The Challenges of Diaspora Migration Interdisciplinary Perspectives on Israel and Germany

Diaspora or 'ethnic return' migrants have often been privileged in terms of citizenship and material support when they seek to return to their ancestral land, yet for many, after long periods of absence - sometimes extending to generations - acculturation to their new environment is as complex as that experienced by other immigrant groups. Indeed, the mismatch between the idealized hopes of the returning migrants and the high expectations for social integration by the new host country results in particular difficulties of adaptation for this group of immigrants, often with high societal costs. This interdisciplinary, comparative volume examines migration from German and Jewish Diasporas to Germany and Israel, examining the roles of origin, ethnicity, and destination in the acculturation and adaptation of immigrants. The book presents results from various projects within a large research consortium that compared the adaptation of Diaspora immigrants with that of other immigrant groups and natives in Israel and Germany. With close attention to specific issues relating to Diaspora immigration, including language acquisition, acculturation strategies, violence and 'breaches with the past', educational and occupational opportunities, life course transitions and preparation for moving between countries, The Challenges of Diaspora Migration will appeal to scholars across the social sciences with interests in migration and ethnicity, Diaspora and return migration.

Part I Diaspora Migration and the Consortium `Migration and Societal Integration': Introduction: migration and social integration: background and design of a large-scale research endeavor, Rainer K. Silbereisen, Peter F. Titzmann and Yossi Shavit; Why does the diaspora return home? The causes of ethnic return migration, Takeyuki (Gaku) Tsuda. Part II From Heritage to Home Country: the Migration Transition and Adjustment: Language proficiency and social identity in Russian-Hebrew and Russian-German preschool children, Joel Walters, Sharon Armon-Lotem , Carmit Altman, Nathalie Topaj and Natalia Gagarina; Age, input quantity and their effect on linguistic performance in the home and societal language among Russian-German and Russian-Hebrew preschool children, Natalia Gagarina, Sharon Armon-Lotem, Carmit Altman, Zhanna Burstein-Feldman, Annegret Klassert, Nathalie Topaj, Felix Golcher and Joel Walters; Acculturation and well-being among migrant and minority adolescents: a cross-national and cross-ethnic comparison, Anna Moellering, David Schiefer, Ariel Knafo and Klaus Boehnke; Personal and culture-dependent values as part of minority adolescent identity, Ella Daniel, Maya Benish-Weisman, Klaus Boehnke and Ariel Knafo; The everyday life experience of violent and non-violent male adolescent immigrants from the FSU in Germany and Israel, Chaya Koren and Steffen Zdun; Immigration as an experience to knife off from delinquency: desistance and persistence among male adolescents from the FSU, Steffen Zdun. Part III Preparing for a Future: Transitions within the New Country and Related Opportunities: Mobility aspirations of immigrant and native youth in Germany and Israel, Noah Lewin-Epstein, Zerrin Salikutluk, Irena Kogan and Frank Kalter; Achievement differences between immigrant and native fourth graders in Germany and Israel, Cornelia Kristen, Yossi Shavit, Svetlana Chachashvili-Bolotin, Tobias Roth and Irit Adler; Transitions to romantic involvement and living together: a comparison of psychosocial outcomes between natives and immigrants in Germany, Rainer K. Silbereisen, Peter F. Titzmann, Andrea Michel, Avi Sagi-Schwartz, Yoav Lavee and David Mehlhausen-Hassoen; Transitions to romantic involvement and living together: a comparison of psychosocial outcomes between natives and immigrants in Israel, Peter F. Titzmann, Rainer K. Silbereisen, Andrea Michel, Yoav Lavee, Avi Sagi-Schwartz and David Mehlhausen-Hassoen; First romantic relationships of immigrant adolescents in Israel and Germany: does acculturation modify ethnic differences?, Bernhard Nauck and Anja Steinbach. Part IV Research on Diaspora Migration and its Implications for Research and Policy: Diaspora migration in Israel and Germany: unique contexts or examples of a general phenomenon?, Peter F. Titzmann and Katharina Stoessel; Learning a host country: a plea to strengthen parents' roles and to encourage children's bilingual development, Birgit Leyendecker, Jessica Willard, Alexandru Agache, Julia Jakel, Olivia Spiegler and Katharina Kohl; Diaspora immigration from countries of the former Soviet Union to Israel: some social policy implications, Gustavo S. Mesch. Index.

Rainer K. Silbereisen is Research Professor of Developmental Psychology and Director of the Center for Applied Developmental Science at the University of Jena, Germany. He is Past-President of the International Union of Psychological Science. Peter F. Titzmann is Associate Professor at the Jacobs Center for Productive Youth Development, University of Zürich, Switzerland. Yossi Shavit is Weinberg Professor of Sociology at Tel Aviv University. He is the President of the Israeli Sociological Society and Director of Educational Policy Program at the Taub Center in Jerusalem, Israel.