SEGREGATION | “Segregation is a keyword in Israel. The Israeli Arabs belong to the poor, even though Christian Arabs tend to be more middle class. The Bedouins are very poor, as are the ultraorthodox Jews. Religious cities like Bnei Brak and Jerusalem are among the poorest in Israel,” explains Dolev. The photo is from Tel Aviv.
In general, quality of life is high in Israel, ranked as number 15 in the UN Human Development Index (HDI) in 2010.
The country’s long-lasting occupation of Palestine does not affect Israeli happiness at all.
The contrasts are striking. Travelling in the Palestinian West Bank means queuing up for numerous Israeli military checkpoints. Sometimes you get through in only ten minutes; sometimes it takes a couple of hours. At times you cannot get through at all.
Scattered around the landscape are also the Israeli settlements, protected by fences and soldiers and with their own private roads, slicing Palestine into little pieces.
Across the separation wall and into Israel, life is completely different. Gone are the checkpoints and the endless queues. In Tel Aviv the locals enjoy food and beer on the beach, watching people play beach tennis – a very popular passtime.
“Israel’s economic growth is high, but it comes at the expense of social and environmental issues,” warns Dr. Shahar Dolev. He is a researcher at the Israel Association for Sustainable Economics, an NGO working to promote sustainable economics in Israel. It was Dolev who initiated Israel’s Progress Index – a multi-layered model for measuring progress and quality of life in Israel.
PERSONAL SECURITY
However, the issue of personal security is important in Israel, but this has to do with domestic issues such as crime and feeling safe walking alone in the dark.
ECONOMIC GROWTH | “Our economic growth is based on weakening social and environmental wealth. We need to see these aspects merge, which might mean slower economic growth, but still better quality of life,” says Shahar Dolev.
“You live in a constant war-like situation with acts of war taking place almost every day in Palestine and with Israeli soldiers involved. One would have thought this would reduce your QoL?”
“Yes, but people here tend to forget very fast. After a few months of quiet they return to normal and try to forget,” Dolev says.
“These days you will find war-related worries only in southern Israel, due to the rockets from Gaza. In Tel Aviv we do not have these worries. When asked, most people state that they are satisfied with life.”
Dolev suggests that the high self-rated QoL in Israel may be a psychological counter-action; a reaction to the security problems.
“This is a big methodological challenge, in fact. You ask people if they are happy, and they answer: ‘Yes, I am,’ but perhaps they are not. How are you going to reveal that? I suspect that quite a few Israelis in answering our questions in fact want to state: ‘We are not afraid of terrorism! We are not intimidated!’ There may be a deeprooted issue here; a cover-up to discover your inner insecurity.”
GETTING POORER
The economic situation is not good for the majority of the population, according to Dolev. While GDP keeps rising, the number of poor people is getting bigger and they are getting poorer. At the same time Israel is a very heterogeneous country with segregation and huge differences in concerns and priorities among its citizens.
“Our studies reveal big gaps in income. In Israel there is a very small group of super rich. There is a middle class, but they are not a big group like in Europe. Then there is quite a large group of poor people. Segregation is a keyword. The Israeli Arabs belong to the poor, even though Christian Arabs tend to more middle class. The Bedouins are very poor, as are the ultraorthodox Jews. Religious cities like Bnei Brak and Jerusalem are among the poorest in Israel.”
“For the ultraorthodox Jews this is also a question of values. They do not regard accumulation of capital as a value, but having lots of kids is. The father does not go to work, instead devoting his time to reading the scriptures, earning a stipend from the state. So the wife has to work, and women’s incomes in Israel are about 36 per cent lower than men’s incomes,” Dolev explains.
UNDER THE CARPET
Ultraorthodox Jews do not serve in the army as do other Israelis except Israeli Arabs. They are in the eye of storm in a political battle where the religious parties in general support them, whereas the secular parties are more reluctant.
The ultra-orthodox Jews get more children than the average Israeli, as do the Israeli Arabs. Where, then, is Israel heading?
“These are truly delicate issues. Nobody wants to discuss them in the open in fear of igniting an explosion. Instead of dealing with these demographic problems, which are tied to economical, social and political issues, we sweep them under the carpet. Meanwhile the problems and gaps keep growing.”
“In your opinion what needs to be done in order to maintain or even raise the Israelis’ QoL?”
“The widespread privatisation, which started in the late 70s, is harming our QoL in my view. Of course, lots of other Israelis take the opposite view, claiming that privatisation means more efficiency. It is a propaganda war. The left/right axis here is mainly about the Palestinian issue. Economic discussions are almost non-existent. We are a liberal country like the US.”
“Are you optimistic, thinking you will see changes for the better?”
“Politicians are interested in what the people are interested in. Right now it is GDP. If we, the researchers, manage to get through to the people with the importance of social and environmental aspects, then the politicians will follow. And we will get through. I am not worried about that.”
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