JEWISH-ARAB COEXISTENCE IN ISRAEL - THE ROLE OF JOINT PROFESSIONAL TEAMS

This study sought to evaluate the success of professional coexistence between Jewish and Arab citizens in Israel, as reflected in joins medi cal reams, and to explore the generalizibility of coexistence within t he teams into mutual national images. Can positive experiences within work-groups mitigate intergroup stereotypes and prejudice, thereby str engthening the Jewish-Arab bond and commitment for peace in the region ? We examined the relative strength of the two forces: one stemming fr om team members' national identity and potentially hampering cooperati on caused by adverse residues of protracted antagonism between Jews an d Arabs; the other derived from their professional identity and possib ly enhancing joint problem-solving among term members. This was a new departure that combined several research domains - research in the are a of conflict management, studies on social identity, and research on biases in cognitive processing - that have not yet been integrated. It further entailed a pilot systematic effort to examine the possibility of generalizing from coexistence within joint, binational organic wor k-teams into overall patterns of relationships between these polarized groups. The study was conducted in a large regional medical center an d several ambulatory clinics in Northern Israel. A semistructured inte rview and a self-report questionnaire served as the research instrumen ts. We found that the success of Jewish-Arab coexistence appears confi ned to the 'local' boundaries of the joint professional teams. Nc clea r evidence was obtained showing that it generalizes into the overall n ational images and alleviates the protracted antagonism, stereotypes a nd prejudice. Three categories of explanations ate offered for the lac k of transfer of successful professional coexistence into global attit udes: these explanations derive from social identity theory, conflict resolution models, and cognitive biases.