The Israeli 'Russian' Community and Immigrants Party Politics in the 2003 Elections

Assesses the impact of the Russian community in Israeli politics & the 2003 elections. The origin & structure of immigrant parties & the importance of the Russian vote historically are discussed, with attention to Russian immigrants in mainstream parties as well as immigrant & other parties. The establishment & development of independent Russian political parties were marred by ideological conflict in recent years, illuminated by the campaign & voting trends of the Russian community in the 2003 elections, including the fall of Yisrael B'Aliya. Reasons for differences between the voting behavior of the Russian community in 1999 & 2003 are posited. 1 Table. L. Collins Leigh