THE COURSE OF RESIDENTIAL SEGREGATION: Ethnicity, Socioeconomic Status, and Suburbanization in Israel

As is well documented, today, 40 years after the establishment of statehood, ethnicity figures importantly in determining educational and occupational attainment in Israel. The present study measures residential patterns to examine the relevance of ethnic differences in generating social distance.
Census data on the Jewish population and pairs of ethnic groups depict residential pattern changes in the central city and suburban ring for the largest metropolitan area, Tel Aviv, in 1972 and 1983. Segregation patterns are moderate in the central city, low in the suburban ring; in both localities, moreover, segregation declines during the decade studied. Although ethnicity significantly affects a group's separation, its relative importance declines. With Socioeconomic status, ethnicity, and other intervening variables controlled, Jewish ethnic groups' attainments significantly differ by locale: Suburban residence increases spatial assimilation.