Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
marketing may be done cooperatively. Many moshavim have become suburban housing areas
at least in part. Homes have been sold, and agricultural activities are carried out by individuals
or companies.
LOOKING TO THE FUTURE
Israel has had to contend with many internal challenges since its establishment in 1948, among
them determining the proper balance between religion and other institutions in a Western,
democratic, Jewish state; integrating diverse groups of immigrants while providing space for
them to maintain elements of their own cultures; overcoming the prejudices of the early years
of statehood and the institutionalized discrimination that resulted; fi guring out how to accord
a large, distinct ethnic and cultural minority maximum rights; and dealing with the decline of
the collectivist ethos.
In many ways, societal gaps are closing, and there is now little difference between native
Israelis of Western and Eastern extraction. Immigrants from Ethiopia and the former Soviet
Union are becoming part of Israeli society despite challenges. Women have equal rights in
law and increasingly in practice, with some personal status exceptions, and sexual minorities
enjoy legal rights and growing social acceptance. Religion remains a contentious arena, with
Haredim becoming more comfortable in Israeli society while resisting change. Diversity of re-
ligious expression and practice in Israeli society is on the rise, although institutionalized forms
developed in the Diaspora may be adapted instead of strictly maintained.
The historic dividing lines between secular and religious and between Ashkenazic and Miz-
rahi are declining in importance. Among most Israeli Jews a secular lifestyle is coupled with a
sentimental, not always rigorous attachment to symbols of Judaism. The blend is recognizably
Israeli. Jewish traditions are taken for granted.
This blurring of dividing lines has been linked to the growing pluralism of society. In the
early days of statehood, secular Jews of European origin dominated most areas of society. This
is no longer the case. Religiously observant Israelis, immigrants from Russia, and Israelis of
non-European origin all help shape the country today. These groups, whatever their continu-
ing distinctions, appear to be linked by a loosely defi ned but deeply felt perception of shared
Jewish-Israeli identity. The emergence of this link is one of the most important aspects of mod-
ern Israeli society and marks Israel's maturity — although, as any Israeli would quickly point
out, the country is far from perfect.
Many of the traditional assumptions in Israeli society have been overturned, which has
led to considerable debate and some anxiety, though neither instability nor crisis. The old
values of socialism and austerity are being replaced by capitalism and materialism, a process
that has also produced a more pluralist society. The military and the education system remain
instrumental in shaping Israelis, and they are tasked with integrating new immigrants and
with instilling the nation's youth with a respect for pluralism, democratic values, a sense of
civic responsibility, and pride in their country.
In some specifi c ways, Israel is different from other Western countries. Indeed, these dif-
ferences are often the cause of antagonism toward Israel, which possesses characteristics that
some Europeans and Americans now reject in their own societies. Salient among these are
