Deserving and privileged: the social construction of the right to housing in Israel

Abstract

This article compares the struggle of two groups in Israel for housing rights. Following Schneider and Ingram’s model, the article analyses the influence of the social construction of each group ‒ residents of the communal rural sector as an advantaged group, and public housing tenants as a dependent group ‒ on its housing rights. The findings fit Schneider and Ingram’s model with one surprising exception: The ‘dependent’ group achieved significant favourable legislation in 1998, whereas the ‘advantaged’ group has not yet succeeded. The article attempts to explain this divergence from the model and the effect of social construction on housing rights in a given society.

Keywords:

• Housing rights
• social construction
• target population
• public housing
• rural sector
• Israel

Acknowledgements

The author would like to thank Gila Menahem, Nissim Mizrahi, Naomi Carmon, Oren Yiftachel, and Itai Sened for their insightful comments. She is also grateful to Neta Ziv, Adi Wozner, and Harel Nachmani for assistance and support.

Notes

1. Hananel, “Can Centralization, Decentralization.”

2. A series of demonstrations and protests were held throughout Israel in the summer of 2011, sparked largely by concerns about the high cost of living, especially the high cost of housing and the lack of affordable housing. In September 2011, at the peak of the protests, more than half a million people participated in a demonstration.

3. Schneider and Ingram, “Social Construction of Target.”

4. Berger and Luckmann, The Social Construction.

5. Edelman, The Symbolic Uses.

6. Jacobs and Manzi, “Evaluation the Social Constructivist,” 36.

7. For some of these studies see Clapham, Franklin, and Saugères, “Housing Management”; Franklin and Clapham, “The Social Construction”; Kemeny, Housing and Social Theory; Jacobs and Manzi, “Discourse and Policy Change”; Jacobs and Manzi, “Evaluation the Social Constructivist”; and Jacobs, Kemeny, and Manzi, Social Constructionism in Housing.

8. Nguyen, Basolo, and Tiwari, “Opposition to Affordable Housing”; Hunter and Nixon, “The Discourse of Housing.”

9. Schneider and Ingram, “Social Construction of Target”; Schneider and Ingram, Policy Design for Democracy.

10. Schneider and Ingram, “Social Construction of Target.”

11. Ibid.

12. Ibid., 343.

13. Hunter and Nixon, “The Discourse of Housing.”

14. Ibid.; Jacobs and Manzi, “Discourse and Policy Change.”

15. It includes all types of land (urban and agricultural, developed and undeveloped), and all land uses, residential, commercial, and industrial, in addition to traditional public land use for parks, natural resources, and public infrastructure.

16. The Legislative Amendment Act of 2009, changed the name from Israel Lands Administration to Israel Lands Authority. Initials remain the same.

17. See ILA Law, Clause 3, 1960.

18. Hananel and Alterman, Netorey Karka: Haarachim Vehashikolim.

19. Proprietary (in rem) right is a right to property regardless of person and therefore inheritable.

20. Vitkon, Hazchuyot Bekarka Haklayit.

21. Fibish, Mechirat Hadirot Badiur Hatsiburi; and Fiedelman, Hatmorot Badiur Hatsiburi Beyisrael. Details regarding numbers of dwellings and of residents are not uniform. Media estimates and government ministry reports mentioned 80,000 to 120,000 apartments.

22. For full information on tenants, one would have to apply to each public housing company separately. The Ministry of Construction and Housing has information on numbers of units but not on numbers of tenants.

23. Fiedelman, Hatmorot Badiur Hatsiburi Beyisrael.

24. Central Bureau of Statistics (Israel), “Israel Yearbook of Statistics 1996,” Table 2.11. Accessed February 2016. http://www.cbs.gov.il/archive/shnaton47/st02-11.gif

25. Central Bureau of Statistics, “Israel Yearbook of Statistics 2013,” Table 2.21. Accessed February 7, 2016. http://www.cbs.gov.il/shnaton64/st02_21x.pdf

26. See note 21 above.

27. Ibid.

28. Benchetrit, Mediniyut Diur Beyisrael.

29. See Government Decision No. 1543. January 29, 1997.

30. In addition to the MDR, the PHF included many social change movements dealing with housing matters of the disadvantaged. For a full list of organisations see Karif, Ha-Mizrahit: Sipura shel Hakeshet, 104.

31. The MDR (Hakeshet Hademocratit Ha-Mizrahit) is an apolitical, non-parliamentary, social change group representing the Mizrahim (Jews from Arab and Muslim lands and the Orient), which criticised the Ashkenazi (Western) Jews’ hegemony in Israeli society and its institutions.

32. Fibish, Mechirat Hadirot Badiur Hatsiburi. (1) ‘My house’ known as the Shitrit method (March‒June 1999) 3713 housing units were sold; (2) ‘Buy your house’ (2000–2004) 15,201 apartments were sold; (3) ‘My home is here’ (2005) 739 units were sold; (4) ‘My own apartment’ (2008–2010).

33. From 1999 to August 2011 some 33,400 apartments were sold, bringing the government NIS 2.75 billion, but no new housing units were built.

34. Fiedelman, Hatmorot Badiur Hatsiburi Beyisrael .

35. See Law of Economic Policy for 2011–2012 (legislative amendments), clause 53, Amendment 5 to the Public Housing Law, 2011.

36. Knesset Gazette, November 25–27, 2013, Vol. 7, Session 82.

37. Housing rights are particularly relevant to kibbutzim and cooperative moshavim, where all land rights and means of production are jointly owned by the community, whereas in other forms of moshavim, the homestead is family-owned.

38. Hananel and Alterman, Netorey Karka: Haarachim Vehashikolim ; and Hananel, “ Land Narrative.”

39. The Israel Lands Administration Law, 1960, established a statutory body (Minhal Mekarke’ei Yisrael, the Israel Lands Administration – the ILA) to administer nationally owned land. Clause 3 of the ILA Law, 1960, states that the national land policy will be shaped by the ILC’s decisions.

40. Alterman, “The Challenge of Farmland.”

41. ILC Decision 692, January 1995, regarding moshavim; ILC Decision 751, February 1996, regarding kibbutzim. In kibbutzim, for example, a member for 16 years or more received a 2% discount for each year, though paying at least 11% of the leasing fee.

42. Hananel and Alterman, Netorey Karka: Haarachim Vehashikolim, 162–90 and Hananel, “ Land Narrative.”

43. HCJ 244/00 Association for a New Discourse for a Democratic Discourse in Israel et al. v. The Minister of National Infrastructure, P.D. 56 (6) 25.

44. Karif, Ha-Mizrachit: Sipura shel Hakeshet, 243–7.

45. The original Decision 979 allowed every moshav lessee to lease 2.5 dunams (4 dunams = 1 acre) for a reduced capitalisation fee, to separate the residential section and sell their rights there to a third party or a family member, and for the moshav member to rent 500 sq. m. for 41% of its value. Kibbutz members could lease out the residential area for 31% less than the value of the lot. In December 2005, following the Heber Committee report, a new Decision 979 expanded property rights of the farming lessee in both kibbutz and moshav. For more on the subject see Hananel and Alterman, Netorey Karka: Haarachim Vehashikolim, 162–90.

46. HCJ 1027/04 15 ‒ The Israeli Forum for Self-Government Cities v. The Israel Lands Council (2011) 2933, 2011(2).

47. The Israel Union for Environmental Defence (HCJ 5794/07), The Association for Distributive Justice (HCJ 6403/07), and the Forum of 15 (HCJ 1027/04). All petitions were consolidated for joint discussion under HCJ 1027/04.

48. My Home is Here (HCJ 5794/07), My Home is Here public committee (HCJ 2974/08), the My Land movement (295/98); Itzhak Pinto (144/08). All petitions were consolidated for joint discussion under HCJ 1027/04.

49. Decision 1101 allowing non-agricultural employment in the moshav was deliberated as well. The judgment revoked the right to rent property to a third party for non-agricultural purposes.

50. Haaretz/TheMarker, October 14, 2013.

51. See Schneider and Ingram, “Social Construction of Target.”

52. Ibid.

53. ILC Decision 979 protocol. October, 2003. See Hananel and Alterman, Netorey Karka: Haarachim Vehashikolim, 248.

54. Public Housing Bill (No. 2702), March 16, 1998, 306–308.

55. Sleifer, “Hashikun Hayironi Beshnot Hamedina.”

56. See Schneider and Ingram, “Social Construction of Target.”

57. Ibid.

58. See Knesset Gazette, November 25–27, 2013, Vol. 7, Session 8.

59. Ibid.

60. Ynet, July 15, 2012.

61. Haaretz, July 14, 2012.

62. Hananel and Alterman, Netorey Karka: Haarachim Vehashikolim, 215–355; Hananel, “Distributive Justice”; Hananel, “The End of Agricultural”; and Hananel, “Land Narrative.”

63. See Schneider and Ingram, “Social Construction of Target.”.

64. Hananel and Alterman, Netorey Karka: Haarachim Vehashikolim, 327–49; and Hananel, “The Land Narrative.”

65. Mica Drori, kibbutz movement legal adviser, at the official opening of Hagai Cohen’s legal office at kibbutz movement headquarters, March 27, 2012.

66. Hananel and Alterman, Netorey Karka: Haarachim Vehashikolim, 356–78; and Hananel, “Land Narrative.”

67. Dotan Levi and Hila Tsion: Liberman to the kibbutz movement: ‘You’re the Cossack who was robbed.’ Shlomit Tsur: Benzi Liberman vs. the kibbutzim: ‘You’re the Cossack who was robbed.’ Globes, January 13, 2014.

68. Hananel, “Zionism and Agricultural Land”; Hananel, “The End of Agricultural”; and Hananel, “Land Narrative.”

69. Ibid.

70. Barak-Erez, “Dunam Po Vedunam Sham.”

71. Barak-Erez, “Law and Politics.”

72. Dunleavy, Democracy, Bureaucracy and Public. Most of their activities are what the literature calls ‘high-priced,’ that is, demonstrations and strikes, using the mass media, and going to court, besides the day-to-day struggle to prevent each eviction.

73. See Schneider and Ingram, “Social Construction of Target.”

74. Ibid.

75. From Ministry of Construction and Housing site. http://www.moch.gov.il/siyua_bediyur/shikun_tziburi/Pages/shikun_tziburi.aspx

76. See Schneider and Ingram, “Social Construction of Target.”

77. Ibid.

78. Karif, Ha-Mizrahit: Sipura shel Hakeshet, 104–20.

79. Avigdor Kahalani (The Third Way); David Levi (Gesher), and Haim Dayan (Tsomet).

80. Hananel, “Zionism and Agricultural Land”; and Hananel, “Land Narrative.”

81. Hananel and Alterman, Netorey Karka: Haarachim Vehashikolim, 327–49; and Hananel, “Land Narrative.”

82. Schneider and Ingram, “Social Construction of Target,” 343.