Religion, ethnicity and identity: former Soviet Christian immigrants in Israel

Abstract

The social construction of ethnic and religious identities of Christian immigrants from the former Soviet Union (FSU) arriving in Israel under the Law of Return after 1990, and the role of churches in their social integration, are examined. As Israeli citizens actively involved in Christian churches, they challenge the Jewish character of the state, and the dynamics of their ethnic and religious identity should be understood in this unique context of reception. The analysis sheds light on the complex relationship between ethnic and religious identities and illustrates how different religious organizational configurations (Russian Orthodox and Greek churches) prompt immigrants to forge different patterns of identity along ethnic lines.

Keywords:

• immigrants
• Israel
• religion
• identities
• former Soviet Union
• churches

Notes

1. The reason for the high levels of non-Jews arriving under the auspices of the Law of Return could be explained by high rates of out-marriage among Jews in the FSU. According to Remennick (2007), 63 per cent of Jewish men and 44 per cent of Jewish women in Russia are married to non-Jewish partners.

2. Recent published data provides a portrait of the religious affiliation of citizens in Israel (CBS 2011a). Jews constitute 75 per cent of the total population, Muslims 17 per cent, Druzes 2 per cent and Christians 2 per cent. Among Christians, 80 per cent are Arab citizens and 20 per cent are FSU migrants (CBS 2011b). Four per cent of the population did not report any specific religion affiliation (most of them are FSU migrants).

3. The Jewish identity of the children of mixed marriages in the FSU also depended on whether the mother or the father was more powerful in the family and exerted more influence on the children's education (see Rapoport 2005).

4. It should be noted that there is a correlation between time of arrival to the country and ethno-religious identities. As said before, while most migrants arriving during the first years of the 1990s were Jewish according to halakhah, most arriving after 1996 were non-Jewish.

5. Migrants' names have been changed to ensure anonymity.

6. We are aware that each category comprises a heterogeneous group and we might find variance in each group regarding their identity markers. However, the binary categories of patriotic and transnational are still valid as the variance between these two groups is greater than the variance within each.

7. As religious activities were not permitted in the FSU most of the migrants in our sample became more religiously involved after immigration.

8. The Russian community attending these churches comprises about 600 permanent members of the community, as well as others who join the service from time to time.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Rebeca Raijman

REBECA RAIJMAN is Associate Professor in the Department of Sociology and Anthropology, University of Haifa.

Yael Pinsky

YAEL PINSKY is a Graduate Student at the Department of Sociology and Anthropology, University of Haifa.