COMMITMENT, ETHNICITY AND CLASS AS FACTORS IN EMIGRATION OF KIBBUTZ AND NON-KIBBUTZ POPULATIONS FROM ISRAEL

Israel is a country of immigrants: Israel's Jewish population grew from 649 000 in May 1948 to 2752 700 at the end of 1972, and 3373 200 in 1982. Immigration accounted for more than 1721 426 persons or approximately 60% of this increase. But, from the outset, Israel has also been a country of emigration, with some 305 000 leaving between 1948 and 1984. In Hebrew, emigration from Israel is yerida, literally "going down', fading or failing, and in recent years this emigration has been widely viewed by Israelis as an index of decline. -Authors