IRC International Relations Colloquium of Pomona College presents State Practices and Zionist Images: Shaping Economic Development in Arab Towns in Israel David A. Wesley April 22, 2009 Noon to 1:00pm Oldenborg Dining Hall, south side Does Israel, acclaimed as a democracy, offer equal opportunity to all its citizens, Jews and Arabs alike? How is it that the Arab towns predominate overwhelmingly in the lower socio-economic ranks of all Israeli towns? What causes such inequality? And what stands in the way of change for the better? As Israeli David Wesley began to realize that the Arabs who had planted the citrus trees on the land taken over by his kibbutz were now just hired laborers brought in to harvest the crop, he became determined to discover the source of this inequality and what could be done about it. David Wesley moved to Israel in 1955, motivated by a personally felt commitment to Jewish history and the rebirth of the Jewish people. As a kibbutz member, he worked for many years in agriculture and in kibbutz management and public service. Gradually, he <a href="/keyword/became-aware/" >became aware</a> of issues of land expropriation and exclusion shaping the experience of the Palestinian Arab population in Israel. Dr. Wesley studied economics as an undergraduate; then, sociology and anthropology in graduate school and received a Ph.D. in 2002, at <a href="/keyword/tel-aviv/" >tel aviv</a> University. His doctoral research, spanning an entire decade and using anthropological research methods, focuses on relations between Arab tow...