Academic Profile:
Born 1929, Radom (Poland); Ph.D. 1967, London School of Economics and Political Science; Sen. Lect. 1973; Assoc. Prof. 1978; Prof. 1989; Emeritus 1998.
Research Interests:
The welfare state and social security systems in Israel and in a cross-national comparative perspective. The evolution of social security and health care services. Issues of universality and selectivity in the Israeli social security system. The structure and organization of social services and health care in Israel.
Research Projects:
1. Restructuring of the welfare state, changes in the Israeli welfare state regime, the retrenchment policies since the year 2000 and their potential repercussions for Israeli society.
2. Children allowances had from their beginnings had a twofold role: an egalitarian aim, to close the income gap between families of different size. And a demographic aim, to effect the fertility rate of the population. The attempts of current policies to use the allowances to curb the birth rate of large families and their possible effects.
3. The abuse and fraudulent use of the national insurance system is an important social policy issue .It is important to the government responsible for operating the system and it is important to the population groups in need to use it at critical times of the life cycle . The current attention and publicity given to this issue raises the question what effect this may have on the vital role national insurance plays in pour society.
Abstracts of Current Research :
Multiculturalism and the Universalistic Welfare State. The study attempts to address the existing tension between multiculturalism, i.e. the accommodation of different cultural, ethnic, and religious traditions within a pluralistic Israeli society, and the support for a universalistic welfare state. The study explores the issue whether the ethno-cultural diversity of Israeli society and multiculturalism affects the commitment of the population to a universalistic welfare state and if it subsequently weakens the support for it.
Restructuring the Israeli Welfare State 2000 –2005. Since the beginning of the century the Israeli welfare state has been under acute pressure in maintaining its social welfare and social security commitments. The restructuring that followed reflect a radical change in the balance of power in Israeli society that affected the approach to the welfare state and the country’s social security programs. The study examines the effect of the cuts that have been have made in the major social security programs, and in particular the children’s allowances program and income support benefits providing the safety net welfare payments to the needy population.
Unemployment and the Unemployed in Israel 1995-2005. Unemployment rates in Israel were very high for most of the decade. In spite of the high levels of unemployment the policies pursued by the government were to make it more difficult for the unemployed to receive unemployment and other income support benefits and also made serious cuts in the level of benefits paid. The study attempts to examine the rather passive acceptance of the unemployed of these policies and to explore why no active protest movement of the unemployed has evolved during the period.
Back to Malthus. The current attack on social security benefits in Israel evokes the critical attitudes voiced during most of the 19th century against the pool laws of the time. This criticism was mostly influenced by the writings of Malthus. The issue is whether the Malthusian concerns raised anew are helpful in dealing with contemporary problems of poverty and insecurity .
Recent Publications:
“The Erosion of the Israeli Welfare State 2000-2003: The Case of Children Allowances”, L a b o u r, S o c i e t y and L a w, Vol. 11, 2005, (Hebrew), pp. 95-120.
“The Erosion of the Insurance Principle in the Israeli National Insurance System: The Effect on its Functioning”, S o c i a l S e c u r i t y (Bitachon Sotziali), No. 71, May 2006, (Hebrew), pp. 31- 52.
“Soup Kitchens in Jerusalem at the Beginning of the 21st Century”, with John Gal,
(Social Policy Research Group Publication), Jerusalem: Paul Berwald School of Social Work and Social Welfare , Hebrew University, August 2006 (Hebrew), 27 pages.
“Between Social Exclusion and Social Policy”, Social Policy Research Group, Policy Paper, Jerusalem: Paul Berwald School of Social Work and Social Welfare , Hebrew University, December 2006 (Hebrew), 26 pages.
“Food Distribution and Soup Kitchens: A Substitute for Social Protection in Israel in the 21st Century”, I y u n i m B i t k u m a t I s r a e l, Studies in Zionism, the Yishuv and the State of Israel, Vol. 16, 2006, (Hebrew), pp.275-291.
"The Israeli Labour Movement and Social Policy, 1948-1977", S o c i a l S e c u r i t y (Bitachon Sotziali), No. 74, August 2007, (Hebrew), pp. 71- 93.
"Multiculturalism and the Erosion of Support for the Universalistic Welfare State:
The Israeli Experience", I s r a el S t u d i e s, Vol. 12, No. 3, Fall 2007, pp.92-108.
"The Shaping of Social Policy in Israel, 2000-2005", in Uri Aviram, John Gal and Joseph Katan (Eds.), Formulating Social Policy in Israel, Trends and Issues, Jerusalem: Taub Center for Social Policy Studies in Israel, 2007, (Hebrew), pp. 33-57.
"The Poor as "Others" – Poverty in Israel in the 21st Century, S o c i a l S e c u r i t y (Bitachon Sotziali), No. 77, August 2008, (Hebrew), pp. 9-28.
“Unemployment in Israel at the Turn of the 21st Century: Why Have the Unemployed Not Formed a Protest Movement?”, I y u n i m B i t k u m a t I s r a e l, Studies in Zionism, the Yishuv and the State of Israel, Vol. 18, 2008, (Hebrew), pp.125-151.
"Israeli Social Policy and the Second Lebanon War", Social Policy Research Group, Policy Paper, Jerusalem: Paul Berwald School of Social Work and Social Welfare , Hebrew University, January 2009 (Hebrew), 21 pages
"Back to Malthus", S o c i a l S e c u r i t y (Bitachon Sotziali), No. 80, August 2009, (Hebrew), pp. 9-24.
Abraham Doron's page at the Research and Development Authority site