Mixed-ethnicity marriages and marital dissolution in Israel

ABSTRACT

This study examines the relation between mixed-ethnicity couples and marital dissolution in Israel, an ethnically stratified immigrant society, including Jews from different continents and Israeli Palestinians. Findings indicate that, when defined broadly, mixed-ethnicity couples have higher divorce risks than endogamous couples. However, comparing mixed and non-mixed couples in terms of specific ethnic categories reveals a more complex picture. Only in a few cases did mixed-ethnicity couples have higher divorce risks than endogamous couples of the respective origin groups. Moreover, some endogamous couples were more prone to divorce than others. We claim that since ethnic categories are socially constructed, it is important to critically examine various categories. In doing so, we can learn about the complex relationship between ethnicity, educational and economic resources, and divorce.

KEYWORDS:

• Divorce
• inequality
• marriage stability
• mixed-ethnicity couples

Acknowledgments

We are grateful to Yasmin Alkalay (Tel Aviv University) for her invaluable comments and to Helene Hogri, our editor, for her important contribution. We acknowledge the Research Authority of the Academic College of Tel Aviv-Yaffo for their support of the study, and we express our appreciation to the Israel Central Bureau of Statistics as data coordinator. Finally, we thank the anonymous reviewers of this journal for their enlightening comments and suggestions.

Notes

1. Kalmijn, “Intermarriage and Homogamy,” 395–421.

2. Mills, The Sociological Imagination.

3. Merton, “Intermarriage and the Social Structure,” 361–74; Rodriguez-Garcia, “Intermarriage and Integration Revisited,” 8–36.

4. Esping-Andersen, The Incomplete Revolution.

5. Ibid.; Shavit and Stier, “The Role of Ethnicity and Education in a Changing Marriage Market,” 207–25; Stier and Shavit, “Age-at-Marriage, Sex Ratios, and Ethnic Heterogamy,” 79–87.

6. Härkönen and Dronkers, “Stability and Change in the Educational Gradient of Divorce,” 501–17; Herbst and Kaplan, “Mothers’ Post-divorce Earnings in the Context of Welfare Policy Change,” 222-234.

7. Esping-Andersen, The Incomplete Revolution.

8. Kalmijn, “Intermarriage and Homogamy,” 395–421.

9. Goldstein and Harknett, “Parenting across Racial and Class Lines,” 121–43.

10. Collins, Black Feminist Thought: Knowledge, Consciousness, and the Politics of Empowerment.

11. De Graaf and Kalmijn, “Change and Stability in the Social Determinants of Divorce,” 561–72.

12. Furtado, Marcén, and Sevilla, “Does Culture Affect Divorce?” 1013–38.

13. Zhang and Van Hook, “Marital Dissolution among Interracial Couples,” 95–107.

14. Rodriguez-Garcia, “Intermarriage and Integration Revisited,” 8–36.

15. Kalmijn, “Intermarriage and Homogamy,” 395–421; Rodriguez-Garcia, “Intermarriage and Integration Revisited,” 8–36.

16. Kalmijn, “Intermarriage and Homogamy,” 395–421.

17. Zhang and Van Hook, “Marital Dissolution among Interracial Couples,” 95–107.

18. Hohmann-Marriot and Amato, “Relationship Quality in Interethnic Marriages and Cohabitations,” 825–54.

19. Rodriguez-Garcia, “Intermarriage and Integration Revisited,” 8–36.

20. Ibid., 10.

21. Ibid.

22. Lyngstad and Jalovaara, “A Review of the Antecedents of Union Dissolution,” 257–92.

23. Lewin, “Divorce in Israel,” 65–85; Muhsam, “A Note on the Use of Divorce Statistics to Measure Ethnic Cleavage in Israel,” 369–73; Peres and Katz, “The Family in Israel,” 9–32.

24. Swirski, Konor-Attias, and Ophir, Israel: A Social Report.

25. Esping-Andersen, The Incomplete Revolution.

26. Kalmijn, “Intermarriage and Homogamy,” 395–421.

27. Bratter and Eschbach, “What About the Couple?”, 1025–47; Bratter and King, “But Will it Last?”, 160–71; Hohmann-Marriot and Amato, “Relationship Quality in Interethnic Marriages and Cohabitations,” 825–54; Kalmijn, “Intermarriage and Homogamy,” 395–421; Milewski and Kulu, “Mixed Marriages in Germany,” 89–113.

28. Rodriguez-Garcia, “Intermarriage and Integration Revisited,” 8–36.

29. Kalmijn, “Intermarriage and Homogamy,” 395–421.

30. Zhang and Van Hook, “Marital Dissolution among Interracial Couples,” 95–107.

31. For a review see Lyngstad and Jalovaara, “A Review of the Antecedents of Union Dissolution,” 257–92.

32. Jones, “Convergence and Divergence in Ethnic Divorce Patterns,” 213–18.

33. Ibid.

34. Zhang and Van Hook, “Marital Dissolution among Interracial Couples,” 95–107.

35. De Graaf and Kalmijn, “Change and Stability in the Social Determinants of Divorce,” 561–72; Härkönen and Dronkers, “Stability and Change in the Educational Gradient of Divorce,” 501–17; Kaplan and Herbst, “Stratified Patterns of Divorce,” 949–82; Matysiak, Styrc, and Vignoli, “The Educational Gradient in Marital Disruption,” 197–215; McLanahan, “Diverging Destinies,” 607–28; McLanahan and Jacobsen, “Diverging Destinies Revisited,” 3–24.

36. Esping-Andersen, The Incomplete Revolution; Mäenpää and Jalovaara, “Homogamy in Socio-Economic Background and Education, and the Dissolution of Cohabiting Unions,” 1769–92.

37. Esping-Andersen, “Welfare Regimes and Social Stratification,” 124–34.

38. Goldstein and Harknett, “Parenting across Racial and Class Lines,” 121–43; Kalmijn, De Graaf and Janssen, “Intermarriage and the Risk of Divorce in the Netherlands,” 71–85; Smith, Maas, and van Tubergen, “Irreconcilable Differences?” 1126–37.

39. Zhang and Van Hook, “Marital Dissolution among Interracial Couples,” 95–107.

40. Yancey and Yancy, “Experiencing Racism,” 197–213.

41. Fogiel-Bijaoui, “Familism, Postmodernity, and the State,” 38–62.

42. Beside Mizrachim, there are several terms in the literature to describe this ethnic group, such as “Sephardic”, “Oriental”, or “Mizrahi” Jew (DellaPergola, “‘Sephardic and Oriental’ Jews in Israel and Western Countries,” 22). We chose to use Mizrachim, as this concept is a commonly used in the academic (Hever, Shenhav and Motzafi-Haller, Mizrahim in Israel; Sasson-Levy, “Ethnic Generations,” 399–423) as well as the public debate (Cohen, “Developments in Gender, Ethnic, and National Earnings and Educational Gaps in Israel,” 339–47; Semyonov, Raijman, and Maskileyson, “Ethnicity and Labor Market Incorporation of Post-1990 Immigrants in Israel,” 331–59; Swirski, Konor-Attias, and Ophir, Israel: A Social Report).

43. Swirski and Konor-Atias, Wages are Rising but Fail to Match the Increase in Economic Growth.

44. Cohen, Haberfeld, and Kristal, “Ethnicity and Mixed Ethnicity,” 896–917.

45. DellaPergola, “‘Sephardic and Oriental’ Jews in Israel and Western Countries,” 22; Shenhav, “Ethnicity,” 55–63.

46. DellaPergola, “‘Sephardic and Oriental’ Jews in Israel and Western Countries,” 22.

47. Ibid.

48. ICBS, Yearly Statistics 1989, Yearly Statistics 1994.

49. Gorodzeisky and Semyonov, “Immigrants from the Former Soviet Union in the Israeli Labor Market,” 573–94.

50. Swirski and Konor-Atias, Wages are Rising but Fail to Match the Increase in Economic Growth.

51. Dahan, “The Rise of Earning Inequality,” 485–517.

52. Cohen, Haberfeld, and Kristal, “Ethnicity and Mixed Ethnicity,” 896–917; Swirski, Konor-Attias, and Ophir, Israel: A Social Report.

53. Okun, “Insight into Ethnic Flux,” 173–87.

54. Peres, Ethnic Relations in Israel.

55. Fogiel-Bijaoui, “The Spousal Covenant (Brit Hazugiut), or the Covenant with the Status Quo,” 210–27; Westreich and Shifman, A Civil Framework for Marriage and Divorce in Israel.

56. Hacker and Liberson, “Cross-Border Families in Israel,” 509–29.

57. ICBS, Yearly Statistics 2015.

58. Peres and Katz, “The Family in Israel,” 9–32.

59. Lewin, “Divorce in Israel,” 65–85.

60. Raz-Yurovich, “Economic Determinants of Divorce among Dual-Earner Couples,” 177–203.

61. Lavee and Krivosh, “Marital Stability among Jewish and Mixed Couples Following Immigration to Israel from the Former Soviet Union,” 158–67.

62. Lewin, “The Effect of Economic Stability on Family Stability among Welfare Recipients,” 223–40; Peres and Katz, “The Family in Israel,” 9–32.

63. Kaplan and Herbst, “Stratified Patterns of Divorce,” 949–82; Raz-Yurovich, “Economic Determinants of Divorce among Dual-Earner Couples,” 177–203.

64. Kaplan and Herbst, “Stratified Patterns of Divorce,” 949–82; Lewin, “Divorce in Israel,” 65–85.

65. Most missing cases were in the variables of salaries and employment. Data on wages were gleaned from the Israeli Tax Authority, as reported by the employer. Among those individuals for whom no salaries were reported, it was impossible to disentangle those who did not work the entire year from those who were self-employed, so that all such data had to be excluded.

66. The ICBS data on divorce in the years covered in the study include only divorce who took place in Israel.

67. Cohen, “Developments in Gender, Ethnic, and National Earnings and Educational Gaps in Israel,” 339–47.

68. Esping-Andersen, The Incomplete Revolution; Kaplan and Herbst, “Stratified Patterns of Divorce,” 949–82; Lewin, “Divorce in Israel,” 65–85; Raz-Yurovitz, “Economic Determinants of Divorce among Dual-Earner Couples,” 177–203.

69. Lewin, “Divorce in Israel,” 65–85.

70. Cooke, “‘Doing’ Gender in Context,” 442–72; Stier and Mandel, “Inequality in the Family,” 594–608.

71. Kaplan and Stier, “Political Economy of Family Life,” 43–56; Nock, “The Marriages of Equally Dependent Spouses,” 756–77.

72. Kaplan and Herbst, “Stratified Patterns of Divorce,” 949–82; Lewin, “Divorce in Israel,” 65–85; Raz-Yurovich, “Economic Determinants of Divorce among Dual-Earner Couples,” 177–203.

73. Raz-Yurovich, “Economic Determinants of Divorce among Dual-Earner Couples,” 177–203.

74. Allison, Event History and Survival Analysis.

75. Ibid.; Zhang and Van Hook, “Marital Dissolution among Interracial Couples,” 95–107.

76. DellaPergola, “Marriage of Jews to Non-Jews.”

77. Kaplan and Herbst, “Stratified Patterns of Divorce,” 949–82; Wagner and Weiß, “European Research on Divorce Risks,” 483–500.

78. Kaplan and Herbst, “Stratified Patterns of Divorce,” 949–82; Jalovaara, “The Joint Effects of Marriage Partners’ Socioeconomic Position on the Risk of Divorce,” 67–81.

79. Hansen, “Unemployment and Marital Dissolution,” 135–48; Kaplan and Herbst-Debby, “Fragile Employment, Liquid Love”, 1-31; Kaplan and Herbst, “Stratified Patterns of Divorce,” 949–82; Lewin, “The Effect of Economic Stability on Family Stability among Welfare Recipients,” 223–40; Maslauskaite et al., “Socio-Economic Determinants of Divorce in Lithuania,” 871–908; Poortman, “How Work Affects Divorce,” 168–95.

80. Härkönen and Dronkers, “Stability and Change in the Educational Gradient of Divorce,” 501–17; Jalovaara, “The Joint Effects of Marriage Partners’ Socioeconomic Position on the Risk of Divorce,” 67–81; Lyngstad and Jalovaara, “A Review of the Antecedents of Union Dissolution,” 257–92.

81. Kalmijn, “Intermarriage and Homogamy,” 395–421; Lewin, “Divorce in Israel,” 65–85.

82. Kaplan and Herbst, “Stratified Patterns of Divorce,” 949–82.

83. Lewin, “Divorce in Israel,” 65–85.

84. Rodriguez-Garcia, “Intermarriage and Integration Revisited,” 8–36.

85. Kalmijn, “Intermarriage and Homogamy,” 395–421.

86. Zhang and Van Hook, “Marital Dissolution among Interracial Couples,” 95–107.

87. Ibid. See also Muhsam, “A Note on the Use of Divorce Statistics to Measure Ethnic Cleavage in Israel,” 369–73.

88. Kaplan and Herbst, “Stratified Patterns of Divorce,” 949–82.

89. Lewin, “Divorce in Israel,” 65–85.

90. Ibid.

91. Peres and Katz, “The Family in Israel,” 9–32; Lewin, “Divorce in Israel,” 65–85.

92. Cohen, Haberfeld, and Kristal, “Ethnicity and Mixed Ethnicity,” 896–917.

93. DellaPergola, “Marriage of Jews to Non-Jews.”

94. Hacker and Liberson, “Cross-Border Families in Israel,” 509–29; Rodriguez-Garcia, “Intermarriage and Integration Revisited,” 8–36.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Amit Kaplan

Amit Kaplan is a Senior Lecturer in the School of Government and Society at The Academic College of Tel Aviv-Yaffo. Her principal research interests include issues of family, gender, work and welfare policy. Publications on these topics have appeared in journals such as Social Science Research, Demographic Research, Population Research and Policy Review, International Journal of Social Welfare, Social Justice Research and Human Reproduction.

Anat Herbst-Debby

Anat Herbst-Debby is the director of the Gender in the Field Track in the Gender Studies Program at Bar-Ilan University. Her research areas are: welfare policies and equality; divorce and equality; gender aspects of the welfare state; gender aspects of the social security system; and motherhood and the welfare state. Her recent work on the topics of welfare policy and mothers, divorce and inequality has been published in Demographic Research, International Journal of Social Welfare, International Sociology, Journal of Social Policy, Population Research and Policy Review, Social Policy and Administration, and Women’s Studies International Forum.