Questions of Identity and Politics
After the foundation of Israel, public perception of the Arab states in America began to suffer, particularly after the 1967 Arab-Israeli War. This chill in Arab-American relations percolated through American society and even came to affect those, such as Ms. O'Keefe, who had never so much as set foot in the Arab world. As she moved into college, she became hesitant to identify herself as Syrian as she had previously, due to Syria's status as an enemy of Israel and by extension the US. Though identifying as Lebanese was just as valid as Syrian in regards to her heritage, this was nevertheless an omission forced by societal pressure. As "Arab heritage youth who experience discrimination...may respond by distancing themself from their cultural heritage," they will also do so as to avoid discrimination or association with the policies of Arab states. [5] These feelings of reticence towards her Syrian identity were only accentuated when she interacted with Jewish people, who she worried would project Syrian hostility towards Israel on to her.
However, these feelings were not necessarily shared by some other Arab-Americans at the time. In many ways "the 1967 Arab-Israeli War served as a catalyst for the assertion of ethnic identity," as organizations such as the Arab-American Institute were formed in the aftermath. [6] In this and many other matters, Arab-Americans are hardly a singular political entity. Even Ms. O'Keefe's family was not unified politically. While her family was mostly Republican due to their involvement in business, she and her brother supported Kennedy. Her family at the time was highly opinionated on politics, and not much has since changed for Arab-Americans as a whole in regards to political involvement. Even prior to the Iraq War and the politicization of Arab-American identity therein, Arab-Americans were more likely to vote and participate in political organizations. [7] Though she was hesitant to bring up her Syrian identity as a college student, Ms. O'Keefe would, as will be shown, gradually become more active in discussing her heritage, in both political and nonpartisan contexts.