Mixed Families in Israel in the 1950s and the Formation of Israeli Society: A View from Below

• In Event: Negotiating the Limits of the Zionist Collective

Abstract

In this paper, I will take a view “from below” in order to analyze the phenomenon of the immigration to Israel of mixed families, the result of a marriage between a Jewish and non-Jewish man or woman in Europe, and their absorption in Israel in the 1950s. During this period, thousands of mixed families were scattered all over the country in various types of settlements.
This group consists of mixed families who immigrated to Israel after the Holocaust, mainly from the Communist bloc. In many cases, the non-Jewish woman had saved her Jewish partner during the Holocaust. Varied motivations drove the decision to immigrate among all these families. In many cases, anti-Semitism was a major factor in the decision, as was concern for the future of the children. Sometimes, the immigrants were motivated by a desire to find a more comfortable life, while among others, the loving relationship shared by the couple led one spouse to follow the other to the new land. In Israel, the mixed families encountered the complex reality of a stressed Jewish society, whose national and ethnic boundaries were still in a state of flux. These encounters that were often stormy, accompanied by familial and social upheaval, were a reflection of the complex relationships between religion, ethnicity, nationality, society and gender. The gender aspect played a major role. The women in these mixed families – most of them non-Jewish women– bore the brunt of most of the criticism. The non-Jewish women, who are at the center of the paper, were perceived as a threat to the nation in demographic terms because they jeopardized its Jewish character. The mixed families therefore played a role in consolidating the perception of the Jewish family, and in forging the Jewish identity of Israeli society, along with its attitude towards non-Jews. This historical phenomenon is fascinating in of itself, but is also a question of great consequence for the shaping of Israeli society. It raises questions concerning family patterns, couplehood and marriage; Jewish identity and conversion. It gives some perspective for analyzing the current reality in Israel.

Author

• Lilach Rosenberg