By: Shir Hever
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Discussion of the occupation, the settlements, prospects of peace between Israel and the Palestinians and so on occupy a central position in the political and academic discourses in Israel (notably in departments of law, sociology and humanities). However, the economic aspects of these questions do not hold a similarly central place among Israel’s economists.
The prominent economic journal in Israel, Quarterly for Economics, has published very few articles that mention the occupation. Between 1988 and 2004, only six articles discussed Israel’s domination of the Occupied Palestinian Territories (OPT). Only five articles mentioned the Palestinians themselves (mainly in relation to Palestinian workers inside Israel and the dangers that they pose to Israel’s economy). However, 24 articles discussed the advantages of “peace dividends” (though not necessarily using this term), and cited economic advantages to many of the peace initiatives that emerged over those 16 years.
The concept of “peace dividends” will be discussed in further detail below. Economic writing in Israel in recent years keeps the occupation in the outer periphery of its field of vision. Even overview articles that deal with long-term economic processes in Israel often fail to mention the occupation. One of the central reasons for this is the thorough cognitive dissonance between the main values held by neo-liberal economists (such as the free market and extreme individuality) and the patriotism expected of Israeli economists.
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