Stereotypes and prejudice in conflict : representations of Arabs in Israeli Jewish society /

Bar-Tal and Teichman, Israeli psychology professors, provide an accessible book on anti-Arab stereotyping among Jewish Israelis, one of the few studies of interethnic attitudes during "intractable conflict." After extensively reviewing psychological literatures on stereotyping, they present extensive research on Jewish Israeli attitudes. Reviewing Israeli public discourse, they find "continuous negative stereotyping of Arabs in general and Palestinians in particular." School textbooks before the 1990s were mostly anti-Arab; cultural products like plays and novels evolved from earlier negative portrayals to more recent empathetic portrayals. Research on contemporary attitudes among adults and children shows mostly negative stereotyping of Arab "enemies," though attitudes shift as Arab-Israeli conflicts evolve. Like much psychological research, too little attention is given to historical structures of ethnic oppression as they impact contemporary society. Israel/Palestine has not been a society where Jewish/Arab ethnic groups contend on a level playing field. The society is hierarchical, where relatively recent Jewish settlers of Palestine and their descendants have often dispossessed and dominated unjustly the mostly Arab Palestinians who were there when the settlers came. One cannot adequately interpret Jewish Israelis' anti-Arab views without assessing the umbrella Israeli ideology that rationalizes this historical societal oppression. Excellent index and bibliography. ^BSumming Up: Recommended. Upper-division undergraduates and above. J. R. Feagin Texas A&M University