However, Israel is regarded by the Palestinians as a better democracy than the U.S., U.K. and France, according to annual surveys done by Palestinian Center for Policy and Research in Ramallah.
The diagram shows approximately what cultural background the Israeli population had around the year 2000. In 1975 around 55 percent of the Jewish population in Israel came from a background of oriental countries, mainly from the Arab world. In 1989 the great wave of immigration from the former Soviet Union started. Today the Jews of European origin in Israel are generally from Eastern Europe, countries like Russia, Ukraine, Romania and Poland. Only a tiny part of the Jews in Israel comes from Western countries with a high living standard and a long-lasting history of political freedom and democracy.
Israel’s success as a democracy and a highly developed country is even greater when we consider this multicultural and diverse background that the population has.
