Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to study the NGOs in the immigration field as a counterculture working simultaneously with and against the establishment. Design/methodology/approach – Case study approach using interviews and documents analysis. Findings – This paper studies the cultural features of three civil associations, interested in promoting social welfare for immigrants. These NGOs challenge the Israeli government when it violates human rights. This conflict takes place in the courts, the Knesset (parliament), governmental agencies, the media, and sometimes in the streets. The three NGOs use a variety of political strategies: both collaborating with governmental agencies, while simultaneously fighting against the government authorities. The cultural features of the immigrant NGOs are primarily left-wing, with socialist principles. The organizational culture of this association can be identified as a counterculture, opposing the dominant Israeli right-wing capitalist culture. Practical implications – This research can demonstrate how NGOs can use tactics to achieve a high level of success for the underprivileged population. Originality/value – This case study is unusual in that it suggests the NGOs are a sophisticated counterculture, with activists knowing how to operate concurrently with and against official authorities. The duality of the political cultural behavior of the NGOs’ social movement is a notable phenomenon of counterculture in the political arena and expands the definition of counterculture.

This paper focuses on academia as an agent of change in ongoing conflictual situations. In diverse and divided societies, the education system has a responsibility to promote multiculturalism in order to mitigate tension. Various theories deal with creating discourse spaces between groups in conflict: contact theory, the intergroup approach, and the narrative approach. This paper presents the role assumed by academia in Israel to bring Jews and Arabs closer together by means of two current examples -the 'Israeli Hope in Academia' project, which began two years ago under President of Israel Rivlin's tutelage, and the subsequent establishment of Centers for Shared Living on campuses as an example of execution in practice. The paper ends with practicable recommendations how the policy implementation can be improved in these centers, and can inspire other countries that experience ongoing conflicts.

This article deals with veteran immigrant teachers who integrated successfully into Israel's educational system and have been teaching immigrant students over the past few years. Their encounter with present (2018) new immigrants raises the following research question: How are patterns of integration into society reflected in the conceptions of veteran immigrant teachers in their work with immigrant students? The theoretical literature on which this study is based includes Berry's transnationalism model and the concept of hybrid identity. The results displayed affinity between the teachers' own migration stories and their educational conceptions regarding immigrant students. Patterns included both assimilation and integration. The conclusions declare that it is indeed appropriate to process the experiences and stories of veteran immigrant teachers because they transmit their conceptions to immigrant students and can serve as bridge builders within the educational system as former immigrants themselves.

This article analyses the issue of immigrant students’ adaptation in Israeli schools, as perceived by their parents and teachers. The study integrates data from two qualitative, phenomenological studies: one explored immigrant parents’ perceptions of Israeli education and their children’s adaptation in school, while the other studied teachers’ perceptions of immigrant students’ education and their practices in the field. The data was gathered from in‐depth interviews with 17 parents and 20 teachers. The analysis yielded a list of themes related to parents’ and teachers’ views of the children’s adjustment, and their own roles in this process: their personal experiences in the field, the challenges and difficulties in interpersonal interactions between parents and teachers, and policy issues related to the educational integration of immigrant students. Findings emphasize the vital importance of parent‐teacher collaboration, clarification and better implementation of existing policy, and teachers’ qualifications for the successful educational integration of immigrant students.

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PurposeThis paper aims to analyze the unique dilemmas and challenges of ultra-orthodox men in academia.Design/methodology/approachThis research is conducted in the phenomenology approach. It explores the experience and the process that shape the social identity of higher-educated Haredi men through the life stories of twenty individuals.FindingsThe research found the developmental path of Haredi-educated males, till they adopted a hybridist identity. The research uses a new term of hybridist identity, to better analyze the components of this new identity structure that, to the best of the authors knowledge, has not been examined as such in the literature.Research limitations/implicationsThe study population is not large and therefore the number of participants is not large.Practical implicationsFrom this, we can also learn about other conservative groups that integrate into academic institutions.Social implicationsThis is a group that has been researched, through which it will be possible to learn about trends of diversity in academia and other public institutions. From the findings, it will be possible to design a policy that will suit the sociological, social and cultural composition of the students, in order to enable access to higher education for more diverse groups.Originality/valueThis is a group that has been researched, through which it will be possible to learn about trends of diversity in academia and other public institutions. From the findings, it will be possible to design a policy that will suit the sociological, social and cultural composition of the students, in order to enable access to higher education for more diverse groups.

This study examined Jewish ultra-Orthodox (Haredi) women doctoral students to analyze the shaping of their religious and academic identities, and particularly the coping strategies they use to reconcile them. It is informed by theories on the definition of social and collective identities and the way individuals assimilate upon encountering a new collective, as well as by actual processes of Haredi integration in Israeli academia over the years. The study concludes that in their academic development, these women challenge their traditional social worlds and enter the world of learning, which in their community is exclusively reserved for men.

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