Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Israelis shop at the local outlet of the Swedish furniture store IKEA in Netanya, north of Tel Aviv, August 2009.
(Getty Images / Image Bank.)
The Americanization trend was already evident in Israel in the 1960s, when jeans became a
popular clothing item. In the 1970s the Coca-Cola company began manufacturing profi tably
in Israel. In the 1990s malls sprouted up across the country. In 1993 the fi rst commercial Israeli
television channel, Channel 2, was launched, changing the face of advertising and television
programming. Political parties began holding primaries to choose candidates — a practice in-
spired by the U.S. model. Aside from the global power of American infl uences, Israelis felt a
special bond between the two countries. Jews have contributed signifi cantly to American cul-
tural, business, and intellectual life, so many of its features are congruent with Jewish attitudes
and history.
During the 1980s and 1990s in particular, the Americanization of Israel was a prime sub-
ject of debate, although the country had historically looked more toward Europe. One set of
examples offered was political: the portrayal of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as an
American-style politician, the decline of ideology and party allegiance, and the use of Ameri-
can political consultants and methods in campaigning.
But the changes were limited: the number of fl oating voters increased somewhat and party
loyalty declined. Israeli elections may not revolve around ideology any more, but they focus
on issues rather than personalities or campaign gimmicks. Indeed, shifts were far more often
on superfi cial levels than on fundamental ones.
For example, English words and phrases are making their way into Hebrew, just as Russian
and Arabic words have. Many of these English words have to do with banking, computers, and
