Imaginary Suitcases in the Lives of Israeli Expatriates in Canada: A Psychological Look at a Unique Historical Phenomenon
Israeli expatriates seem to represent a particular type of an immigrant community. Although voluntarily separated from Israel, Israeli expatriates find themselves immersed in an anxious psychological entanglement arising from the discrepancy between their sense of connectedness to Israel and the rea...
| Main Authors: | , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
The Association for Canadian Jewish Studies/York University Libraries
1994-01-01
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| Series: | Canadian Jewish Studies |
| Online Access: | https://cjs.journals.yorku.ca/index.php/cjs/article/view/19785 |
| Summary: | Israeli expatriates seem to represent a particular type of an
immigrant community. Although voluntarily separated from Israel,
Israeli expatriates find themselves immersed in an anxious
psychological entanglement arising from the discrepancy between
their sense of connectedness to Israel and the reality of their
separation from it. This paper suggests that the stresses identified
as involved in painful losses experienced by most immigrants in
uprooting are exacerbated in the Israeli case by a broken expectation
to return home. We define this phenomenon as non-event, an
anticipated, expected life event that did not occur, thereby altering
the person's self-conception. The notion of imaginary suitcases
serves as a metaphor for this non-event. In reviewing the literature
we focus on the significance of the non-event experiences in the
life of Israeli expatriates in Canada. This experience has been
alluded to, yet has remained virtually unexplored in the available
literature on this unique population. |
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| ISSN: | 1198-3493 1916-0925 |