ABSTRACT
Absorbing immigrants in Israel was easier than in the United States because religion brought people together. However, the first generation of immigrants was full of antagonism. For example, in Gadot’s local council there were three major groups: 1. Ashkenazim, 2. Sephardim (Turks, Bulgarians), and 3. Easterners (Temenis, Algerians, Tunisians, Moroccans, etc.). Everyone was concerned with their own ethnic group and tried to make sure that they were represented in the council. That is one reason why Gadot grew; there is growth if there is heterogeneity. One group learns from the other as well as competes with the other. Where there is only one major ethnic group, like in Ma’alot or Bet She’an (predominantly Moroccan), there is rarely development. Gadot, by contrast, was lucky not to have one group as a majority. It was because of their antagonism that there was competition, and because of their competition, this place developed.
