65 Uzi Rebhun and Chaim I. Waxman The “Americanization” of Israel: A Demographic, Cultural and Political Evaluation INTRODUCTION AMERICANIZATION IS THE ACT, OR the process, of conforming to Amer- ica’s culture, ideologies, and material goods. It can largely be seen as an aspect of economic-technological development involving changes in life- style and consumer behaviors. 1 For many countries in the world, the United States serves as a reference point, often as a source of aspiration, in diVerent areas of life from economic to cultural, from dance to cinema, as well as in attitudes toward minorities, including those who diVer in ethnicity, reli- gion, race, or sexual orientation. 2 The United States has become a role model for other cultures, distinct one from the other, because it represents the abundant society, the freedom to consume, and, more generally, what many people see as the “good life.” America shapes the world of tomorrow. 3 While in some places these inXuences are direct ones resulting from the actual presence of Americans (e.g., Japan or Europe after World War II), in most cases it is a domestic, local desire, led by interest groups and public sectors, to imitate and adjust to American models. 4 In the Israeli context, for many years the inXuence of the United States was felt in the unique strategic ties and the political and economic support that resulted in the more than half serious notion that Israel was America’s 51 st state. Recently, as Israel attempted to “wean itself of American economic aid hoping to stand free of the unilateral transfers,” 5 American inXuences have become even more tangible in the every-day lives of ordinary people. Not only does this process reXect the aspiration for the abundance and freedom embodied in the American ethos; many suggest that it has con- nected Israel to the dominant western culture, and has encouraged the