School psychology in Israel

The pupil population in the pre-state period consisted predominantly of children from families of European origin. Following the establishment of the State oflsrael in 1948, the school population changed radically in both its content and scope, as Israel absorbed waves of survivors of the Nazi camps and refugees from Moslem countries. The Israeli educational system had to accommodate increasing percentages of children from families of Middle Eastern and North African origin, many of whom presented what is currently considered the classical picture of cultural deprivation. In spite of limited resources, the educational system was assigned the task of assimilating this new population into the dominant culture and its values.