American Aliya by Chaim I. Waxman

Author:Chaim I. Waxman [Waxman, Chaim I.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Social Science, Jewish Studies, Emigration & Immigration
ISBN: 9780814343418
Google: x6U7DwAAQBAJ
Publisher: Wayne State University Press
Published: 2017-12-01T05:23:31+00:00

PART IV

9

The Acculturation of American Israelis

Acculturation, in its simplest sense, is the process of acquiring a new culture. If, as George Spindler points out,1 the acculturation process is much more complex than that, the acculturation of any single individual is also much more complex than the simple definition implies. Also, as Milton Gordon says acculturation is but one component or variable in a much more elaborate and complex process of assimilation. Another equally important variable in the process is structural assimilation, that is, the immigrants’ entrance into the important institutional structure of the society.2 This chapter explores the cultural and structural assimilation experiences of American olim, most of whom migrated to Israel in the quest for the enhancement of not the material but the religious and cultural components of their lives. What were their experiences? How do they look upon their adjustment processes? In addition to an analysis of their status within the Israeli socioeconomic structure, this chapter also considers whether they feel they have, in large measure, achieved that which they sought in their aliya.

Prior to 1956 only a minority–7 percent pre-1948 and 19 percent for those who immigrated between 1948 and 1956–of American olim had been in Israel prior to their aliya.3 Since then, however, the picture has changed drastically. The vast majority have previously visited Israel at least once.4 American immigrants, therefore, do not arrive in Israel totally unaware of the nature of Israeli society and culture.5 But there is a world of difference between being someplace as a visitor and being there as a resident. The visitor may find beauty in strangeness, whereas to the resident that very same strangeness may be downright annoying. On the other hand, the visitor may be offended by certain sights, sounds, and smells, whereas the resident gets used to them. Jay Shapiro, an American who immigrated with his wife and children in 1969, vividly portrays his initial sensations upon arriving in Israel as an oleh.

Later Naomi and I both were to recall that the strongest impressions of our arrival in Israel were, in fact, the smells. The large variety of motor vehicles which use low octane fuel and have no antipollution devices emit odors that pervade the highways. You eventually get used to it, but in the beginning it really hits you in the nose. The sea breezes, the sweaty porters, the open stands selling felafel and shewarma, and the road pollution all combine to create an olfactory atmosphere that doesn’t exist in the United States. To this day, whenever I return to Israel after a trip abroad, I feel I am back home only after my nose confirms that I’ve arrived.

Finished at the port, we now faced a two-hour journey to the Immigrant Hostel for Academics in Lod. The drive there was uneventful, except for one incident. While waiting at a traffic light on the coastal highway in Herzliya, we noticed a man on the corner of this main intersection. He was standing in full view and urinating into the street.

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