Even the singular religious and cultural identity that has been Israel's strength for 50 years seems shaken. Almost from the beginning, Israel has opened its arms for any Jew who wanted to come. The Jewish population doubled right after World War II, when the Holocaust survivors streamed in. In more recent years, the country has assimilated millions of immigrants from the former Soviet Union, Morocco and Ethiopia. Some 36 percent of the 13.8 million Jews worldwide now live within Israel's borders.
Many immigrants are poverty-stricken and face little hope of true assimilation.
Many don't speak Hebrew, the Israelis' chosen language, or English, the country's second language. Many have inadequate housing. Ethiopian immigrants complain of being isolated in muddy trailer communities in the north. Many immigrants from the former Soviet Union are trained, skilled professionals who say there is little work for them in their true professions. The problem of too many immigrants and too few jobs has exacerbated an economic recession that many blame on the government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.