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Still warm but getting colder: changing ethnic identity of post-Soviet Jewry

Author(s): Nosenko-Stein, Elena

Date: 2014

Topics: Main Topic: Identity and Community, Jewish Identity, Ethnicity, Post-1989, Soviet Jewry, Assimilation, Interviews, Surveys

Abstract: For many centuries, ‘being a Jew’ was equivalent to ‘performing the ceremonial laws of Judaism’. Thus, ethnic and confessional principles coincided and reinforced the cultural identity of Jewry as an entity. Strong self-identification and in-group solidarity supported the high ‘ethnic temperature’ of this group. The processes of secularisation, which first took place in modern Europe and then spread to other regions, led, therefore, to the ‘cooling’ of the Jewish ethnic temperature. This process has its roots in different periods of Russian history and resulted in deep changes in Jewish identity.

How Much English Has the British Education Act Required? The Secretary of State for Education vs. a Hasidic Yiddish-speaking School

Author(s): Abraham-Glinert, Joan

Date: 1997

Topics: Haredi / Strictly Orthodox Jews, Jewish Schools, Language, Yiddish, Law, Main Topic: Education

Abstract: Alone among British immigrant minorities, the Hasidim, an Ultra-Orthodox Jewish group, maintain their own complete school system, in which males devote themselves entirely to Hebrew religious texts- taught entirely in their heritage vernacular, Yiddish- save a couple of hours at the day's end for statutory secular study of English and maths. The Hasidim insist that this adequately prepares their youth spiritually and economically for adulthood. A complaint filed by the Department of Education & Science in 1983 that a Hasidic school was not providing 'suitable preparation for adult life in Britain' under the Education Act led in 1985 to an application in the High Court for a judicial review, but following the judgement the Department withdrew its action without explanation. The Hasidim have since maintained their curriculum unchanged, and no further complaints have been filed. This paper analyses the views expressed in the case, in the light of interviews with Hasidim and British educational policy on immigrant language and culture.

Guarding the Tongue: A Thematic Analysis of Gossip Control Strategies among Orthodox Jewish Women in London

Author(s): Glinert, Lewis; Loewenthal, Kate Miriam; Goldblatt, Vivienne

Date: 2003

Topics: Haredi / Strictly Orthodox Jews, Language, Jewish Women, Religious Observance and Practice, Interviews, Main Topic: Identity and Community

Abstract: This paper describes the views and experiences of Strictly-Orthodox Jewish women with respect to the metapragmatic ethos of Shmiras HaLoshon (monitoring one's talk, literally 'guarding the tongue'). Eight extended interviews were conducted with Strictly-Orthodox women and teenagers in London, and salient themes were identified, namely:

(1) Loshon Hora ('evil talk') is the prime exemplar of bad talk.

(2) Loshon Hora is the hardest (one of the hardest) things to avoid, because it is so easy to do.

(3) The perceived consequences of Loshon Hora are very serious.

(4) Great caution/various strategies are employed in order to not speak Loshon Hora.

(5) Perceived gender differences exist in proneness to speak Loshon Hora.

(6) One is reponsible for monitoring others.

(7) Young children can be(come) aware of the issues.

Subjects appeared to take this aspect of religious observance very seriously, and were taking active steps to promote observance. Social desirability bias may be an inappropriate concept for explaining our participants' behaviour. It is also suggested that the perceived importance of Shmiras HaLoshon may be important in helping to maintain community cohesion and preventing conflicts, by improving respect for privacy and reputation in a community where gossip is attractive but divisive.