Saturday June 17, 2006
I've Been Thinking:

Myths are powerful, but they are not always truthful.

One famous myth, popular in Arab and Israeli circles, has it that because of their burgeoning birth rate, the Arab population in Israel will soon outnumber the Jewish population.

The myth continues with the prophecy that the Jewish State will soon be overrun by the Arab secret weapon - the womb.

Yasser Arafat enjoyed spreading this myth and took pleasure in the false prophecy.

The Central Bureau of Statistics just released figures showing that over the past 5 years Arab reproduction in Israel has continued - to drop.

In fact, Arab reproduction rates dropped 8% between 2000 -2004.

Arab is in Israel now average 4.36 children per family.

During the same period Jewish reproduction increased from 2.66 children to 2.71 children per family.

Today, Arabs families in Israel have only about 1 1/2 more children than Jews.

It's a seesaw.

The more successful THEY are, the fewer children Arab families have.
The more successful THEY are, the more children Jewish families have.