Having spent a lot of time in Israel, I would say that it is defined by its cultural diversity. Look at how many different political parties exist in the state, as they often divide along "ethinic" lines. Semetic is just a term, any word can be taken and used in anyway as the meaning attached to it changes with the usage. Jews are Semites. Arabs are Semites. Basically because they share a language in a similar family group. But culturally a falasha Jew and an Ashkanazi Jew are very different. For that matter an Israeli Jew is very different from an American Jew even if they both share a recent historical place of origin. There is a huge divide between the Arab and the European Jew culturally. They are extremely different people. Hebrew and Arabic are the closest conection, but for the majority of people in Israel, Hebrew is a new language, constructed almost 100 years ago from classical Hebrew and a small part of Arabic to be used as the modern language of the future Israel. Each immigrant that moved to Israel took with him or her a piece of the culture from their original home. If anything, Israel is more Mediterean European in its nature today, than anything else. Ahh though, Israeli women in uniform, if she doesn't kill for looking at her the wrong way first, they make for an interesting cultural experience
Now, I know that the Israel women I have met would have tried to chop my balls off and feed them to me if I tried to put her in a group with the Arabs of the Middle East.