State Education—The Legal Basis

The first years of the new State of Israel were years of turmoil. The Arab States around declared open war; and a state of war continued, with precarious intermissions, till 1949. The bulk of the Arab population fled to the neighbouring countries; of 700,000, only 150,000 remained (now, 250,000 roughly). On the other hand, a flood of Jewish immigrants poured in; the Jewish population increased from 650,000 in May 1948 to 1,400,000—over double !—by the end of 1951 (now, over 2 million). The immigrants had first to be housed—in former British army camps, in evacuated Arab towns and villages, in temporary hutments (ma’abarot), and some, gradually, in more permanent new towns or settlements dotting the countryside. Then they had to be fed, and work found for them. For many, if not most, this meant a complete change of occupation—urban artisans, clerks and shopkeepers, having to turn to farming or building or factory work. Needless to say, for many, especially among the older people, the change was difficult. Sociologists speak of the immigration crisis ¹ caused by the sudden uprooting and transplantation, with accompanying changes in economic and social status, and undermining of accustomed habits and values. An added difficulty was the mixing of communities. Most of the immigrants came from Arab countries—Iraq, Yemen, Egypt, N. Africa; but there were many also from Eastern Europe and S. America; a Babel of tongues and manners. There is still a sharp culture-lag between the immigrants from Arab countries especially and the Israeli population (or immigrants from Europe or America). This constitutes one of the major problems of education in Israel to this day.