotiated forms of social belonging. The study also highlighted gendered aspects of migration, especially differences in strategies and the ways that men and women develop strategies for “rationalizing” the “emotional and economic costs” entailed in migration. (2.b) The second research project dealt with labor migration policy in Israel focusing on the roles of state and non-state actors (such as the municipality of Tel Aviv, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), and labor migrant communities), employers and private manpower agencies in the process of institutionalization of labor migration (co-directed with Adriana Kemp from Tel Aviv University). This study contributed to better understanding of the phenomenon of labor migration in Israel in several ways: (1) describing the ways by which state regulations (policy of quotas and work permits, the binding system, the deportation policy, and private manpower agencies) created a fertile ground for the creation of a precarious and captive labor force of non-citizens in the Israeli labor market; (2) identifying the forms by which the massive recruitment of labor migrants (since 1993) was used as a major political tool to signal to the Palestinians from the West Bank and the Gaza Strip that they "had something to lose" from the political uprising and violence; (3) analyzing the processes that lead to survival strategies and to establishment of migrant communities positioned at the margins of legality (4) identifying the political interventions and social conditions that bring about the dismantling of existing undocumented communities and the unmaking of migratory flows in an ethno-national state such as Israel. (2.c) The third research project (still ongoing) focuses on social perceptions and political constructions of illegal immigration (labor migrants, labor migrants' children and asylum seekers) through an analysis of collective claim-making by civil society groups and political elites in Israeli society to address a crucial question that has vexed migration politics scholars: whose claims set the public agenda on immigration-related issues, and in which direction (co-directed with Prof. Adriana Kemp- Tel-Aviv University). (2.d) Lastly, the fourth research project (still ongoing) focuses on patterns of the migration industry that developed in Israel in the field of labor migrants’ recruitment (in agriculture, construction and long term care-work), and the impact of bilateral agreements in reducing the payment of illegal recruitment fees (co-directed with Prof. Nonna Kushnirovich- Ruppin Academic Center). Thus far, most immigration studies have overlooked the role of the migration industry in the origination and perpetuation of migration flows, failing to take it into account in their analytical frameworks and data collection. Our study contributes to the field by identifying the ways in which the recruitment industry operates in Israel and in the sending countries, the actors and institutions involved in different stages of the migration process, how the actors involved profit from labor migration recruitment and placement (illegal high recruitment fees), and the ways such actors mobilize migrant networks in order to perpetuate migration flows. In terms of contribution to social policy, the research aims to evaluate the extent to which bilateral agreements signed between Israel and some sending countries (Thailand, Bulgaria, Moldova, and China) since 2012 had affected the ways by which labor migrants in agriculture and construction are recruited.
Overall, these research projects constitute an original contribution to the immigration literature by providing a comprehensive understanding of macro and micro level factors explaining the institutionalization and reproduction of labor migration in Israel, and by identifying similarities and differences with other labor importing countries.
3. The third area of investigation I focused on exclusionary attitudes towards migrants and minorities in Israel and in European societies. Israel provides an especially illuminating setting for testing attitudes toward non-Jewish minorities and immigrants (Jews as well as non-Jews). As the number of non-Jewish migrants has continued to grow, questions about the rights of national and migrant minorities and the viability of a multicultural society are becoming more crucial than ever before. In my work I analyzed the concept of membership in Israeli society. Unlike previous research that focused on laws and public policy, I offered a different way for looking at ‘membership in society’ through the ways that majority and minority group members define the boundaries of the collective. Questions about membership in European societies were approached within a cross-national comparative framework. This body of comparative research examines both structural and individual sources of sentiments and hostility toward out-group populations. It provides solid ground for understanding not only how socio-economic contexts of reception but how different conceptualizations of the nation-state and policies of immigrants’ integration affect exclusionary attitudes towards migrants’ incorporation into the polity of the host societies.
4. The fourth area of investigation focuses on the socio-economic integration of immigrants in Israel (those arriving under the Law of Return), a topic in which I took interest since the mid-1990s. Two main current research projects can be highlighted: (4.1) A research conducted among South African immigrants in Israel investigated their socio-economic integration through a multigenerational perspective. The forthcoming book (published by the University Nebraska Press) summarizes the findings of this research project. The book provides a thorough and deep understanding of how age at immigration affects modes of incorporation in Israeli society along several integration domains. In addition, the mixed approach, combining quantitative data of a representative sample of South African Jews in Israel with in-depth interviews, affords a rich and more complete picture of the complex process of immigrants’ assimilation. (4.2) Another project deals with integration of post-1990 immigrants in Israel across sub-groups of immigrants and across multiple dimensions (labor market, language proficiency, language use, identity, social networks, feelings of belonging, and life satisfaction, among others).This ongoing research agenda (co-directed with Prof. Moshe Semyonov , Tel-Aviv University) not only contributes to empirical knowledge on Israeli society but also advances theoretical understanding of the social mechanisms underlying different processes of socio-economic integration in host-societies.
New projects
1. I am currently conducting research on Latin-American immigrants in Israel as part of the Network on Latin-American Diasporas coordinated by Prof. Victor Armony, Université du Québec à Montréal (Canada). Using an on-line survey, we have collected data for Latin-American immigrants residing in Israel, and we started working on the comparative analysis of Latinos in Canada and Israel (in collaboration with Dr. Deby Babis, Truman Institute, Hebrew University, Jerusalem).
2. I have started a new project funded by the Israeli Science Foundation (with Prof. Moshe Semyonov and Dr. Anastasia Gorodzeisky–Tel Aviv University). Despite the heterogeneity of contemporary immigrants the literature lacks a comprehensive theoretical explanation and systematic examination of the differential sources and mechanisms underlying emergence of anti-immigrant sentiment toward different groups of migrants. In the research we shift the focus from respondents’ characteristics as determinants of anti-immigrant sentiment to immigrants’ characteristics. In doing so we do not mean to argue or convey the impression that individual respondents’ characteristics should be overlooked: on the contrary, we argue that the impact of immigrants’ attributes on attitudes will vary across respondents. Thus, we expect immigrants’ characteristics to interact with respondents’ characteristics in shaping attitudes toward immigrants. Data will be collected within the frame of a Factorial Survey Design (FSD) analysis.