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This paper brings together two rich bodies of knowledge that have barely intersected in research: parental involvement in the school and processes of pedagogical change. Until now, parental involvement has been studied in many contexts, but references to parental involvement in a school's pedagogy are rare. Management of pedagogical change has also been studied extensively, but mainly by relating to the school as an organisation that functions separately from the community context. This study, conducted in 2019-2021 (including the COVID-19 pandemic period), is based on 22 in-depth, semi-structured interviews with parents, principals, and senior education officials of two elementary schools in Israel that are undergoing pedagogical changes. The schools share some similar demographic characteristics but differ in pedagogy: One is an older school characterised by a traditional pedagogy (including, for example, frontal teaching and standardised evaluation); the other is new and was founded with innovative pedagogy in the spirit of the 21st century (for example, personalised teaching and alternative evaluation). The findings reveal that the parents in both schools are interested in influencing the school's pedagogy, but that they do so in opposite directions: The parents at the more traditional school are interested in promoting innovative learning, while the parents in the innovative school are interested in reintroducing traditional practices. The findings also contribute to the discussion of parental involvement from a gender perspective and the roles of key players. Finally, the article offers initial insights regarding parent-school relations, including the pedagogical aspects, following the COVID-19 pandemic.

In October 2018, Lucy Aharish, a Muslim Israeli-Arab journalist, and Tzachi Halevy, a Jewish Israeli actor, were married. In Israel, mixed-marriage, especially between a Jewish-Israeli man and a Muslim-Arab-Israeli woman, is perceived to threaten the social order. This celebrities' mixed marriage triggered a heated public debate focusing on "assimilation" and arguing the marriage was a threat to the demography of the Jewish state. The high-visibility coverage of the story allows us to examine the role of celebrities in creating mediated public-discourse around complex categories of identity. We ask: How has Israeli journalism framed the issue of mixed marriage through the case of Aharish and Halevy? And what roles have Aharish and Halevy as celebrities played in framing their own story? Based on content-analysis of 149 news items published on digital news-sites, we detected three main news frames: "A love story," "Advocating inclusion," and "Fighting assimilation." Analyzing the prominent role and the agency of the couple in the coverage, the case-study demonstrates how "traditional" news construction by journalists consolidates with self-branding of news-people. It suggests that we examine not only the frames embedded in news, but also the process of framing within the current individualistic news environment – where journalists become celebrified journalists. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Family individualization occurs, if at all, at a different pace and to a different extent in various societies and in various parts of society. Its impact has led to new scholarship in the social and caring professions, for which the concept of family is central in both professional education and practice. It is assumed that attitudes toward changing marital norms, family forms, and family relationships affect professionals' performance. This study, conducted in Israel in 2014 with 157 female health-profession students-102 (65%) Jews and 55 (35%) Muslim Arabs-focuses on attitudes about the family. Three patterns of attitudes emerged: individualized traditionalism-a mix of traditional and individualized attitudes, present among both the Jewish and the Muslim students; individualized autonomy, present mostly among the Jewish students; and classic traditionalism, present mostly among the Muslim students. Implications of these findings for the education and practice of health care professionals are also discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In 2010, the Knesset passed the Spousal Covenant Act, which enables Israelis 'lacking religious affiliation' to marry and divorce in Israel. Using the 'twin tolerations' theory, I present the process and the actors involved in the legislation, pointing out that in Israel the twin tolerations are reflected in the so-called status quo. On the basis of that analysis, I argue that the spousal covenant, initially aimed at solving the problem of all individuals forbidden to marry in Israel, but especially 'non-Halakhic' Jews from the FSU, ended up as a marginalizing law, excluding those non-Halakhic Jews from the Jewish-Israeli collective. I further argue that non-Halakhic Jews from the FSU no longer contest the Israeli religious regime of inclusion and instead use the 'established bypasses'-cohabitation and civil marriage abroad-both to get married and to be part of the national collective. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite the extensive literature about the "Great Aliyah," the return migration from the former Soviet Union (ES.U.) to Israel, only a few studies have dealt with the babushka (grandmother)?a central icon of Soviet culture?and her dynamic (re)configuration in the Israeli context. This paper analyzes the reshaping of the babushka?as a gendered, dynamic, and class-related institution?in Israel, as seen through the eyes of the grandmothers themselves. For this purpose, fifteen ex-Soviet grandmothers who now live in the urban center of Israel participated in in-depth, semi-structured interviews conducted in Hebrew in 2012 and 2013. The findings suggest that the Israeli version of the babushka involves a reinterpretation by the grandmothers of the (late) Soviet legacy through the dominant norms of the host culture and the constitution of a new gender contract, thus acknowledging greater individual autonomy. They also suggest that the Israeli babushka may well be a short-lived phenomenon. That is, the impact of the Soviet heritage, detached from the dominant Soviet economic, cultural, and social institutions, may well fade away. The conclusion refers to some theoretical issues that could be relevant to family and (return) migration scholarship. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose – The main purpose of this paper is to propose a model of economic development able to generate a cross-border sustainable economic development, in regions in conflict. The Italian industrial district model implements a community industry synergy process led by the authorities according to a top-down approach. The cluster model implements a clustering specialization process led, in the American version, by a bottom-up approach and in the European version by a top-down approach. The regional innovation system (RIS) provides the regional and international innovation networking required for both models in order to confront the global competition. The proposed progressive model creates the industrial specialization (industrial district) required for the development of the clustering process supported by the RIS. Design/methodology/approach – The authors have selected, from the list of producers (growers and producers of olive oil), a random sample of 103 growers of olives and producers of olive oil from both groups from the Northern regions (Galilee in Israel and the Northern West Bank): 26 Palestinian growers, 25 Palestinian producers, 13 Israeli growers and 39 Israeli producers of olive oil, and interviewed them. Findings – The results show that the community-industry synergy of the industrial district model is supported by the economic actors from both sides of the border but refused for political reasons by the regional authorities and professional associations. The raw material (olives), the human capital and the knowledge required in order to start the clustering process exist. Practical implications – The study has evaluated the Israeli-Jewish and Arab and the Palestinian olive sector, and clearly indicates that bottom-up decision-making process is the only way for the moment for initiating the cluster and RIS models in the olive sector. The intervention of a third party is required in order to start the bottom-up implementation of the industrial district model and launch the clustering process. Originality/value – The main contribution of this paper lies in organizing the industrial district in such a way that it will generate a cluster in the long run. Thus, it is called progressive model. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents the author's reaction to the panel discussion on women soldiers of Israel. The author explains that the panel discussion unmistakably displays the classic parameters of the republican feminist approach in the society. The author also substantiates the ethno-republican character of the social discourse in Israel and highlights the nation's gendered dimensions.

The article examines the role of women in the kibbutz community and how neoliberalism has altered that position. It argues that neoliberalism affects both men and women in the community by creating new social structures and resources while it diminishes the traditional ones. It also discusses why modern kibbutz women don't collectively gather, due to historical division of labor and social structures segregating masculinity and motherhood.