ABSTRACT
This chapter explains why informal voluntaristic agencies of socialization are considered the most adequate for facilitating the absorption of immigrants into society. It examines the Israeli case, where processes of immigration and absorption are intense. New immigrants are often faced with the dilemma of how to preserve their identity and values, yet be integrated into their new society. This dilemma is salient among immigrant youth because they often adjust more quickly, but not necessarily more easily, than their parents. One of the movements, HaNoar HaOved, established branches in development towns in the early 1960s in an attempt to absorb immigrant youth. As the encounter between young immigrants and veterans takes place largely in socialization agencies, it is worthwhile to test the differential impact of such agencies on the subsequent pattern of integration. Young immigrants are often caught in a trap insofar as their rapid adaptation may negatively affect their future chances for socio-economic integration.
