ABSTRACT
Israel is a small country with a population of over three million, its most conspicuous feature is heterogeneity. Generalizations regarding the sociological background of the Israelis are therefore difficult and dangerous since they may lead to unfair emphasis or to oversimplification. The chapter provides a frame of reference for the reader who is not already familiar with the social aspects of the modernization process in Israel. A historical description of the Zionist movement in the Land of Israel is unnecessary here. Instead, the essential background can be gained through the mere mention of the outstanding trends in the history of Zionist immigration. The major waves of immigration several waves of immigration can be traced. The waves between 1919 and 1931, were also mainly from Eastern Europe, and brought about 115,000 additional Jews to the Holy Land.
