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The threat of the 'demographic threat'
By Gideon Levy

Let us share in the happiness of A., a resident of the Haredi (ultra-Orthodox) neighborhood of Mea She'arim in Jerusalem who has around 450 descendants. Who cares if they are Haredi? Nor is there any need to mourn the fact that 23 percent of first-graders are Haredi and 22 percent Arabs. This is a natural development in society, and it's doubtful that any legitimate means exists to prevent it. Anyone who views this as a danger is endangering the character of society far more than the tectonic demographic shifts. If we have indeed reached "the end of Zionism," the title of a piece by Nehemia Shtrasler on these pages last Thursday, it is not because of demography but because of geography (and morality).

There is no "demographic threat." There is a threat to society's values, which will be determined not by statistics but by the amount of social justice. Talk of a "demographic threat" is not legitimate. Imagine what would happen if a discussion were held in the United States or Europe on "the worrisome natural growth of the Jews." And who here would dare consider publicly the "fertility tendencies" of the Mizrahim - Jews of Middle Eastern descent. The truly dangerous threat is the discussion itself. It attests to the development in our society of very deep racist norms, cloaked in various ways, against the minority groups among us.

Haredim or Arabs - they are sons and daughters of this land. There are no democratic means to prevent them from becoming a larger portion of society in the future. Campaigns to reduce the birthrate are no less outrageous than the concepts of population transfer and ethnic cleansing.
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Both the left and right are afflicted with this lethal racism, which stems from arrogance and fear of the other. The right wing is trying to scare us with dire predictions about the natural increase of the country's Arabs, while at the same time it is trying to annex 3 million Palestinians. The left, equally racist, is trying to scare us with dire predictions about the increase of the ultra-Orthodox population. From certain points of view, the racism against the Haredim is actually more serious: It uses anti-Semitic terminology and lacks the excuse of the national hostility against the Arabs.

The racist discourse has become the norm in Israel and the Jewish world at large. It began with the "danger of assimilation" and "mixed marriages" - a supremely racist term - continued with the "danger of Haredization" and ended with the "peril of the Arab majority." Demographers and geographers constantly publish forecasts and projections, competing among themselves for the title of chief doomsayer. A putrid stench emanates from the talk about "fertility tendencies," and the government's establishment a few years ago of a "Public Council for Demography," whose members included three senior gynecologists, shows the depths of pathology to which we have sunk.

Is it really important whether 3.5 million Palestinians reside in the territories, as the Palestinian Authority claims, or 2.4 million, as an American-Israeli team claims? One way or another, Israel is not granting them civil rights. Occasionally, another million Jews who "disappeared" from the statistics and preferred to obscure their Jewishness are found in the United States. What difference does it make? The future of the Jewish community will be determined far more by its members' degree of involvement than by their number, just as the future of Israeli society will be determined far more by the relations among its communities than the numerical ratio between them.

Israel is an immigrant society mixed with the native-born, a multicultural mosaic with the potential to become a just society. If the Haredim do not do army service or are not productive enough, the responsibility rests with the secular majority, which allows these phenomena. If the Arabs do not contribute enough, or are even hostile to the state, the state bears much responsibility for this. One can criticize the ultra- Orthodox and Arabs, but not enter their wombs. Children - Haredi, secular or Arab - are a joy if they are cared for properly. Their increase stems not from budgeting but from faith and values. Those who want a country to their own liking here must fight for the emergence of an Israeli ethos that is shared by all elements of society, whatever their size, and discard the racist bookkeeping.
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  1.   Society 10:10  |  Hannah 22/07/07
  2.   ASK AMIRA HASS... SHE KNOWS BEST 10:20  |  Juliette M. 22/07/07
  3.   At long last, something sensible comes from the delusional left! 10:30  |  Uzi 22/07/07
  4.   Who cares? 10:45  |  Clickfool 22/07/07
  5.   The demographic threat is real 10:59  |  Star of David 22/07/07
  6.   Cut the long story short 11:19  |  Bandar Michaels 22/07/07
  7.   The threat by Gideon Levy 11:55  |  Hannah 22/07/07
  8.   GIDDY GIDEON AT NATIONAL SUICIDE PLANS ONCE MORE 12:12  |  paul harris 22/07/07
  9.   And if you can`t feed your 10-15 children ? 12:37  |  Rolandus 22/07/07
  10.   Is it racist of me to fear the destruction of Jewish Israel? 12:40  |  Yered Shmuel 22/07/07
  11.   To # 5 12:40  |  Yousef 22/07/07
  12.   In the Haredi and Arab world there would be no Gideon Levy 12:49  |  Michael Diamant 22/07/07
  13.   And if you can`t feed your 10-15 children properly (second part) 12:53  |  Rolandus 22/07/07
  14.   To Hannah 13:58  |  Captain Obvious 22/07/07
  15.   Values aside 14:24  |  Alan 22/07/07
  16.   Value 14:42  |  Alan 22/07/07
  17.   Israel a democratic State 14:49  |  Arthur G 22/07/07
  18.   A FINAL SOLUTION WILL BE NEEDED 14:52  |  indrajaya 22/07/07
  19.   Levy is right - own experience 14:59  |  Israeli Immigrant 22/07/07
  20.   Thanks Gideon 14:59  |  Alan 22/07/07
  21.   Depression 15:04  |  Alan 22/07/07
  22.   "down on the levy waiting for the robert e. lee of truth 15:13  |  victor hardman 22/07/07
  23.   Al Naqba, to Arthur G 15:13  |  Klas 22/07/07
  24.   #19 Pressure 15:15  |  Alan 22/07/07
  25.   It seems to me that the first two steps israel should take are: 15:15  |  lakshmi 22/07/07
  26.   Human above ethnic values: read Israeli immigrant`s post 15:43  |  Ben Alofs 22/07/07
  27.   Demography Swings Both Ways 15:43  |  ARTH 22/07/07
  28.   # 27, ARTH 15:50  |  indrajaya 22/07/07
  29.   Birthrates should be reduced for sake of environment 15:56  |  newageblues 22/07/07
  30.   Ethnic Cleansing Hoax & Klas 15:56  |  Alain 22/07/07
  31.   I never thought I would agree with Gideon Levy 16:01  |  Amos 22/07/07
  32.   Lakshmi 16:03  |  Alain 22/07/07
  33.   Stop creating division. 16:14  |  Deborah 22/07/07
  34.   Lakshmi & Occupation 16:24  |  Alain 22/07/07
  35.   Haredim 16:31  |  YIDN 22/07/07
  36.   Bandar Michaels #6 16:40  |  The Other Alan 22/07/07
  37.   Ahhh Levy, You Make It Sound So Simple 16:48  |  Tony Anthony 22/07/07
  38.   Alain on Lakshmi and other pro-Palestinian posters 16:49  |  Sam 22/07/07
  39.   To Alan: #24 16:50  |  Vitor 22/07/07
  40.   Levy is half right. Jewish left is often anti-Semitic 16:57  |  Chaim 22/07/07
  41.   %50 Haredim 16:57  |  Michael Berg 22/07/07
  42.   Levy 17:01  |  j10 22/07/07
  43.   demographic threat. 17:02  |  Naim S. Mahlab 22/07/07
  44.   Dogma 17:03  |  Sebastian 22/07/07
  45.   Author in La La land 17:10  |  Ron 22/07/07
  46.   Huh? EVERY Democratic society limits ethnic and religious groups 17:24  |  David 22/07/07
  47.   Zionism is at the root of the "demographic problem" 17:28  |  Thinkpad 22/07/07
  48.   Who will remain to fight? 17:33  |  W 22/07/07
  49.   One State Solution 17:34  |  Thinkpad 22/07/07
  50.   Good relationships among its communities will make Israel strongr 17:36  |  Rami 22/07/07
  51.   RIGHT ON! STOP THE EVIL BOOKKEEPING !!! 17:37  |  Dutch 22/07/07
  52.   #33 Debrah: I agree with your post 17:38  |  Rami 22/07/07
  53.   # 10 Yered: It is Iran you need to warry about.. 17:44  |  Rami 22/07/07
  54.   #52. Thank you, Rami. 17:51  |  Deborah 22/07/07
  55.   The end of Israel 17:55  |  Ajay Kaur 22/07/07
  56.   "Worrisome growth of the Jews" 17:58  |  Benny R. 22/07/07
  57.   Boringly easy to prove Gideon Levy wrong 18:01  |  Bo 22/07/07
  58.   "39" Sam in Canada and in Israel ??? 18:01  |  Labhras 22/07/07
  59.   The Threat of Gideon Levys 18:11  |  Tod Zuckerman 22/07/07
  60.   Is this type of logic applies to a 1million Jews expelled from 18:13  |  SAl 22/07/07
  61.   constitution, why doesn`t israel have one? 18:18  |  constitution 22/07/07
  62.   One State Solution 18:22  |  janet 22/07/07
  63.   Demographic threat MUST be spoken about!! 18:31  |  Bill 22/07/07
  64.   Educate and solve the problem 18:32  |  Shelley 22/07/07
  65.   The truth hurts. 18:33  |  John Donaldson 22/07/07
  66.   #19, Israeli immigrant 18:38  |  J.M.Jordan 22/07/07
  67.   Janet- one state solution 18:40  |  Sam 22/07/07
  68.   Constitution, #60 18:42  |  Klas 22/07/07
  69.   # 51. Dutch 19:01  |  Wrls 22/07/07
  70.   Integrate the Schools and Villages 19:02  |  Jane 22/07/07
  71.   To Gideon Levy, racism or survival? 19:17  |  Otto Rand 22/07/07
  72.   WHO CARES? 19:27  |  DUTCH LOVE CLICKFOOL 22/07/07
  73.   Demograpics 19:33  |  Daniel Donaly 22/07/07
  74.   i never dreamedI agree whith this author 19:37  |  Nelly 22/07/07
  75.   "61" constitution 19:42  |  Labhras 22/07/07
  76.   To Thinkpad 19:43  |  Otto Rand 22/07/07
  77.   RIGHT ON! SUPPORT THE BOOKKEEPING!!! 19:51  |  DUTCH LOVE CLICKFOOL 22/07/07
  78.   alain 30 19:53  |  just wondering 22/07/07
  79.   To Tod Zuckerman #69 19:53  |  Otto Rand 22/07/07
  80.   david 46 19:55  |  just wondering 22/07/07
  81.   To SAI #60 20:02  |  Otto Rand 22/07/07
  82.