More similar than different? A study on the effects of trauma on intra and inter-group relations in Israeli and Palestinian informal groups

Abstract

We present here an analysis of a qualitative research that took place in Ramallah, West Bank and Jerusalem, Israel, from October 2011 to June 2012. The research consisted of semi-structured interviews with university students from West Bank and Israel. The students belonged to small informal groups formed through personal choice and based to an assignment. The aim of the research was primarily centralized in the exploration of the different ways collective trauma has been incorporated in the national identity as well the individual identity of the interviewees. It was conceived as a central key in the formation of everyday life through influencing the intra- and inter-group relationships within the two ethnic groups. In the content analysis of the interviews, we trace similarities in the two ethnic groups that occurred in the process of group formation and the elements that bring young people together. In this content analysis we take into consideration the existing Israeli-Palestinian conflict, the historical/collective trauma transferred through memory from one generation to the next as well as the personal experiences connected to conflict and trauma. Finally, we argue that, the socio-economic background of the individual/member of the informal groups defines (a) the proximity and the personal involvement in the ethnic conflict and thus the possibility of experiencing traumatic events and (b) the level of internalization and incorporation of the collective trauma in the individual identity. Based on these parameters the ideas of belongingness of the individual to the group is discussed.