Social Representations as Emerging from Social Structure: The Case of the Ethiopian Immigrants to Israel

Abstract

The Jews of Ethiopia have moved, en masse, to Israel. They have moved as a community, not as individuals. They retain their communal way of life.  The differences between the society structure of Jewish immigrants from Ethiopia (while living in Ethiopia) and that of the absorbing Israeli society does not lie only in differences of customs. This is merely the surface manifestation of a far more basic difference between two systems of social representations, which are in a reciprocal relationship with the different social organization of the two societies. The study attempts to delineate the differences between the two systems of social structure and organization, and the differences in social representations. These differences make dialogue difficult, and create misunderstandings that cause pain and frustration to both sides. Perhaps, by understanding these differences, we can eliminate some of the mutual misunderstanding and  make the absorption of the immigrants from Ethiopia easier.