Abstract
The months following the Hamas attack on Western Negev settlements in Israel, the brutal war in Gaza, and the conflict between Israel and Hezbollah sparked vigorous discourse regarding the significance of Jewish identity in North America and Europe. Many Jews, for whom Jewish identity was previously transparent in professional contexts and who had learned to view themselves as part of the white, privileged majority, have been compelled to reassess their position in a professional world where identity and belonging have become central components of interpersonal relationships and formally managed domains. The departments established in most large workplaces to manage and regulate these intergroup relations have found themselves lacking knowledge and resources to address employees experiencing exclusion and harassment based on their identity. In numerous instances, these departments have been revealed as part of institutionalized exclusion mechanisms. In the proposed article, we draw upon two rounds of interviews with (Non-Israeli) Jewish employees in workplaces across Europe and North America, as well as the emerging literature on Jewish identity post-October 7, to: 1. Understand the processes of shaping professional Jewish identity in the face of institutionalized and informal identity politics in their workplaces. 2. Identify characteristics of DEI theory and practice that have prevented departments dealing with diversity and inclusion from accommodating the exclusion experienced by Jews. 3. Highlight some of the practices perceived by Jewish employees as exclusionary and threatening, in order to develop greater sensitivity to these issues among professionals responsible for managing diversity in organizations.
Presenters
Michal FrenkelStudent, Professor, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Israel Varda Wasserman
Professor, Management, The Open University of Israel, Israel
Details
Presentation Type
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session
Theme
KEYWORDS
Diversity, Jews, Institutionalized harassment, Crisis
