Israeli housewives in the 1950s and the Austerity policy

"A central component of the economic policy published by the newly-elected Government of Israel in April 1949 was the Austerity regime, introduced to supply the general public with basic food supplies at reasonable prices during a period when Israel was concluding a bloody war and absorbing hundreds of thousands of Jewish refugees from different parts of the world. To portray the situation in figures, a Jewish population of 600,000 (alongside a defeated minority of approximately 160,000 Palestinian citizens) absorbed 700,000 Jewish immigrants. Although during the first nine months of the policy – y—namely, from April 1949 to January 1950 – most Israeli consumers complied with the strict regulations, a black market emerged in early 1950 and grew throughout 1951. This paper analyses the reaction of Israeli housewives to the Austerity policy against the historical background of the shortage of food and other basic supplies, an outbreak of the polio epidemic, and the public and political issues of the period. The paper describes the social role of the housewife and depicts the impact of the Austerity policy on her daily routine: shopping, cooking, cleaning and looking after the children. Focusing on the status of the Israeli housewife, the paper portrays the efforts made by different women’s organisations to influence their government’s regulation policy, in order to promote their families’ well-being and also the status of housewives. The press also played a significant role in granting women a voice. Women’s columns, appearing weekly in the daily press alongside women’s magazines, offered a public platform, provided a source of useful information, and served as agents of social change in the battle to influence the government. Women’s columns, along with stories authored by men, turned the invisible world of Israeli women into a visible world for the first time: The long lines, the ingenuity needed to put together a proper meal, and the hardships of young mothers all became worthy journalistic topics. But did the efforts of women’s organisations and the endless complaints printed in the newspapers actually change or modify the status of women in small or significant ways? Did it impact at all on food allocation? The paper also considers the moral dilemma faced by Israeli housewives: Should they be loyal citizens to their infant state and avoid the black market, in order to protect the daily supplies to the new immigrants (whose suffering was generally more substantial than that of the veteran population), or ought they prioritise being caring mothers and wives and use the black market for the sake of their families? Portraying the role of the Israeli mother, the paper focuses on the lives of mothers of young children who struggled the most (among mothers) to feed their young, as basic food and clothing supplies were at times completely absent from the legal markets. The shortage of food, combined with maternal responsibilities, had a deleterious impact on the health of most Israeli housewives; mothers and sometimes fathers too gave up some or most of their protein supply for their children. By 1951, local physicians reported marked deterioration in the physical health of Israeli women. What drove Israeli parents, and especially Israeli mothers, to sacrifice their health? This issue is further explored in the paper. At the end of July 1950, the government declared a rationing of clothing and shoes. The public reaction was harsh, with merchants and housewives alike reacting with fury: merchants closed their shops, while housewives protested and cooperated with the merchants in shopping from the back door. All this transpired in the open, and in the eyes of policy-makers, resulting in a decrease in public trust and compliance. Not surprisingly, the economic situation indeed influenced the political arena. During the municipal elections held in November 1950, the leading social-democratic party – Mapai – lost many votes in general, and a considerable number of women’s votes in particular. The primary winner in this election campaign was the General-Zionists party, whose leading ideology involved promoting a free-market economy. A few months later, in February 1951, the government fell; general elections were announced and held in July 1951. Women’s votes had to be courted and won by both rival parties. The need to regain the trust of women led to some legislative changes. After the elections and partly due to their outcome, the economic policy changed. Prices went up, and regulations loosened. However, within a year from the elections, the burden remained heavy. Stores indeed were filled with goods, a once-rare sight, but the skyrocketing prices kept many shoppers away. Indeed, the social group that suffered gravely was the immigrant population, living in poor provisory conditions. A U.N. specialist who visited Israel in 1952 reported that he had seen far too many cases of malnourishment."