ABSTRACT
Israel is a small but multicultural society. At the end of 2000 when the data for the study were collected, the population of Israel was nearly 6.3 million inhabitants, of which 81% were Jewish, 17% Muslim, and 2% Christian (Central Bureau of Statistics 2002). At its founding in 1948, the Jewish population of the state was approximately 600,000, and its increase to over 5 million was the result of large waves of immigration from many countries and ethnic backgrounds as well as from natural growth. The non-Jewish population increase was due to natural growth at a rate greater than among Jews.
