The Jewish population is small enough to contain extremists somewhat. Also, Israel was initially a European colonial state, consisting mostly of European Jews, whereas Saudi Arabia began in the desert by native tribes.
Another factor to consider is that along with the Aliyah rate (going to Israel) is the Yeridah rate (leaving Israel). The wealthier, educated and secular population account for most of the Yeridah, whereas the modern Aliyah rate has more and more ideological influence. Think about it, the motivation for moving to Israel in the 1940s and 50s is very different than it is now. There are thousands of former-Israelis living in Berlin, as they qualify under German law to move back (ironic considering they were supposed to be in exile in Germany).
This is creating a higher proportion of ideological Zionists in Israel, which is why the foreign minister, Avigdor Lieberman, is basically, well...a Nazi.
Also Saudi Arabia is moving, albeit painfully slowly, in the right direction in terms of municipal elections with female candidates, an annual reduction in executions etc. I saw this short video a while ago on YouTube, about atheism in Saudi Arabia:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G46GDFMTRgEObviously I'm not saying it's a paradise for atheists, but it's not hell either. Think of the general consensus we usually have on how fundamentalist Islam is theoretically supposed to deal with atheism, and how distant it is from the discussion in this video.
The range of perceptions of atheism from strict Islamic teaching to liberal democracy:
Execution < Torture < Prison < Fines | Taboo > Socially Unacceptable > Tolerated
I would say that video would indicate that Saudi is at the 'Taboo' stage. When considering many parts of America have an attitude not too dissimilar, that's quite an achievement.
I was actually quite surprised that coexistance organizations even existed in Saudi Arabia. The paper cited said a reporter found 17 atheists in Jeddah, indicating that not only they exist, and not only are they not difficult to find, but they are more confident in talking about than one would imagine.
I hope in a few decades that Arabia can find a way to be tolerant of everyone, have equality but not necessarily be a replica of a European democracy, but a unique one that offers the same benefits.
Regarding the growing influence of religion, I think it's more accurate to describe it as a growing influence of everything to do with thought, due to free access to information via the internet. The internet played 90% of a role in my leaving of Islam.
Topic: Israel becoming Saudi Arabia