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The Myth of Ethnic Inequality in Israel

(Middle East Quarterly) Steven Plaut - It is a common but mistaken belief that the numerical representation in any profession or wage range for all groups in a society should be the same as the proportion of that group in the general population. Israeli Arabs are grossly over-represented among students in schools of pharmacy, and it is not because these schools discriminate against Jews. Israeli Arabs own proportionately twice as many cars as Israeli Jews; no one has suggested that this attests to discrimination in Israel against Jews. A significant portion of earnings disparities reflects nothing more than age structure differences. Older adults invariably earn far more than younger ones. It is estimated that the median age of Muslim Israelis is 19 while the median age of Jewish Israelis is 31. Moreover, Arab women in Israel, especially married Muslim women, have very low participation rates. This means that most employed Arab women are young and not yet married, which in turn generates a considerable gap in earnings levels when compared with Jewish women. The writer teaches at the Graduate School of Management at the University of Haifa.
2014-06-06 00:00:00
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