Capital, Residence, and Mortality: The Special Case of the Arab Population in Israel, 1995–2001

It is a commonplace that social segregation is to be decried, that it multiplies the disadvantages experienced by a discriminated and marginalized group. But, under certain circumstances, may there nonetheless be an advantage to this segregation? Arab Israelis are full citizens, with nominally equal rights, but they suffer a variety of forms of political and economic discrimination. Most Arab Israelis live in ethnically homogeneous Arab towns and villages; the rest mostly live in segregated neighborhoods within mixed localities and only a small minority in truly mixed or predominantly Jewish areas. Using data on the Arab Israeli population from the 1995 census (20% sample of all households) followed to the end of 2001, we examine mortality outcomes for 192,646 individuals, in 41,859 households, living in 317 Statistical Areas (census tracts). Using Poisson and multilevel binomial regression models, we find that economic and cultural capital, as well as family solidarity, are negatively associated with mortality. Even as overall Arab Israeli mortality is higher than Jewish Israeli mortality, there are significant differences among Arab Israelis depending on the ethnic composition of the areas in which they reside. Arab Israeli mortality in homogeneous Arab and majority Arab areas is significantly lower than in majority Jewish areas. The findings suggest that segregation in homogeneous Arab localities, acting as ethnic enclaves, may buffer some of the deleterious effects of discrimination and marginalization that are accentuated for Arab Israelis residing in majority Jewish areas, at least in the short term. We discuss long-term prospects and implications for the effects on mortality of non-material ambient social conditions.