The Facts
new internationalist
issue 199 - September 1989
Photo: Judah Passow
The population of Israel in 1988 was 4.6 million and that of the occupied territories was 1.5 million. Of this total of 6.1 million 38% were Arab and 62% Jewish. But the Palestinian Arab birth rate exceeds the Jewish one and, if the present rates continue, the total population will be 45% Arab and 55% Jewish by the year 2000. Jews in Israel by continent of origin and / or place of birth in 19873 Advert
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Israel's Government is a coalition between Likud, the Labour Party, Shas, Mafdal and Agudat Israel. The 120-member Israeli Parliament is called the Knesset. The largest parties (with the number of Knesset members in brackets) are: Advert Likud (40) Leader: Prime Minister Yitzhak Shamir (above) Policy: Totally opposed to a Palestinian State but is debating the tactical desirability of negotiating with the PLO. Labour (39) Leader: Shimon Peres. Policy: Against negotiations with the PLO and an independent Palestinian State. Ready to talk to representatives from the West Bank and Gaza and possibly to hand back some territories. In favour of holding elections in the territories - proposed by Labour Defence Minister Rabin. Shas (6) Leaders: Rabbi Yitzhak Parax and Araire Perei. Policy: Ultra-orthodox religious group. Mainly Sephardic Jews (Jews from Mediterranean countries). Favours any initiative except transfer. Doesn't care who is in government so long as Jews can live wherever they want. Supports settlements. Agudat Israel (5) Leader: Rabbi Moshe Zeevfelman. Policy: Similar to Shas except that the party is mainly comprised of Ashkenazi Jews (Jews from East, Central or Northern Europe). Mafdal (5) Leader: Professor Avnar Shaki. Policy: Right-wing Zionist group that has recently become religious. Against any territorial compromise. Supports settlements and hard-first policy but doesn't call for transfer. Ratz (5) Leader: Shulamit Aloni. Policy: Zionist movement which favours self-determination for Palestinians providing Israel's defence remains secure. Holds meetings with PLO outside Israel. |
Most of the population of Israel (not including the occupied territories) is Jewish by religion. The rest are Christians, Moslems, Druze (a breakaway Islamic group) or have other religions. Most non-Jews are Arabs.5
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The 1980s have seen a surge in US financial support to Israel. Since 1987 Israel has received $3.6 billion a year in direct grants from the US, of which $1.8 billion was military assistance and $1.2 billion was economic aid.17
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Three quarters of a million Palestinians fled from the Jews or were driven from their homes between 1947 and 1949. They were scattered all over the Middle East and many remain in refugee camps where their numbers have increased.6
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The West Bank and the Gaza Strip have been occupied by the Israelis since 1967. Defence Minister Yjtzhak Rabin told the Knesset early in 1985: There will be no development in the territories initiated by the Israeli Government and no permits given for expanding agriculture or industry (there) which may compete with the State of Israel.7
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About 18% of the population of Israel (excluding the occupied territories) are Palestinian Arabs.13 They are Israeli citizens and can vote, but religion is recorded on ID cards and non-Jews are discriminated against in many ways.
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In 1988 Israel registered its lowest economic growth since 1982, largely due to the intifada. It had a 3% fall in industrial output, an 8% fall in agriculture and a 3% fall in the construction sector. Exports to the occupied territories fell by one third.19 Direct losses for 1988 reached $758 million.20
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More than 318 Palestinians have been killed and 4,974 wounded since the beginning of the intifada in December 1987.
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1 Jerusalem Post 5 December, 1989
2 Europa Year Book, The Middle East and North Africa, 1988.
3 Central Bureau of Statistics, Israel, 1987.
4 Computed from the Central Bureau of Statistics, Op.Cit.
5 OpOit.
6 UNR WA, 1987.
7 Jerusalem Post 5 February, 1985.
8 Third World Quarterly, 'The intifada continues: legacy, dynamics and challenges', Yezid Sayigh, July 1989.
9 Israeli Embassy, UK
10 Planning: in whose interest?, Law in the Service of Man, Paper No 4, AI-Haq.
11 Ha'aretz, 25 April, 1989.
12 20 Years of Israeli Occupation of the West Bank and Gaza, Briefing paper No 1, AI-Haq.
13 The Palestinians, Minority Rights Group Report No 24, David McDowell, 1987.
14 Nazareth Human Rights Association.
15 Israel: An Apartheid State, Un Davis. Zed Books,1987.
16 The Condition and Status of the Arabs in Israel,International Centre for Peace in the Middle East, 1988.
17 USGovernment figures.
18 The Link, Vol 22, No 2, May-June 1989.
19 Jerusalem Post 30 December, 1988
20 Finance Minister DanMeridor, quoted by Yezid Sayigh Op.Cit.
21 Jerusalem Post 1February, 1989.
22 Children as Targets, A report on MilitaryViolence Against Children in the Occupied Territories in 1988,Radda Barnen, Sweden.
23 Israel and the Occupied Territories,Amnesty International, 1988.
24 International Herald Tribune 1September, 1989.
25 Jerusalem Post 27 January, 1989 26Jerusalem Post 1 February, 1989.
This article is from
the September 1989 issue
of New Internationalist.
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