Liberalism in Israel

Between the ‘Good Person’ and the ‘Bad Citizen’

in Israel Studies Review
Author: Menachem Mautner 1
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  • 1 Tel Aviv University mautner@post.tau.ac.il
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.3167/isr.2016.310103
Keywords:
Ashkenazim; ethnic inequality; hegemony; immigration absorption; liberalism; Mizrahim; neo-liberalism
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ABSTRACT

In the 1950s, hundreds of thousands of immigrants from Muslim countries arrived in Israel. These Mizrahi immigrants were resented by the Ashkenazi ‘veteran public’, whose desire for normalcy outweighed the state’s call for sacrifice. A geographical separation between Ashkenazim and Mizrahim was created, and more recent processes of integration between the two have only partially succeeded, as is attested by much socio-economic data. The failure to integrate the Mizrahim has had an effect on the basis of support for liberalism in Israel. Israeli liberalism is backed mainly by the veteran public, while lower-class Mizrahim appear to offer little support for it.

Contributor Notes

MENACHEM MAUTNER is the Daniel Rubinstein Chair of Comparative Civil Law and Jurisprudence in the Faculty of Law, Tel Aviv University. His most recent book is Law and the Culture of Israel (2011), which was translated into Italian as Dirito e Cultura in Israele (2014) by Daniela Bifulco and Fulvio Cortese.

Israel Studies Review

Cover Israel Studies Review
Article Category:
Research Article
Page Count:
6–35
Keywords:
Ashkenazim; ethnic inequality; hegemony; immigration absorption; liberalism; Mizrahim; neo-liberalism
Print Publication Date:
01 Jun 2016
Online Publication Date:
01 Jun 2016
Copyright:
© Association for Israel Studies 2016

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