New Book: Goldscheider, Israeli Society in the Twenty-First Century

Goldscheider, Calvin. Israeli Society in the Twenty-First Century. Immigration, Inequality, and Religious Conflict, Schusterman Series in Israel Studies. Lebanon, NH: Brandeis University Press (imprint of University Press of New England), 2015.

This volume illuminates changes in Israeli society over the past generation. Goldscheider identifies three key social changes that have led to the transformation of Israeli society in the twenty-first century: the massive immigration of Jews from the former Soviet Union, the economic shift to a high-tech economy, and the growth of socioeconomic inequalities inside Israel. To deepen his analysis of these developments, Goldscheider focuses on ethnicity, religion, and gender, including the growth of ethnic pluralism in Israel, the strengthening of the Ultra-Orthodox community, the changing nature of religious Zionism and secularism, shifts in family patterns, and new issues and challenges between Palestinians and Arab Israelis given the stalemate in the peace process and the expansions of Jewish settlements.

Combining demography and social structural analysis, the author draws on the most recent data available from the Israeli Central Bureau of Statistics and other sources to offer scholars and students an innovative guide to thinking about the Israel of the future.

This book will be of interest to scholars and students of contemporary Israel, the Middle East, sociology, demography and economic development, as well as policy specialists in these fields. It will serve as a textbook for courses in Israeli history and in the modern Middle East.

Table of Contents

• List of Tables and Figure
• Preface
• Acknowledgments
• Nation-Building, Population, and Development
• Ethnic Diversity Jewish and Arab Populations of Israel
• Immigration, Nation-Building, and Ethnic-Group Formation
• Arab Israelis Demography, Dependency, and Distinctiveness
• Urbanization, Residential Integration, and Communities
• Religiosity, Religious Institutions, and Israeli Culture
• Inequality and Changing Gender Roles
• Education, Stratification, and Inequality
• Inequality and Mortality Decline
• Family Formation and Generational Continuities
• Emergent Israeli Society Nation-Building, Inequalities, and Continuities
• Appendix: Data Sources and Reliability
• Bibliography
• Index

New Article: Magid et al, Increased Inequality in Mortality From Road Crashes Among Arabs and Jews in Israel

Magid, Avi, Shalhevet Leibovitch-Zur, and Orna Baron-Epel. “Increased Inequality in Mortality From Road Crashes Among Arabs and Jews in Israel.” Traffic Injury Prevention 16.1 (2015): 42-47.

 

URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/15389588.2014.908289

 

Abstract

Objective: Previous studies in several countries have shown that the economically disadvantaged seem to have a greater risk of being involved in a car crash. The aim of the present study was to compare rates and trends in mortality and injury from road crashes by age among the Arab and Jewish populations in Israel.

Methods: Data on road crashes with casualties (2003–2011) from the Israeli Central Bureau of Statistics were analyzed. Age-adjusted road crash injury rates and mortality rates for 2003 to 2011 were calculated and time trends for each age group and population group are presented. Time trend significance was evaluated by linear regression models.

Results: Arabs in Israel are at increased risk of injury and mortality from road crashes compared to Jews. Road crash injury rates have significantly decreased in both populations over the last decade, although the rates have been persistently higher among Arabs. Road crash mortality rates have also decreased significantly in the Jewish population but not in the Arab population. This implies an increase in the disparity in mortality between Jews and Arabs. The most prominent differences in road crash injury and mortality rates between Arabs and Jews can be observed in young adults and young children.

Conclusions: The reduction in road crashes in the last decade is a positive achievement. However, the reductions are not equal among Arabs and Jews in Israel. Therefore, an increase in the disparities in mortality from road crashes is apparent. Public health efforts need to focus specifically on decreasing road crashes in the Arab community.

New Article: Goldman et al, Contribution of the Israeli Trauma System to the Survival of Road Traffic Casualties

Goldman, Sharon, Maya Siman-Tov, H. Bahouth, B. Kessel, Y. Klein, M. Michaelson, B. Miklosh, A. Rivkind, G. Shaked, D. Simon, D. Soffer, M. Stein, and Kobi Peleg. “The Contribution of the Israeli Trauma System to the Survival of Road Traffic Casualties.” Traffic Injury Prevention 16.4 (2015): 368-73.

 

URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/15389588.2014.940458

 

Abstract

Background: According to the World Health Organization, over one million people die annually from traffic crashes, in which over half are pedestrians, bicycle riders and two-wheel motor vehicles. In Israel, during the last decade, mortality from traffic crashes has decreased from 636 in 1998 to 288 in 2011. Professionals attribute the decrease in mortality to enforcement, improved infrastructure and roads and behavioral changes among road users, while no credit is given to the trauma system. Trauma systems which care for severe and critical casualties improve the injury outcomes and reduce mortality among road casualties.

Goals: 1) To evaluate the contribution of the Israeli Health System, especially the trauma system, on the reduction in mortality among traffic casualties. 2) To evaluate the chance of survival among hospitalized traffic casualties, according to age, gender, injury severity and type of road user.

Methods: A retrospective study based on the National Trauma Registry, 1998–2011, including hospitalization data from eight hospitals.

Outcomes: During the study period, the Trauma Registry included 262,947 hospitalized trauma patients, of which 25.3% were due to a road accident. During the study period, a 25% reduction in traffic related mortality was reported, from 3.6% in 1998 to 2.7% in 2011. Among severe and critical (ISS 16+) casualties the reduction in mortality rates was even more significant, 41%; from 18.6% in 1998 to 11.0% in 2011. Among severe and critical pedestrian injuries, a 44% decrease was reported (from 29.1% in 1998 to 16.2% in 2011) and a 65% reduction among bicycle injuries. During the study period, the risk of mortality decreased by over 50% from 1998 to 2011 (OR 0.44 95% 0.33–0.59. In addition, a simulation was conducted to determine the impact of the trauma system on mortality of hospitalized road casualties. Presuming that the mortality rate remained constant at 18.6% and without any improvement in the trauma system, in 2011 there would have been 182 in-hospital deaths compared to the actual 108 traffic related deaths. A 41% difference was noted between the actual number of deaths and the expected number.

Conclusions: This study clearly shows that without any improvement in the health system, specifically the trauma system, the number of traffic deaths would be considerably greater. Although the health system has a significant contribution on reducing mortality, it does not receive the appropriate acknowledgment or resources for its proportion in the fight against traffic accidents.