The Newest Population Stats As 5783 Comes To An End

Yom Chamishee

Thursday

28 Elul 5783

September 14 2023

The Quote of the Day

“I wish for all of us that this year there will be more unity in the nation, less division within us, and it starts with us remembering that we are one people, with one country, with one army, with A common past and a common future.” 

We are facing great challenges and great opportunities. The first and most important challenge is security. There is an effort led by Iran and its affiliates to deepen terrorism . . . and we are fighting them vigorously. We have eliminated nearly 170 terrorists since the beginning of the year . . .

At the same time we also have a good opportunity, and this opportunity will be; after we achieved the Abraham Accords, we are working together with our American friends to expand the circle of peace.”

PM Netanyahu speaking to the workers in his office in advance of the Rosh Hashana holiday which begins tomorrow at sundown.

The News on the Israel Street

The war on the Gaza Border, and in Judea and Samaria.

The good news from Gaza this morning is that at least 5 terrorists were killed when a bomb they placed on the fence accidentally exploded before they ran away.

Initially Hamas reported that there was 1 “martyr”; this morning 4 more were added to the martyr roll. Three of the dead can be seen in this blurry screen shot from a video made by the terrorists (click here to watch the video):

The bad news from Gaza is that dozens of grenades and IEDs were thrown at our forces along the security fence during riots there.

Shooting attacks:

Palestinian terrorists opened fire on IDF military vehicles near Kedumim. No Israelis were wounded.

Palestinian terrorists in Tulkarm fired at an IDF helicopter over the city.

IED, “rock”, and Molotov attacks:

Palestinian terrorists attacked Israelis at more than 30 locations yesterday such as between Brown Park and the Git Junction, between Azzun and the Upper Shomron Junction, between Rabbah and Nafif, on Road 55 at Pondok, at Einbus beside Hawara, Kfar Beta, and at Luban al-Sharqiya.

Taking action to stop the road terror . . .

As noted above, one of the “rock” and Molotov attacks yesterday occurred on Road 55. Last night, residents of the Road 55 communities of Ma’ale Shomron and Karnei Shomron announced that citizens over the age of 18 will begin to stand guard on the sides of the road at certain points.

According to the organizers of this new “security force”: “We continue to be assaulted by stone throwers endlessly, and the situation is getting worse every day. We are not replacing the IDF. We understand that the army cannot be everywhere all the time.”

Follow-up to yesterday’s report . . .

Yesterday we wrote about the arms infusion to the PLO that Israel had given its permission for. That infusion included 1,500 assault rifles, ammunition, and military vehicles.

By late afternoon, facing a revolt in his Cabinet over the report, PM Netanyahu recorded a video in which he said:

“There is no limit to fake news, so here are the facts. Since this government was established, it has not transferred any weapons, not even one, to the Palestinian Authority.

What we did do was implement a decision made by Defense Minister Benny Gantz (in the Bennet-Lapid government) on January 22 of last year, to transfer a number of armored vehicles to replace other armored vehicles that have become obsolete.”

It is difficult to know whether to believe Netanyahu or not. A master of parsing phrases, Netanyahu merely said that his government has not transferred weapons. Obviously this leaves the distinct possibility that the weapons were trucked from Jordan into Israel and handed over to the PLO–all without Israeli facilitation.

Another Netanyahu follow-up . . .

We noted here several days ago that no El Al pilots could be found to fly the Netanyahus to the U.S. on their upcoming trip.

Yesterday, El Al posted the volunteer assignment on its pilots’ board.

Within 30 minutes, 4 pilots had volunteered.

Yet another follow-up . . .

We also noted several days ago that the Supreme Court had outrageously stopped the distribution of food stamps to needy families during the holidays.

Yesterday, the Court lifted the injunction and permitted the food stamp program to go forward.

Why the Court was ever involved in food stamps is anyone’s guess–except to say that it involves itself in every fact of Israeli life.

Another Israeli attack in Syria . . .

Israeli planes hit Iranian/Syrian targets overnight at Hama and Tartus. At least 2 Syrian soldiers were killed.

TODAY’S BLOG

The Newest Population Stats

As 5783 Comes To An End

Israel’s Central Bureau of Statistics issued its annual pre-Rosh Hashana population report yesterday. The numbers speak for themselves:

Israel’s current population: 9.795 million [projected to increase to 10 million by 2024, 15 million by 2048, and 20 million by 2065].

Israel’s demographic composition: 7.181 Jews (73%); 2.065 Arabs (21%); 549,000 other (6%).

Population growth: The population grew by 194,000 people this past year (a growth rate of 2%). 172,000 babies were born; 48,000 Israeli citizens died.

New immigrants: 66,000 new immigrants came to Israel.

Population Facts About the Orthodox

The orthodox population: The number of orthodox is now 1.25 million (12.5% of the total population) . . . [expected to double by 2040]. The growth rate of this sector is 4%.

The distribution of the ultra-orthodox public by the 4 major sects:
• Lithuanians – about 430,000 (34.4%)
• Sephardim – about 410,000 (32.8%)
• Chasidim – about 360,000 (28.8%)
• Chabad – about 50,000 (4%)

Population age of the orthodox: 55% are under the age of 18 [compared to 29% in the secular sector, and 38% in the Arab sector].

Birthrate: The average number of children for an ultra-orthodox woman is 6.5; however, in some neighborhoods in Jerusalem it is 8.6. This compares to 2.7 for non-orthodox Jewish women and 2.8 for Israeli-Arab women.

And so it goes today in the land of milk and honey!