Subscribe to Print Edition | Sat., February 09, 2008 Adar1 3, 5768 | | Israel Time: 20:59 (EST+7)
Haaretz israel news English
web haaretz.com
  Back to Homepage
Rosner's Domain
Diplomacy
Defense Jewish World Opinion National
Print Edition
Advertising
Books Arts & Leisure Business Real Estate Easy Start Travel Week's End Anglo File
Last update - 07:44 31/01/2007
Demographer: Israel should relinquish Palestinian areas of Jerusalem
By Nadav Shragai, Haaretz Correspondent

Demography Professor Sergio DellaPergola, a member of research teams that prepared the Jerusalem Master Plan, commissioned by the Cabinet, and the Strategic Master Plan, commissioned by the Jerusalem Municipality, believes that it would be wise to "relinquish parts of the city's territory in which mainly Palestinian residents live."

DellaPergola wrote this in an article slated to appear in the coming months in a book to commemorate the 40th anniversary of the city's reunification, published by the Jerusalem Institute for Israel Studies. In the article, he stresses that his statements are based on demographic considerations and the forecast of an additional decrease in the Jewish majority by 2020.

Since the Six-Day War in 1967, the Jewish share of the capital's population dropped from 73.5 percent to 66 percent. The current forecast predicts that, in another 14 years, Jerusalem's Jewish majority will dwindle to 60 percent. DellaPergola's advice is to expand the city to include unsettled and settled areas to the West, so that the exodus from the capital's center will remain within city limits.
Advertisement
Until now, those who endorsed plans to remove Arab neighborhoods and Palestinian residents from the city limits were mainly leftist politicians and policymakers, who considered this to be a solution to demographic and political problems.

The most conspicuous such plan was proposed by Ehud Barak's cabinet at Camp David in 2000. Barak agreed to a sweeping plan: Division of Jerusalem, as outlined by Clinton, such that every area in which Jews live would remain in Israel, and nearly every area in which Palestinians live would be transferred to the Palestinian Authority. Barak was also prepared to divide the Old City and sovereignty over the Temple Mount, but Yasser Arafat rejected the proposal.

DellaPergola, considered a leading demographic authority, told Haaretz on Tuesday that he supports relinquishing most of the Arab population, including those who reside in Jerusalem's northern neighborhoods, Beit Hanina and Shoafat. However, he believes that Israel should strive to achieve a solution based on a Vatican model in the Old City and the Holy Basin. "In that area," DellaPergola suggests, "another state will be established that is neither Israel nor Palestine, like the Vatican in Italy."

The municipality, which employed DellaPergola in the past, and Israel's current government do not support the division of Jerusalem for demographic or other reasons. In practice, a few Arab, North Jerusalem neighborhoods in which tens of thousands of Palestinians live were already placed beyond the "Jerusalem Envelope" section of the separation fence.

Right-wing parties also vehemently oppose division and demand that measures be taken to minimize Jewish emigration from Jerusalem and to attract Jews to the city.

In contrast with DellaPergola's position, an American-Israeli research team led by Bennett Zimmerman, Dr. Roberta Seid, Michael Wise and Yoram Ettinger proposed that Israeli policymakers alter their approach to Jerusalem demographics by annexing areas to the east rather than the west of the city, despite the fact that this would mean annexing a Palestinian population. The team maintains that, "Avoiding expanding the city's territory, due to demographic concerns, will increase the housing and employment burden and accelerate negative migration out of Jerusalem."

That team re-examines research conducted by the Jerusalem Institute for Israel Studies, indicating that the problem is negative migration of Jews from Jerusalem, resulting mainly from a lack of housing and employment. The team maintains that these problems derive from the lack of space for traffic infrastructure essential to upgrade housing and employment conditions.

An appropriate addition of land requires the city's territory to be doubled, according to the research team. The researchers note that annexing areas in the direction of Ma'aleh Adumim, Givat Ze'ev, and Gush Etzion would increase the Arab population in Jerusalem by about 100,000 residents, but the Jewish population would grow by tens of thousands of residents, due to annexation of Jewish populations on the city's periphery. Annexing territory to increase the size of the capital would increase the number of Arab residents in the initial phase, but it would significantly decrease Jewish emigration from Jerusalem. In the next phase, the city would become attractive to Jews, thus restoring the demographic balance.
Bookmark to del.icio.us  
 
Le Pen sentenced
French rightist punished said Nazi occupation of France wasn't 'particularly inhumane'.
World premiere
Eran Riklis' new film 'Lemon Tree' offers a fresh look at the Middle Eastern conflict.
  1.   Arab population surge. Question... 01:03  |  curious 31/01/07
  2.   A recipe for catastrophe 01:07  |  SLAVO 31/01/07
  3.   there is no land for peace 04:27  |  Micha 31/01/07
  4.   Makes sense 04:50  |  Mike 31/01/07
  5.   arad neighbourhood 04:53  |  colin 31/01/07
  6.   This is disgusting 05:07  |  Gary Moody 31/01/07
  7.   The right action for, perhaps 05:44  |  Mark Lincoln 31/01/07
  8.   Jerusalem Has Too Magnificent A History To Be ... 06:05  |  Lavi 31/01/07
  9.   Ultra-Orthodox Jews have far more kids than the Arabs 06:59  |  Dani 31/01/07
  10.   Just enforce residency laws.Many Arabs are moving in illegally 07:02  |  Marwan مروان خوري 31/01/07
  11.   Demographic Balance? 07:14  |  Ibn Filastin 31/01/07
  12.   How about a better idea 07:20  |  David G 31/01/07
  13.   Haaretz is obssessed with giving away Jerusalem 08:12  |  Ken Jurist 31/01/07
  14.   #2 Slavo, How does it belong to me! 08:12  |  Kevin 31/01/07
  15.   This idea! 08:22  |  ron 31/01/07
  16.   #14 08:25  |  Steve 31/01/07
  17.   Annexation. 08:59  |  Vital 31/01/07
  18.   As long as the Old City remains in Israel, who cares? 09:08  |  David Teich 31/01/07
  19.   Della Pergola! You`re a new obstacle Israel doesn`t need! Fool! 09:16  |  Robert Blum 31/01/07
  20.   Who`d protect holy places and Israeli citizens? 09:49  |  JG 31/01/07
  21.   Demographer how do you wipe out a tiny city 09:54  |  stony 31/01/07
  22.   David Teich makes a good point 09:56  |  JDM 31/01/07
  23.   The Demography of Discouragement? 10:01  |  Shalomo Freedman 31/01/07
  24.   LAND GRAB! LAND GRAB! 10:09  |  Mozart 31/01/07
  25.   cede all the palestinian areas in israel 10:12  |  flashman 31/01/07
  26.   the balkans wars prove that peace is served 10:14  |  flashman 31/01/07
  27.   shma Annex shma demography , let the Jewish Temple rise 10:15  |  Joseph E . 31/01/07
  28.   robert blum 10:17  |  flashman 31/01/07
  29.   Listen to Zimmerman, Wise, Seid & Ettinger 10:19  |  Danny Gottlieb 31/01/07
  30.   the palestinians in israel are law breakers 10:19  |  flashman 31/01/07
  31.   NEVER!!!! Jerusalem is the eternal capital of the JEWISH people!! 10:35  |  Ben Uziel 31/01/07
  32.   ben uziel lives in tel aviv 10:54  |  flashman 31/01/07
  33.   #24 MOZART PLAYS THE PROPAGANDA TUNES . 10:55  |  paul harris 31/01/07
  34.   Leftists unerstand things upside down 11:03  |  Allon 31/01/07
  35.   Kevin 11:12  |  Allon 31/01/07
  36.   demography and racism 11:12  |  Sammi 31/01/07
  37.   flashman and where I live 11:13  |  Ben Uziel 31/01/07
  38.   Consider the source! 11:20  |  RedStarYeast 31/01/07
  39.   How to expand Jerusalem? 11:21  |  sandra chitayat 31/01/07
  40.   Vatican model in the Holy basin would be a great solution 11:27  |  Swiss (Dino) 31/01/07
  41.   #22 "Beggars can`t be choosers" 11:29  |  Negru Voda 31/01/07
  42.   response to #29, Danny Gottlieb. 11:30  |  sandra chitayat 31/01/07
  43.   A mirage policy 11:31  |  Anton Siniora 31/01/07
  44.   Just imagine if ... 11:31  |  EhadHaAm 31/01/07
  45.   ben uziel i too wish jerusalem would be forever jewish 11:41  |  flashman 31/01/07
  46.   Why not divide out Moslem areas of Britain, France, Belgium, etc? 11:45  |  Yacov 31/01/07
  47.   to ehah haam 11:51  |  alef 31/01/07
  48.   #44 - Could not have said it better 11:58  |  Richard Kotick 31/01/07
  49.   Next Step is Give Up Galilee, Negev.... 12:10  |  Ben Israel 31/01/07
  50.   To alef (#47) 12:22  |  EhadHaAm 31/01/07
  51.   Transfer 12:28  |  Avi 31/01/07
  52.   I agree with this guy - a 3 state solution 12:45  |  SD 31/01/07
  53.   Regarding Moishe Safdie 12:52  |  Hannah 31/01/07
  54.   SLAVO 12:52  |  Stephen Connor 31/01/07
  55.   Yacov - you are exactly right. 12:59  |  Stephen Connor 31/01/07
  56.   jerusalem 13:04  |  michel 31/01/07
  57.   to Kevin #14...idiotic remark.. 13:08  |  SLAVO 31/01/07
  58.   official U.S. policy remains that the status of Jerusalem is a ma 13:13  |  RW 31/01/07
  59.   44: EhadHaAm the hypocrite 13:14  |  David Teich 31/01/07
  60.   50: More EhadHaAm lies 13:20  |  David Teich 31/01/07
  61.   50: One correction 13:22  |  David Teich 31/01/07
  62.   Barak`s "offer" at Camp David 13:29  |  Johnboy 31/01/07
  63.   DEMOGRAPHER? SHAME-OGRAPHER ! 13:32  |  Wendy 31/01/07
  64.   #52 Stephen Connor... 13:41  |  Hastaroth 31/01/07
  65.   Mark Lincoln #7 13:56  |  Victor Smolinsky 31/01/07
  66.   DellaPergola, no vision for future 14:07  |  Josef 31/01/07
  67.   Rediculous argument (To #64 Hastaroth) 14:10  |  EhadHaAm 31/01/07
  68.   johnboy what would one expect from someone 14:17  |  ezra baqqal 31/01/07
  69.   Repeat 48 in Jewish favor in Jerusalem 14:22  |  Steven 31/01/07
  70.   #36, Sammi "demography and racism" 15:01  |  Avi 31/01/07
  71.   Demographer 15:14  |  Shoshana Rochel 31/01/07