Deby Babis

• Ariel University

This article explores how non-citizen minorities experience military service, focusing on children of international labor migrants who served in the Israel Defense Forces. During the 1990’s, Israel witnessed an influx of migrant workers, primarily from the Philippines, Latin America and Africa. However, due to Israeli immigration policies, neither...

Previous studies on medical clowning focused on patients, while research remains inadequate concerning clowning itself: training programmes and prerequisite requirements, clowning methods, deontology and accepted practices. Diverse approaches and paradigms in this field of complementary medicine are promoted by non-profit organisations worldwide. B...

Play is fundamental to a person's well-being. However, cultural norms and ageism have negatively impacted this practice among older adults. Tis study explored to what extent medical clowning promotes play among older adults. Qualitative data were collected in weekly group sessions of medical clowning in an Israeli retirement home. Group medical clo...

Background: During Covid-19, medical clowns disappeared from hospitals worldwide, ending their in-person visits. However, Israeli 'Dream Doctors' continued in children's wards and gained entrance to the Coronavirus wards. Methods: Using qualitative data from interviews and digital ethnography, the involvement of medical clowns in Coronavirus war...

The current research addresses the experiences and adaptation of children of migrant laborers who serve in Israeli compulsory military service. The first stage of the research comprised in-depth interviews with 20 soldiers to understand their narrative of being in the military. Despite having no role model for military service in their families, th...

Medical clowning is a familiar practice in residential homes worldwide. While previous studies focused on medical clowning interventions with individual dementia patients, this study explores medical clowning group sessions with independent older adults in a residential home in Israel. Data were collected through observations in 10 weekly sessions...

Ethnographies involve the exploration of social phenomena in the field, typically for an extended period of time. Traditionally, ethnographers listen to, observe, and directly communicate with the subjects of their research. At its essence, ethnography is about storytelling, and the data are collected through human interaction. With the development...

We examine the mechanisms explaining the life satisfaction of Latin American migrants living in Canada (in the province of Québec) and Israel. This comparative approach allows us to consider some specific aspects of the respective integration contexts, as well as the immigrants' perceptions and expectations as they settle in these two host societie...

The ever-growing worldwide phenomenon of transnational labor migration has resulted in the increase of families formed by migrant workers in destination countries. While scholarly attention has mainly focused on the transnational families of migrant workers, the formation of mixed families involving migrants in host countries has rarely been studie...

Lockdown in response to the spread of COVID-19 is a challenging period for migrant laborers. This study used a mixed-methods approach to explore how a community of Filipino migrants working as live-in caregivers in Israel coped with the lockdown. Philanthropy for Filipinos in need in Israel and back home was found to be an effective coping mechanis...

Beauty pageants held by immigrant groups in their host country, or diasporic beauty contests, are a fascinating global phenomenon. While previous studies have mainly explored this practice within permanently settled immigrant communities, there is a dearth of research regarding beauty contests in communities of migrant workers. Based on a seven- ye...

Diaspora philanthropy, sending donations to the homeland, has evolved with worldwide migration. While scholars have explored diaspora philanthropy in diverse communities, no research focuses on migrant worker communities ineligible for permanent settlement in their host country. This study posits that donations within such communities should be con...

The practice of mourning on social media, known as digital mourning, has become a worldwide phenomenon. While scholarly attention focuses on manifestations of online grief, there is a dearth of research regarding this process among immigrants. Based on a digital ethnography on Facebook on the Filipino community in Israel, this study inquires how mi...

Purpose The official history of an organization is usually found on the organization’s website and in brochures. The purpose of this paper is to explore the narrative of an institution’s official history, the autobiography, as compared to the biography constructed by researchers. Design/methodology/approach A case study was conducted on the Organi...

In recent decades, social networking sites (SNSs) have revolutionized transnational immigrant social networks channels. SNSs have become a source for engagement within these migrant communities and facilitate a fervent discourse on their perceptions and overall engagement with host societies. In this study, we aim to examine this discourse as they...

This paper explores the extent of involvement of immigrant organizations with young 1.5 and 2nd generation immigrants by comparing two Latin American organizations: CSSP (The Centre for Spanish Speaking Peoples) in Canada and OLEI (Organizacion Latinoamericana en Israel) in Israel. By means of qualitative methodology, the findings indicate that whi...

The purpose of this research was to explore the phenomenon of the emergence of ethno-medical organisations among traditional healers from the late twentieth century. A case study was carried out on the Bolivian organisation Kallawayas sin Fronteras (KASFRO). According to the findings, KASFRO has been founded to demand formal recognition and inclusi...

Social networking sites (SNSs) have restructured the ways that workers reflect on their occupational identity and work to elevate its prestige and social status. In this study, we investigate Facebook activities of Filipino temporary migrant workers employed as caregivers in Israel and instead of cultural or leisure communal and SNS activities, thi...

In 2006 and 2010, following demands from local and international civil society organizations, Israel granted civil status to approximately 1500 undocumented migrant workers’ children. This was considered a “one time humanitarian gesture,” not to be repeated. Thousands of other children, who did not fulfill the required criteria, were left without c...

Most immigrant organisations aim to facilitate the integration of immigrants into the host society while seeking to preserve their cultural heritage. In order to explore the tension between these two apparently opposite processes within immigrant organisations, a case study was carried out on the Organization of Latin American Immigrants in Israel...

Voluntary immigrant organizations are a worldwide phenomenon. Yet, despite the fact that all of these organizations were founded as a consequence of immigration, their actual characteristics and activities are very diverse, and even in some cases, immigrants do not found organizations at all. Therefore, this paper deals with the question: under whi...

December 2013 marked a significant shift in Bolivia with the enactment of a law for the inclusion of indigenous doctors in the National Health System. This article traces the constellation of forces that led to the institutionalization of indigenous medicine in Bolivia. It identifies three factors contributing to this health policy change. The firs...