ABSTRACT
The individual which power has constituted is at the same time its vehicle. Consumption, seen through the production of homes, reveals the tensions of power as they are internalized and made manifest in Israel at the end of the twentieth century. According to national census data, most Palestinians are located on the periphery of the Israeli economy, working in low-paying jobs. Yet they share with other Israeli citizens aspirations to large homes and up-to-date appliances, and in fact often follow similar patterns of consumption. A home, be it among Palestinian citizens in the Galilee or among Jewish citizens in other areas, has equally become a means of signifying personhood, household status, and social transformation. The fancy homes are those of a few successful entrepreneurs, professionals or landowners who can – and according to local social norms, must – make their success stand out in the town social landscape.
