Geography

Place identity among native minorities: lessons from Arabs in Israel

Document Type

Article

Abstract

This study addresses place identity among native minorities by focusing on the Arabs in Israel. It follows a recent trend in geography—the environmental-psychology approach to place identity—which focuses on the identity of individuals rather than the identity of places commonly emphasized in human geography. The study draws on mixed methods: 25 in-depth interviews with residents of Arab localities, in addition to questionnaires administered to both Arabs (210) and Jews (100) serving as a comparison group. Native minority members in this study have emphasized place identity as rooted in multilayered memories in situ, the clan-based social structure, and tensions with the government. These issues are discussed in the contexts of majority-minority relations and settler colonialism and nativism.

Publication Title

Geographical Review

Publication Date

2022

Volume

112

Issue

2

First Page

286

Last Page

305

ISSN

0016-7428

DOI

10.1080/00167428.2020.1852405

Keywords

Arabs, environmental psychology, Israel, place identity

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