The demography of Asian and African Jews in Israel

This chapter presents some of the major demographic aspects of ethnic diversity and change for the Asian-African Jewish population in Israel. The argument in its simplest form will be that demographic processes are fundamental to the analyses of the determinants and consequences of ethnic continuity and change. The chapter focuses on the Asian-African ethnic population who have experienced the most extensive transformation in sociodemograhic processes in a short period of time and highlight in extreme form the issues, problems, and dilemmas of ethnicity in Israel. The political-ideological struggles to establish a Jewish state and the evolution of Israeli society are intimately tied to immigration patterns and policies. The evidence on demographic assimilation raises the question about the future of ethnic differentiation at least in terms of sociodemographic processes. There is some evidence that suggests the growing importance of alternative anchors of identity among Jews in Israel and the diminishing importance of the ethnic factor among the Israeli born.