The development of social policy research in Israel

Abstract

The study of social policy in Israel has undergone major changes both since its initial steps during the 1950s and since the early 1970s, a period in which the first significant efforts to institutionalize it as an academic field took place. Based on a theoretical perspective that regards the scientific system as a social arena, this article seeks to identify the trends that have characterized this development as reflected in journal publications, both Israeli and international, over the past four decades. The findings indicate that social policy research has become a vibrant field of academic research over this period and that a number of key trends related to both the intra-institutional aspects and the intra-scientific aspects of this development, can be identified.In recent years there has been a marked increase in research on social policy in Israel. Indeed, from very modest origins in the 1950s, the last few decades have seen the emergence of a scientific field of study within Israeli academia engaged in the analysis of very diverse aspects of social policy and employing a wide range of theoretical and methodological tools. This article seeks to better understand the reasons for this development and, in particular, to identify the trends that have characterized the growing scholarship on Israeli social policy. By way of doing so, it follows in the footsteps of efforts to study the development of scientific bodies of knowledge in Israel, particularly those in the social sciences and humanities. 1 These reflexive attempts recognize that these intellectual bodies, and the knowledge they produce, are not progressive and rational in essence, but are rather linked to the social, economic and political context, whether external or internal, in which they operate. In this article a similar approach is adopted in an examination of the historical development of the study of social policy in Israel as reflected in journal publications, both Israeli and international, over the past four decades. This examination will focus on the intra-institutional aspects as well as the intrascientific aspects of this development.Scientific systems and the emergence of a field of study

Who Provides Resilience to the Community Resilience Providers?

“…In Israel, those processes are increasingly dominant, contributing to the growth of the nonprofit sector [32,33]. Contracting out of social services has occurred since the 1980s [34][35][36] and has been seen correspondingly in various Western countries [37,38]. Research has shown that contracting out of social services has alarming outcomes for the service users and those employed in NPOs [31,[39][40][41].…”

From social bloc to historical bloc: Politics, social relations and ideology in political economy

“…Policy initiatives deriving from this approach included the reduction of income support schemes and unemployment benefits, public underinvestment and low social investment. It also included the increasing and broadening of ‘negative income tax’ for low-income groups, the setting of goals for the participation in the labour market of ultra-Orthodox Jews and Palestinian citizens (two groups that, for different reasons, have relatively low participation rates), and a 5-year plan aimed to increase the employability of ultra-Orthodox Jews, which included subsidies for academic colleges and tracks specifically targeting ultra-Orthodox students (Gal et al. 2020; Gottlieb 2017; Government of Israel 2010; OECD 2018).…”

The price of religiosity: Enticing young Haredi men into secular academic studies

“…This position enables the Haredi community to preserve a minimal, yet acceptable, standard of living for Haredi men who devote their time exclusively to religious studies by providing them state support. As a result, many of these men are not exposed to secular education and do not participate in the formal economy (Berman, 2000; Gal, 2014).…”