ABSTRACT
The wave of immigration to Israel from the Soviet Union in the 1970s integrated into the political system with hardly any effect on it. However, a new wave of immigrants, via their participation in the elections of 1992, caused a change in government by their contribution to the defeat of the incumbent bloc. This change occurred as a result of the preponderant support that olim gave to parties of the Israeli left. In Israel, unlike other Western countries, new immigrants can become full-fledged citizens and receive the right to vote from the moment they arrive. Voting patterns broken down by length of time since immigration indicated an equal proportion of immigrant-party voters among olim in 1990 and in 1991. The voting patterns have been related to the following three groups of variables: the political and social world of the immigrants, their evaluation of the performance of the Israeli government, and immigrant perception of their own absorption.
