Between the Flag and the Banner: Women in Israeli Politics

4. Political Participation: Women in the Party-State

CHAPTER 4 Political Participation: Women in the Party-State Israel has been described as a highly politicized society, a partydemocracy in which political parties wield influence on social and political life (Arian 1989). Although the impact of the parties on society has somewhat eroded now compared with the state's formative era, considerations based on party politics still loom large in public life. "Political" issues linked with the ArabIsraeli conflict still dominate the public agenda. Politics, in this regard, is not an abstract term concerning a small active group of "gladiators" or even "spectators" (Milbrath 1968), but an everyday matter involving each and every individual. In contrast to Americans described as shunning politics, the Israelis accept it as daily routine. Consequently, people are interested in politics: they seek information by being avowed consumers of media news; they discuss politics at social gatherings; they are emotionally involved in political affairs, and many of them hold firm views on political issues. Whether one adheres to the notion of Greater Israel or is willing to make territorial concessions for the sake of peace is not only a political stance but may determine a way of life-choice of residence, friends, and media consumption. Furthermore, Israelis tend to participate in political life at least once every four years, when they are called to cast their ballot. Israeli elections have drawn a turnout which is among the highest in the democratic world (on the average over 80 percent of those eligible to vote), especially as the 91 92 Between the Flag and the Banner participation in the elections is voluntary, rather than enforced by law. In short, for Israelis, politics is not a marginal activity, but a central domain incorporated into daily life. How do women fare in this domain? Scholarly attention has centered mostly on the role of women in the elite (e.g., BubberAgassi 1991; Azmon 1993; Etzioni-Halevi and Illy 1993). This chapter focuses on the role of the ordinary Israeli woman in political life. Who is the Israeli political woman? Does she tend to participate? Is her participation different from that of men? Does she manifest in her political participation the underlying dilemma facing women in Israel? Is her participation conducive to political mobilization? Women's Political Participation: A Comparative Perspective Before delving into the Israeli case, a short summary of findings regarding women in other Western countries is in order. In recent years the problem of gender differences in political participation has proved controversial. Within the literature three major perspectives can be identified: The first maintains that women's participation in political life is inferior to that of men. Maurice Duverger (1955) was the first to point out that women fare better at home than in political life. Many other scholars followed suit: Almond and Verba, in their seminal study of civic culture, asserted that in each of the countries they studied, "men showed higher frequencies and higher intensities than women in practically all the indices of political orientation and activity" (1989, 325). Upset (1963, 187) asserted that "men vote more than women"; Dalton (1988, 49) reiterated that "gender is an important social determinant of political activism." Milbrath (1968, 16) went even further by suggesting that women's lower levels of participation in politics was one of the most thoroughly substantiated findings in social science. The second approach maintains that women are not inferior to men regarding political participation, nor are they superior to them. Women, in fact, are equal to men when socioeconomic Political Participation: Women in the Party-State 93 variables are controlled. This conclusion, reached mainly by women scholars (Bourque and Grossholtz 1974; Welsh 1980; Sapiro 1983,59-60; Skard and Havvio-Mannila 1985; Norris 1991) is based on a variety of empirical studies looking at the patterns of women's political participation. The third perspective presents a different argument by stating that women are neither inferior nor equal to men; they simply behave differently. Women are more likely to participate in protest activities and to hold distinct views, tending to either the conservative or the liberal pole of the political spectrum (Barnes, Kaase, et al. 1979; Eduards 1981; Goot and Reid 1984). How do Israeli women fit into these three perspectives? The discussion will center on the three major characteristics of political participation: conventional participation, unconventional participation, and political orientations. Conventional Political Participation The definition of political activity, in this context, follows that offered by Milbrath and Goel (1972, 2) focusing not only on active roles...