DOI: 10.1177/0020872805048709 Factors in the integration process of adolescent immigrants The case of Ethiopian Jews in Israel

The increasing global migration of non-Western immigrants and refugees into Western countries and worldwide cultural and ethnic diversity have become important increasing concerns (Shuval and Leshem, 1998). Hence, multiculturalism is becoming a crucial issue in post-modern social work. Within the multicultural domain, it is important to understand how the process of acculturation and inte-gration of non-Western immigrants into Western societies takes place. Since 1973 Ethiopian immigrants have come to Israel in several immigration waves, and today most of the Jewish Ethiopian com-munity lives in Israel. The total number of Ethiopian Jews in Israel was 88,900 in 2002, according to the Central Statistics Bureau of Israel (2002). In Ethiopia, the Jews lived alongside their fellow Ethiopians. They shared a common economy and a common language, but had distinct traditions and religious beliefs. Ethiopian Jews came to Israel following a period of religious persecution during which they suffered a significant loss of lives. In Israel, they have had great difficulties in integrating and acculturating into Israeli society, and continue to suffer from economic stress and a Shoshana Ringel is Assistant Professor at the University of Maryland, Baltimore