On Demography

My neighbor, David Rubin, had an article published in today's JPost.

Excerpts:-

Demographic threat? Nonsense

'Anyone who believes that Israel can maintain its current hold on all the West Bank is living in a dream." Ehud Olmert...His convergence/realignment plan for unilateral withdrawal from Judea and Samaria was based specifically on this perception, the problematic reality of a tiny Jewish population living among a large and rapidly rising Palestinian Arab population. Only by relinquishing control of these territories would Israel be able to maintain its Jewish majority. This has been the widely accepted solution to the demographic threat to Israel, having massive support, almost across the political spectrum. The problem, however, is that this view is usually accepted with very little questioning and far less analysis.

The demographic argument of those who advocate Israeli withdrawal from Judea and Samaria, whether unilateral or negotiated with our peace-loving neighbors, ignores both the steady high birthrates of the Jewish population in Judea and Samaria and the ongoing and increasing emigration of the Arab population from those areas. Furthermore, the media rarely notes that the reports of massive Arab population growth have been deliberately exaggerated to serve Arab/Muslim political interests. By closing our eyes to these simultaneous trends, we are simply supporting Hamas/Fatah propaganda and lies, intended to destroy the Jewish state.

...According to the Council of Jewish Communities in Judea and Samaria, there are now over 260,000 tax-paying Jewish residents in the region. Anyone who lives in these areas knows that the demand for homes, especially among young couples, is much greater than the supply, and the persistent reports of foolish Israeli withdrawal plans have limited building projects in these areas. But Jews continue to arrive from all parts of Israel, as well as from abroad, seeking homes in places such as Shiloh, Bet El, and Hebron, and many of those who have grown up there continue stay on after they marry, in whatever housing is available, raising large families and building for the future in those disputed areas.

This is the reality on the ground.

Yes, Zionism is alive and well in the Biblical heartland of Israel, both idealistically and demographically. It's okay for Mr. Olmert to debate differences based on facts, but the persistent mantra of the demographic threat in Judea and Samaria is based on an illusion.

The writer, a long-time resident of Shiloh, is the author of God, Israel, and Shiloh: Returning to the Land.