‘It's not a genuine elite’: partial habitus of advantage among Palestinian graduates of elite schools in Israel

ABSTRACT

Within the marginalized Palestinian minority in Israel, a small elite has emerged; they are uniquely challenged as elite within their national group yet marginalized as citizens of the Jewish state. Through the perspectives of an elite private high school in Northern Israel, this qualitative study sought to elucidate this complicated reality. We asked graduates how they integrate their school experiences into their life narratives, understand and negotiate their elite identity in higher education and at work. We also wanted to know how their elite and minority national identities intersect and mutually influence each other. Similar to others' findings, their elite education facilitated academic distinction and distinguished careers. Yet, despite accomplishments, they view success primarily as an individual achievement, with limited collective impact. Their elite status is only partially realized due to constraints in translating privileges into broader action. Our research contributes to debates regarding elite education and stigmatized minority status.

KEYWORDS:

• Elite schools
• national identity
• elite identity
• Palestinian graduates
• elite minorities
• habitus

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Ethics statement

This research has received approval from the Ethics Committee of the Education Department at the Haifa University. Approval number 453/21.

Notes

1 The Triangle is a concentration of Arab towns and villages adjacent to the green line located in central Israel. It is home to approximately 250,000 Arab citizens of Israel, representing between 10% and 15% of Israel's Palestinian Arab population.

2 In October 2000, Palestinian citizens of Israel staged mass demonstrations in towns and villages throughout the country to protest the government's oppressive policies against Palestinians in the Occupied Territories at the beginning of the Second Intifada. Thirteen Palestinian citizens were killed, and hundreds more were injured by the Israeli police.

3 In Israel during May 2021, there were a series of large-scale violent events between Israeli Jews and Arab Palestinian citizens occurring in different locations including mixed cities. Three civilians were killed and hundreds were injured.