ABSTRACT

Israel is a multiethnic society inhabited by Jews and Arabs. The Arab minority constitutes approximately 18 per cent of the population of Israel. While Arabs have lived in this region for generations, the settlement of Jews in Palestine began at the turn of the century. In 2000, approximately 40 per cent of the Jewish population in Israel were first-generation immigrants and most of the remaining population were sons and daughters of immigrants. Jews migrated to Israel from practically every corner of the globe. Some arrived from highly developed, industrialized countries such as the United States, England, France and Germany, while others came from less developed and traditional societies, such as Ethiopia, Yemen, India and Libya.