Israeli Students' Attitudes Toward Emigration

Abstract

The increase in young people leaving Israel or expressing an intent to emigrate has raised the issue of what contributes to a feeling of attachment to Israel. Social integration theory suggests that the greater the involvement in social institutions, the greater the attachment or integration into the society. Intentions to emigrate of over 2,300 high school students are related to social status, indicated by ethnic background, immigrant status, and family socioeconomic status; gender; and involvement in social institutions, indicated by school track, religiosity, media usage, support of the government, and participation in extracurricular youth movements. The findings show that academic school track, religiosity, and support of the government are associated with greater attachment to Israel, supporting the social integration theory. Girls are more attached to Israel, beyond their greater involvement in social institutions. Immigrant status has a curvilinear relationship with attachment to Israel. Moreover, immigrant status mitigates the effect of involvement in social institutions.