Ask any dyed-in-the-wool Anglo-Saxon born Israeli how "westernized" they think Israel is and you'll be in for a good laugh. :) At times I think we try too hard to emulate America in all its aspects, which is not a good thing. As you pointed out, we are a nation of native born, new and old immigrants with all types of backgrounds and levels of religious belief. First and foremost, we need to make Shalom Bayeit. Where absorption in the States is described as the "Melting Pot" (though that is debatable these days), Israel indeed is the "Pressure Cooker", and we constantly are needing to keep a close eye on that steam gauge.