Immigration and Culture Conflict in Israel

LIFE in Israel is undergoing profound changes as a result of the tremendous numbers of immigrants that have been arriving in the country since its independence. In order to understand what these modifications are, one must first know what it is that is being modified, i.e., what the nature, the characteristic features, of that life are. This can be indicated here only in the barest outlines. It is obvious in the case of a nation that was born only yesterday, so to speak, that no definite pronouncements can be made as to its characteristic way of life. However, during the almost three-quarters of a century since the arrival of the first pioneers, patterns and traits have emerged, which although they have had no time to become crystallized and to harden, have nevertheless become sufficiently well established to form a core around which peculiar folkways and mores grew up. These patterns represent partly the realization of ideals the settlers brought with them, particularly those of the first three decades of this century, and partly an outgrowth of conditions and circumstances under which they had to live and carry on. What are those patterns that came to characterize life in Israel? The settlers of the first three decades of this century were motivated by a high idealism. It was the ideal of building a nation and a country that brought them to a land that offered a challenge to them on every side. This they were ready to accept. They shied away from no sacrifice. The yislzuv, as the Jewish population of Palestine has been referred to, thus came to be characterized by a spirit of pioneerism that few societies possessed. It was preparedness for self-sacrifice, willingness to tackle formidable tasks that turned deserts into gardens and swamps into fertile fields, that brought to a realization what was considered a dream and a fantasy. Pioneerism (halutzizut) thus became one of the characteristic patterns of life. Another outstanding characteristic of life in the yishuv is socialism, which expresses itself chiefly in trade unionism, cooperativism, and collectivism. The Histadrut (the general Federation of Labor) became a power rivalling that of the government and is often considered practically a state within a state. Nothing is more apparent in this newly created state than that virtually every economic activity is dominated by cooperatives. This is so much so that Israel may be characterized as the "Land of the Cooperative." Collectivism is expressed, of course, in the existence of that unique type of settlement, the kibbutz (pl. kibbutzitn), which had a tremendous influence on every phase of life. As a corollary to this pattern-indeed, as a consequence-there appeared another, namely, the glorification of the laborer and labor. The laborer the "productive" worker, was put on a pedestal and assumed an heroic stature, and manual work, particularly agriculture, became almost a religion. An especially important place was assigned to the kibbutznik (member of a kibbutz) who came to be considered not merely as a hero but one upon whom the welfare, the very existence, of the state depended. A passionate desire to become a truly Western society is another pronounced tendency. This is expressed in the ceaseless attempts made to follow Western patterns in the various phases of social and economic life. Westernism may thus be considered as another major pattern of Israeli society. As a consequence of this tendency, the machine came to be looked upon as holding the key to the upbuilding and development of the country and thus achieving a progressive society with a high standard of living. The machine, in short, became the symbol of progress. Finally, among the outstanding patterns of life that became established in Israel are also democracy and secularism. As in the case of the others, the settlers brought with them also these patterns as ideals which they were determined to realize and which they succeeded to a considerable extent in putting into practice. The social institutions thus came to rest upon a secular basis and to be distinguished by a democratic philosophy and practice. * This article is based upon a study of Israeli culture recently made in Israel with the assistance of a grant-in-aid from the Social Science Research Council.