Iraeli 'Russian' Parties and the New Immigrant Vote

Since the beginning of the massive Jewish immigration from the USSR & post-Soviet states in 1989, the Russian-speaking community became a major factor of Israeli politics. This article focuses on various political, social, & institutional factors that promote the growth of sectarian "Russian" politics in Israel, paying special attention to both the origin & activities of local new-immigrant parties & "Russian" wings of the mainstream political movements. The article also analyzes political & social divisions within the new immigrant community vis-a-vis the traditional cleavages in Israeli society, as well as elaborating on the ways in which all these developments impacted on the political behavior of Russian-speaking Israelis during the 1999 Prime-Ministerial & Knesset elections. 2 Tables. Adapted from the source document.