The Sionist State in danger ?

Interior Minister Eli Yishai has been pummeled by the press and public figures for criticising the fact that the IDF is drafting non-Jewish Russian immigrants, and for impugning, by inference, the loyalty and commitment to the state of these immigrants. World Zionist Organisation (WOZ) treasurer Chaim Chesler responded by calling for Yishai's resignation (though his preference for a Russian immigrant who might not be Jewish over an Orthodox Jew in Brooklyn, subsequently led to his ousting from his Jewish agency position).
It may be not be "politically correct" to congratulate Yishai for his remarks, but I say he is spot-on for raising the issue and waving the red flag.
Israel is moving dangerously toward the moment when its Jewish majority evaporates. Large numbers of non-Jews immigrants from the former Soviet Union (FSU), foreign workers, even Palestinian Arabs are assimilating into Israeli society.
Aside from the fact that this was supposed to be the Jewish State -- which means an overwhelming Jewish majority -- the matter has strategic implications. At times of war or protracted conflict, national cohesion is of the utmost importance. The dilution of Israel society and the body politic with large numbers of non-Jews will inevitably eat away at our fortitude in the current war of attrition with the Palestinians.
It is commonly said that Israel is 81 per cent Jewish and 19 per cent Arab. In reality, the Jewish population of Israel has shrunk to 72 per cent, according to figures drawn up by the Rappaport Centre for Assimilation Research And Strengthening Jewish Vitality at Bar-Ilan University.
In other words, more than one in four Israelis is not Jewish.
Four per cent of Israelis are non-Jewish (mostly Russians, meaning about 300,000 of the one million immigrants that have arrived since 1989); four per cent are foreign workers; 18 per cent Arab citizens; and two per cent illegal Arabs.
Once arriving in Israel, 30 per cent of Russian Jewish immigrants marry non-Jewish Russian immigrants, according to the new figures, as opposed to less than one per cent of veteran Israelis. This makes more than 120,000 intermarried couples in Israel today, not counting Jewish-Arab couples, including 85,000 where the mother is not Jewish and 33,500 where neither partner is Jewish.
Make no mistake: Russian Jewish aliyah has brought a great benefit to Israel. However, the big Jewish aliyah from Russia is behind us. Today, the Jewish Agency is frenetically stalking every tiny village in Siberia in search of Russians with perhaps one-hundredth of a Jew in their blood in order to keep the "Jewish aliyah" numbers up and justify its organisational existence.
In his remark that led to his being ousted, Chesler himself defiantly told the Zionist Congress: "I prefer someone from the FSU who is only one-quarter Jewish and is prepared to come and be a full citizen of Israel, to the Jews in Brooklyn who pray three times a day." Nice propaganda, but Chesler should be ashamed of himself.
Hodgepodge immigration, Agency-style, is making the situation worse. On average, approximately 100 immigrants now arrive every day, 75 of whom are openly not Jewish, and many of whom prefer to be recognised and registered as `Christians'.
At present rates, no more than 10 per cent of these non-Jewish immigrants will be motivated to formally convert to Judaism. Indeed, over the past five years, out of all the non-Jews who have come from the FSU, less than 1900 have converted.
Thanks to the Institute of Jewish Studies (the Ne'eman Committee-mandated National Conversion College, magnificently run by Professor Binyamin Ish-Shalom) the situation is improving, but just a sliver. Over the past two years, 5300 immigrants have begun conversion studies in more than 300 classes across Israel; 1500 cases are now before the rabbinical courts; and an intensive conversion effort among non-Jewish Russians in the IDF is just getting going.
Adding to our problems is the foreign worker population in Israel 280,000 and growing. In addition, about 100,000 Palestinian Arabs have received Israeli citizenship by marrying into Israeli Arab families since 1994, the year Oslo's reckless "family reunification" clause took effect. Kudos again for Yishai for recently putting an end to this irrational and detrimental citizenship policy.
The dimensions of this complex problem are spawning multiple madcap motions for immigration, citizenship and conversion reform.
Yossi Beilin wants to drop religion from our national identity altogether. As long as the immigration/foreigner is prepared to learn Hebrew, study some Bialik, know the traffic rules, acquire a touch of Zionist history and serve in the IDF, Beilin's proposed "secular beth din" will "convert" anyone and confer "Israeli-Jewish citizenship". I suppose Amos Oz and Yaffa Yarkoni [un écrivain et une chanteuse, vaguement de gauche et vaguement contre la guerre ] will be the other bet din judges.
Similarly, journalist Yaron London wants to impose Bolivians, Peruvians and Indians to join our nation. Arab hatred will quickly turn them into Israli patriots, he says.
Much more solid is the multi-prong approach to our demographic problems suggested by Dr Asher Cohen of the Rappaport Centre.
We have to do many things simultaneously, says Cohen: establish a national emigration authority to quickly process and deport the tens of thousands of illegal foreign workers; amend the Law of Return to reduce the number of immigrating non-Jews; de-couple the right to immigrate under the Law of Return from the granting of Israeli citizenship; curtail the Jewish Agency's recruiting activities in the FSU; and launch a national campaign, backed by secular Jews who understand the dangers, to encourage conversion, alongside the formation of a national conversion authority with the moderate Orthodox rabbinical backing.
Agonising over Israel's unresolvable Palestinian problem is a national sport. Perhaps we ought to give more serious consideration to Israel's Jewish problem -- which we more readily have the power to solve.

David M Weinberg, director of public affairs at Bar-Ilan University's Begin-Sadat Centre for Strategic Studies, Australian Jewish News.

arch/ive/ief (2000 - 2005)