‘You can’t have it both ways’: Arab women caretakers in kibbutz kindergartens in Israel

Abstract

The current study examines the challenges and coping of Arab women employed as child caretakers in kibbutz kindergartens in Israel. Fifteen semi-structured interviews were conducted with Arab caretakers. Three themes were identified: (1) Self-perception as secular Israelis versus a combined Muslim-Arab one Israeli-civic identity; (2) The families’ reaction to their decision to work in a kibbutz and to their adoption of Western and kibbutz norms that clash with traditional Arab ones; (3) Conditional acceptance by Jewish kibbutz society. The main recommendations following this study are to create a training model that would include both the Arab caretakers and other staff members in the kibbutz education system to heighten their awareness of these issues. In addition, since the entry of Arab women caretakers into the Jewish-Israeli early childhood education system is a growing trend, it is important to raise awareness in Israeli society of the complex issues raised by this phenomenon.