Israel is once again a light unto Western nations who want to thrive rather than be overrun by migrants.<\/p>\n
Barbara Sofer writes<\/a>:<\/p>\n According to Ettinger, from 1995 to 2013, the annual number of Israeli Jewish births surged by 65 percent \u2013 from 80,400 to 132,000. In 2013, the Jewish fertility rate was 3.04 births per woman \u2013 and trending upwards. It\u2019s 3.04 births when both spouses are Israeli-born, no matter where their parents were born.<\/p>\n \u201cTrending upwards\u201d is the operational term here. There are many factors, including population age, which are important in predicting future population growth or shrinkage. But, taking all these factors into consideration, the Jewish population is growing fast, and will grow even faster.<\/p>\n That\u2019s counterintuitive, if you\u2019ve read all the literature about \u201csub-replacement levels\u201d of society. Family size has been traditionally linked to the number of children it takes to run a farm or support an elderly parent. But as women become more educated, move to cities and have other economic resources, they have fewer babies. At least that\u2019s the theory.<\/p>\n A CBS report earlier this year, citing UN estimates, shows there\u2019s been a drop in family size among Muslims throughout the region. The most fertile Arab nation, Jordan, has a projected 2035 fertility rate of 2.41 children. Israeli Muslims are projected to decline from 3.37 to 2.71. This is consistent with the greater education and urbanization.<\/p>\n But it doesn\u2019t hold for Israeli Jews.<\/p>\n Says Ettinger, \u201cIsrael\u2019s Jewish fertility rate is currently higher than any Arab country, other than Yemen, Iraq and Jordan, which are rapidly declining. The Jewish population is also growing relatively younger, which bodes well for Israel\u2019s economy and national security.\u201d<\/p>\n The swell in Jewish population, in contrast to the downward trend among the region\u2019s Muslims, has major implications for the geopolitics of our area, of course. But this is not the subject of this discourse.<\/p>\n I\u2019m wondering why we have this surprising increase in population. It\u2019s not from immigration.<\/p>\n Innately Jewish? Unhappily, this fertility pattern isn\u2019t true for our American sisters. According to the most widely quoted survey, the National Jewish Population Survey 2001-2002, the average number of children born to Jewish women was less than 1.9. The so-called \u201ceffective Jewish birthrate\u201d is below 1.9 children per Jewish woman.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Israel is once again a light unto Western nations who want to thrive rather than be overrun by migrants. Barbara Sofer writes: According to Ettinger, from 1995 to 2013, the annual number of Israeli Jewish births surged by 65 percent … Continue reading