The Imposition of Hebrew Names on New Immigrants to Israel: Past and Present

Abstract

AbstractFor many years, it has been the accepted practice to give immigrants to Israel Hebrew names, often without considering the wishes of the immigrants themselves. The automatic imposition of Hebrew names was widespread in the 1950s, when the great wave of immigrants from Europe and the Arab countries came to the newly-created state. During the 1970s, when Oriental Jews gradually gained status in Israeli society, this practice became symbolic of the failure to absorb the Oriental immigrants, a failure which still reverberates in Israel today. As immigration rose again around 1990 Israeli authorities tried to avoid the mistakes of the past. One (informal) decision was to be more tolerant of foreign names. Recent observations among members of these immigrant groups show the effect — or lack of effect — of this new attitude.

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