On 2004-01-07 08:09:00, Anonymous wrote:
"I see the problems of poverty in Israel differently.
I'm sure its a complicated issue; and what I'm about to say far from the only factor; but it is a factor.
Israel has in recent years had a huge influx of immigrants; largely from African nations; and they are worse than dirt poor. It is straining the resources that had in years past been available to those who returned to their home land. Its harder to set them up with housing and food and clothes and school supplies and medical care b/c their numbers are growing vastly; while donations of money and materials are pretty much static.
If you care about this and would like to help - check out the Bridges for Peace link (and yes, I'm serious) and donate. They are doing wonderful and important work in the land and are deserving of support.
And Pray for the Peace of Jerusalem. "
In fact:
JERUSALEM (AP) - Immigration to Israel hit a 15-year low in 2003 and population growth was the lowest in a decade, the Central Bureau of Statistics said Wednesday.
The figures, apparently the result of an ailing economy and more than three years of Palestinian-Israeli violence, were bad news for Israel, built on the concept of large-scale Jewish immigration to the ancient homeland.
Immigration dropped by 32 per cent to 23,000 this year from 34,000 in 2002, the bureau said in an annual year-end statement. The last time immigration was so low was in 1988, when only 13,000 people moved to the country, a bureau official said.
In addition, Israel's population grew in 2003 by only 1.7 per cent to 6,750,000, the lowest natural growth rate since 1990, the bureau said. Arabs make up 19 per cent of the population, or 1.3 million people. Jews and others make up 81 per cent of the population, or 5,160,000 people.
The greatest contributor to the country's shrinking population numbers was the drop in immigration, the bureau said.
Immigration to Israel boomed in the 1990s when Jews from the former Soviet Union flooded Israel. Since 2000, the number of immigrants from the former Soviet republics has dropped off, causing a decline in the overall immigration figures.