文档介绍：A Brief History of Israel
Ashkenazi, Sephardi,
and Oriental Jews
lthough Israel is a Jewish state and the overwhelming majority
Aof its citizens are Jews, they are of diverse backgrounds and cus-
toms, as a consequence of the worldwide dispersion of the Jews over
the centuries. Among Jews, there are three general divisions.
Ashkenazi Jews (Ashkenazim) are predominantly Jews of eastern
and central European origin and descent, although they have migrated
to various other areas. Ashkenazi Jews immigrated to Palestine and
Israel in large numbers late in the 19th century and during the first
half of the 20th century where they shaped the prestate society in the
British mandate and became the leaders of the Yishuv and the state in
its earliest years.
Sephardi Jews (Sephardim) are descendants of Jews who were
expelled from Spain and Portugal at the end of the 15th century and
settled in other European countries such as Holland, Bulgaria, Greece,
and Turkey. Sephardi immigration to Israel was dramatic after indepen-
dence was declared.
Oriental, or Eastern, Jews (sometimes erroneously grouped with
Sephardim) have their origins in the ancient munities of the
Islamic countries of North Africa and the Middle East. Some went to Israel
centuries before the founding of the state, others in the late 19th and 20th
centuries. The largest numbers, however, went to Israel in the 1950s.
In Israel’s first years, Holocaust survivors and others from Europe and
entire munities in North Africa and the Middle East arrived
in large numbers. Israel’s society was posed of a “first Israel”
of Ashkenazim, both veterans and ers primarily from Europe,
and some longtime residents of the Holy Land of Sephardic background,
and a “Second Israel” of Oriental immigrants who were unfamiliar with
the democratic process and the nature and requirements of a modern,
industrialized society. Initially, the two groups did not mel