The Formation of Transnational Identity among French Immigrants Employed in French‐Speaking Companies in Israel
| DOI | http://doi.org/10.1111/imig.12239 |
| Published date | 01 June 2016 |
| Date | 01 June 2016 |
The Formation of Transnational Identity
among French Immigrants Employed in
French-Speaking Companies in Israel
Karin Amit* and Shirly Bar-Lev*
ABSTRACT
This study focuses on the formation of a transnational identity among immigrants from France
who are employed in French-speaking companies in Israel (mostly call-centres). The prelimi-
nary qualitative analysis shows that this unique employment pattern contributes to the forma-
tion of their transnational identity, which is a combination of their francophone, Jewish and
Israeli identity. The findings obtained from a larger-scale online survey indicated that French
immigrants employed in French-speaking companies are more ethnically, socially and cultur-
ally segregated, and less fluent in Hebrew than French immigrants who are not employed in
such companies. However, no significant differences were found between these two groups in
their Israeli identity and sense of belonging to Israeli society. In general, the French immi-
grants feel at home in Israel, are satisfied with their life in Israel and plan to remain there. The
implications of these findings for policymakers are discussed.
INTRODUCTION
The term “transnationalism”has acquired a strong foothold in the field of migration research
(e.g. Portes, Guarinzo and Landolt, 1999; Levitt and Schiller, 2004). Transnationalism is defined
as the tendency among immigrants to maintain ties with their country of origin while also inte-
grating in the destination country (Bartram, Poros and Monfort, 2014). In this process, the
immigrant’s identity is formed as a combination of the origin country’s identity and the new
local identity (Clarke, Gilmour, and Garner, 2007; Lev Ari, 2013). The affinity to the origin
country can be expressed through frequent visits there and maintenance of formal ties (e.g. citi-
zenship), alongside preserving the language and cultural values. In this day and age, maintain-
ing ties with the origin country is easier, thanks to technology. For employed immigrants,
transnationalism is also expressed in employment patterns that preserve and maintain ties with
the origin country.
The present study focuses on the employment of French immigrants in Israel, and examines a
unique transnational employment pattern that characterizes this population: employment in French-
speaking companies, mostly call-centres. The study explores the implications that this employment
pattern has for the immigrants’identity and their sense of belonging to Israeli society. Our study
contributes to the growing literature on transnationalism, by presenting empirical evidence as to
how these dual identities are fostered among skilled migrants.
* Ruppin Academic Centre, Israel
doi: 10.1111/imig.12239
©2016 The Authors
International Migration ©2016 IOM
International Migration Vol. 54 (3) 2016
ISS N 00 20- 7985 Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.
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