ABSTRACT

Various observers of the Israeli scene have argued that due to its particular historical evolution, small elites played a pivotal, or even an exclusive, role in shaping the Jewish State's political structure and behaviour. These observers have added that during its fifty years of existence these elites also determined the patterns of political change. 1 Despite the prevalence of this view, it is based on questionable premises. In this vein, there is at the least an alternative approach to questions of development and sources of change in Israel that has not adequately been examined. Essentially, this alternative approach postulates that in the long run, rather than elites, grassroots and organized social groups have played significant roles in the emergence of societal and political arrangements and patterns of activities. 2