A Stable Nuclear Family is the Key
Analyzing the Israeli birthrates and increasing population figures, the 2007 JPPPI report determined that "a persisting preference for nuclear families with children stand behind an annual natural population increase of about 70,000."JPPPI reported that 2006 saw the highest number of Jewish births ever recorded in the country (104,000). The Israeli birthrate, while still high compared to most of the West, is affected by the high birthrate of the Hareidi-religious population of Israel. According to JPPPI, Hareidi women have an average of 4.7 children, compared to 2.7 for the general Israeli Jewish population and 1.1 for Jewish women in the Diaspora. "In 2007, one of every three Jewish Israeli children registered in grade 1 is in one of the Hareidi school systems," the report said.
And so is Education
"Evidence from all over the world shows that children attending Jewish day schools are more likely to develop a Jewish identity," the 2007 JPPPI report declared.Hence, researchers at the institute reported that the Jewish population abroad could be split into two groups: a religious population with a growing sense of connection to Israel and a non-religious population that has a higher rate of intermarriage and a weakening connection to Judaism and Israel. They called on Israel to do more to reach out to non-religious Jews living abroad.
Migration: An Insignificant Factor
Shifts in the distribution of world Jewry were barely influenced by international migration, as Jews left Israel and came to live in their old-new homeland in nearly equal numbers.A total of 19,000 new immigrants went to Israel in 2006, 9 percent less than in 2005. There was an increase in Aliyah to Israel from North America and Europe overall, yet a decrease in immigration from France and the Slavic states. In any event, the JPPPI report said, "Immigration is significantly off-set by out-migration, leading to an international migration balance close to zero."
by Nissan Ratzlav-Katz
As in the days of Noah....