World Jewish News

The Jewish population increases slowly than that of representatives of other communities.

According to forecasts, by 2020 the Arabian population of Israel will exceed Jewish. The research was carried out by the new Jerusalem institute headed by the former leader of Near East negotiations, Dennis Ross. Results of the research show the following picture: now the entire world Jewish population is 12,8 million persons, 5 million of them live in Israel and 7,8 million - in other regions.
While, from the beginning of 1970th, the number of Israeli Jews has grown due to millions of immigrants from the former Soviet Union, the Jewish population in other regions was reduced in 2,2 million, basically, because of emigration to Israel. The most part of the Jewish population outside Israel lives in America where, according to the research, its number is 5,6 million persons. During last 32 years these figures were not significantly changed.
Professor Sergio de La-Pergola, the head of the Jewish demography and statistics branch of the Jewish Jerusalem University, says that Jews experience the same factors of influence as other peoples: growth of number of divorces and reduction of number of marriages resulting in reduction of birth rate.
Besides, as de La-Pergola has written in explanatory to the research, significant number of Jews abroad marry not Jews, therefore, children from these marriages are frequently identified as not Jews.
The governmental statistics in Israel shows that Jewish population increases more slowly than that of representatives of Muslim and Christian communities.
The research carried out by the Jewish institute of planning predicts that by 2020 there will be 6,3 million Jews and about 2 million Arabs in Israel, apart from 5,6 million Arabs living in the Israeli territories. Della Pergola says that demographic situation is significantly connected with the Arab-Israeli conflict.
The former Prime Minister of Israel, Ekhud Barack, intending to give independent status to the Western Coast, Sector of Gaza and also to Eastern Jerusalem, asserted that these factors can create Jewish majority in the democratic state of Israel.
Some representatives of the Sharon's government tend to include all the Sacred land to Israeli borders, that supposes exiling of 3 million Arabs from the country.
In September the Council on demography established by the government has renewed its work after 5-year inactivity. Its representatives plan to encourage those who gives birth to more children. They want to bring in counter-measures in relation to those who enter mixed marriages and make abortions. Some critics equate such statements to racism.

Источник: Jewish.ru