THE CONTRIBUTIONS OF THE ARMY TO NATIONAL INTEGRATION IN ISRAEL: THE CASE OF ORIENTAL JEWS by Maurice Moise Roumani School of Oriental and African Studies 1971 A thesis presented for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Politics in the University of London ProQuest Number: 11010411 All rights reserved INFORMATION TO ALL USERS The quality of this reproduction is dependent upon the quality of the copy submitted. In the unlikely event that the author did not send a com plete manuscript and there are missing pages, these will be noted. Also, if material had to be removed, a note will indicate the deletion. uest ProQuest 11010411 Published by ProQuest LLC(2018). Copyright of the Dissertation is held by the Author. All rights reserved. This work is protected against unauthorized copying under Title 17, United States C ode Microform Edition © ProQuest LLC. ProQuest LLC. 789 East Eisenhower Parkway P.O. Box 1346 Ann Arbor, Ml 48106- 1346 ABSTRACT It is the purpose of this study to establish how the Army in Israel contributes to the National Integration of Jews who originated in the Middle East and in North Africa and who arrived in Israel en masse after the foundation of the State, To assess this contribution, three steps are followed: 1) The establishment of a methodology as an analytical tool to determine what is meant in Israel by National Integration and the nature of the political formula. 2) The description of three main branches of the Army apparatus, together with their activities. 3) The activities of the Army are evaluated in terms of the political formula in order to determine the direction and success of its contribution to the process of National Integration. The findings of this study show that no soldier is allowed to leave the Army without proficiency and literacy in the Hebrew language, elementary education and some form of vocational training. The IDF ensures that the discharged soldier can earn his living and become a useful member of the society. Recruits are made aware not only of their rights in a democratic society, but also of their obligations towards that society. A strong identification with the land toge­ ther with knowledge of the land and its history are imparted to all soldiers, both academically and empiri­ cally. On the other hand, the IDF's contribution in the areas of education and economic specialization have not been sufficient to integrate Orientals with Ashkenazim. The progress of National Integration has been hindered by the exclusion from the Army of "unedu­ cated" women, the majority of whom are Oriental; by the Army's lack of contribution to ecological dispersion, and by its lack of receptivity to the Oriental's culture and beliefs. TABLE OF CONTENTS page Introduction 6 PABT ONE: THE NATURE OF THE PROBLEM chapter I. THE ORIGINS OP ISRAELI SOCIETY 17 The Origins of Israeli Polarization The Consequences of Polarization II. NATIONAL INTEGRATION 51 PART W O : THE IDF'S RESOURCES AND ACTIVITIES III. THE ORGANIZATION UNDER THE CHIEF 72 EDUCATION OFFICER The Historical Setting The Present Structure IV* ASPECTS OF IDF'S ACTIVITIES 121 Professional Aid: Methods and Personnel The Branch of Schooling The Branch of Information and Instruction The Branch of Recreation and Entertainment The Ministry of Education and Culture page PART THREE: THE IDF AND NATIONAL INTEGRATION V, THE IDF'S CONTRIBUTION TO THE INDICES 207 OF NATIONAL INTEGRATION Education 208 Economic Specialization 2^2 Socialization in the Zionist Ideology 268 Family Structure 309 Social and Cultural Mores 32^ Minimum Ecological Concentration 33& VI. NATIONAL INTEGRATION IN ISRAEL 352 APPENDIX 371 BIBLIOGRAPHY * 333 5 INTRODUCTION Israel occupies an equivocal position in the comparative study of new nations. It has been diffi­ cult for the specialist in this field to place it either among the new developing countries of Asia and Africa or among the well-established modern nations of the West. In some respects, Israel belongs in the former category, and in others it is typical of the latter. At the time of independence, new developing countries have generally found themselves populated by a socially and culturally traditional and economically backward native majority. As a result, their govern­ ments have been compelled to import the Western elements thought necessary for nation-building. This has not been the case in Israel. When Israel was granted independence, it had much in common with Western deve­ loped countries. It is estimated that in 19^8, 89.6$ of the Jewish population in Israel was of European or 1 Western descent and characterised by a high level of education, Western values and norms, modern hygiene and technological know-how and modern institutions. These standards were threatened primarily as a result of the mass influx of immigrants from new developing countries, from the Middle East, North Africa and parts of Asia. Therefore, instead of having to import Western elements in order to transform a traditional society, the new state received a large number of immigrants whose cultural experience and social standards were traditional and whose economic skills and educational level were much lower than those of the Jewish popula­ tion already present. This disturbed the homogeneity which had characterised the Yishuv (Western) Jewish population and the state before this large wave of immigrants. To combat the growing problems presented by these new immigrants, all agencies of state, inclu­ ding the Army, were mobilised to integrate them in the new state. This situation brought the IDF to occupy the same peculiar place among armies as Israel among nations. On the one hand, having developed from the Haganah (Jewish Defence Organization), the creation of the 8 Western Yishuv. the IDF emerged as an efficient and organised Army along the lines of the British and American Armies. Like the armies of these countries, the IDF has consistently remained an instrument of the state under civilian control. It has neither been an aspirant nor a contestant for political power. On the other hand, the need to integrate the new immigrants from developing countries obliged the IDF to undertake non-military tasks peculiar to the armies of new nations, such as the teaching of the three R's and socialization in the ideology of the state* It is evident, particularly in a society which suffers from a shortage of manpower, that a well-trained, reasonably well-educated and integrated population is necessary both for the successful performance of the army and for the viability of the nation-state. As an Army, the IDF is primarily concerned with defending the country and waging war. To be successful in this, the IDF, like other armies, seeks to have a viable organisation in which soldiers are well integrated regardless of their origin or background. But if the experience, training and education given during army service also serves a national goal, such as integration, then the military would also have contributed, however indirectly, to the integration of the society at large. It is our purpose to determine whether the IDF does in fact contribute to integration, and if so, to what extent. In its specific aspects, this study will consist of three parts. First, it will require that we identify the composition of Israeli society. A comparative analysis of the social and cultural back­ ground of Oriental Jews on one hand and of Yishuv or Ashkenazi Jews on the other will show the differences and similarities between these two types of Jews as well as the kind of task facing the Army for this inte- 2 gration. In the case of Oriental Jews, the analysis includes both parents and their offspring.-^ The characteristics of Oriental immigrant society and Ashkenazi society are derived from (a) general social studies of both groups and their respective social and cultural origins, (b) published field research, (c) internal publications of the Hebrew University and the Educational Division of the Army. Having established the framework of the society within which the Army operates, we will then examine integration in general theory and its relevance as a 10 policy goal in Israel. Integration in Israel will be defined in terms of a set of indices based on the cul­ tural, social, political and economic values of the Ashkenazi, the "predominant social type" which is in power and concerned to integrate the immigrants. The second part of our study will contain a des­ cription of the IDF's resources and "aspects of activi­ ties."^ The former consists of personnel and the overall educational organisation, whereas the latter refers to the different schools and specific programs which the IDF utilises for the purpose of integration. The third part will contain a correlation of the IDF's activities and the indices of the "dominant social type." This will enable us to determine the attributes which the IDF intends to inculcate in the Oriental and to evaluate the extent to which it has succeeded in contributing to integration. Before proceeding further, it is necessary to clarify the meaning of the term "Oriental." Wanting a more specific and abbreviated term, the word "Oriental" is used throughout to refer to Jews from the countries of the Middle East, North Africa and parts of Asia who 11 migrated to Israel between 19^9 and 195^* To date, the incomplete and general research? which has been done in this area shows that Oriental Jewish communi­ ties in their respective countries of origin differed from one another in their social and cultural back­ grounds. Two types of forces were primarily responsi­ ble for these variations: 1) The centrifugal forces resulting from the penetration and influence of different colonial powers in these countries. 2) The centripetal forces exemplified by the social and cultural traits of each country which shaped the difference between the Jewish community in one coun­ try and that in another.