Dealing with Ethnic Identity: Female Jewish-Ethiopian Migrants in Elite Religious Israeli Schools

The purpose of this chapter is to analyze how Ethiopian immigrant girls who were integrated into the religious Zionist’s prestigious school system – the Ulpana – perceive retrospectively their absorption schooling experience; how they understand the nature and essence of their ethnic identity; and how the Ulpana catered for their unique ethnic heritage and immigrant background and assisted their acculturation into Israeli society. First, we shall explain the difference betweensociety that consists of different cultures and a multicultural society, with their respective education systems. This will be followed by an analysis of the three strategies delineated in the research literature for dealing with the multicultural reality. We shall then analyze the meaning of ethnic identity with a focus on Phinney’s definition. Finally, we shall present the methodology, findings and discussion.