21st International Conference on Diversity in Organizations, Communities & Nations

Abstract

Diversity as a code word carries different meanings in different political settings. In Europe, for example, it has been used to talk about the accommodation of religious minorities, primarily Muslim immigrants and refugees. Outside Europe, other bearers of diversity and identity markers are used to talk about the dangers and needs surrounding their presence in the polity. This paper looks at the evolving notion of “diversity” in the case of Palestinians in Israel, who are at once nominal citizens entitled to individual liberal rights, and an indigenous national minority subjected to collective exclusion and discrimination. Since the new millennium, this duality has become even more polarized, with the passing of numerous draconian laws intended to de-legitimize and weaken their civil status, alongside new affirmative action regulations, accompanied by unprecedented budgets, aimed to increase their economic integration. The latter component, moreover, has been accompanied by a rising popularity of the idea of diversity, locally framed through the tropes of individual success, consumer subjectivity, and “liberated Arab women.” I use the case of professional Palestinian women to explore the Israeli cultural translation of “diversity.” I argue that, despite its benevolent appearance, it’s primary target is to depoliticize ethno-national tensions and channel the Palestinians’ civil discontent towards “economic citizenship.” The analysis explores the articulation of neoliberalism and ethno-national exclusion in the present moment of rampant consumer capitalism, growing fascism, and the quest for self-fulfillment.