The rapid economic development of Israel and the emergence of the ethnic division of labour.

This paper deals with the formation of the ethnic division of labour within the Jewish population in Israel during the rapid economic growth of the first decade of the existence of the state. It is argued that the division of labour stemmed from the specific patterns of economic development and the expanding capitalist relations of production. This approach is opposed to the functionalist view which argues that the position of the oriental immigrants was determined by their ‘traditional&rsqou;, pre-immigration, characteristics. Four major economic spheres—argiculture, construction, industry and the civil services—are examined in terms of the specific pattern of growth in each sphere, the ethnic division of labour it entailed and the ethnic division of rewards. Finally, the paper discusses the function of the dominant ideology in disguising the concrete ethnic-class relations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]