Figures in the Central Bureau of Statistics annual report on the makeup of Israel's population released this past week reveal that Israel is facing an alarming demographic threat even within the "Green Line," a threat which forces Israel to ask itself serious questions about its existence as a Jewish country.



Statistics which do not reflect the "Palestinian" demographic threat, which one can (mistakenly) argue that Israel could solve by withdrawing from Judea and Samaria, show a continuing decline in the percentage of Jews and a rise in the number of Moslems, whose fertility rate is 50 percent higher than for Jews.



-- The Jewish community dropped from 77.8 percent of the nation's population in 2000 to 76.2 percent in 2004. The Moslem population rose to 16.1 percent in 2004 from 15.2 percent in 2000. By the end of 2004, Israel's population reached 6,869,500, including 5,237,600 Jews, 1,340,200 Israeli Arabs and 291,700 others.



--The growth rate among Israel?s Jewish population was 1.4 percent. The growth rate among Moslems was double the Jewish rate, at 3.3 percent.



--The Israeli population is regarded as young, with 28.4 percent under the age of 14 years, compared to an average of 17 percent in other westernized countries. However, in comparison to other communities in Israel, the Jewish population is the "oldest" while the Moslem community is considered the "youngest." Jews over the age of 65 are 11.6 percent of the community, compared to 2.7 percent in the Moslem community, where 43 percent are under the age of 14 compared with 25.6 percent among Jews.



--Fertility rates have remained stable among the Jewish population at 2.9 children per woman, according to the CBS. The startling rate of 4.4 percent among Moslems is a slight drop from 4.7/4.6 percent in 2000.



--Growth in the Israeli population in 2004 in Judea, Samaria and Gaza (5.2 percent) well out-paced growth in Jerusalem (2.4%) and Tel Aviv (1.1%). This is attributed to the importance of a high Jewish birthrate which national religious and Haredi (ultra-orthodox) communities place on large families.



If Israel is to remain a Jewish State, it must be willing to face up to some difficult questions:



--Is Israel willing to maintain its Jewish majority as well as "democratic" character by "disengaging" from the Galilee, Negev and Eastern Jerusalem, areas with significant Israeli Arab populations within the Green Line?



--Is Israel, in order to remain a Jewish State, willing to limit the scope of its "democratic" character and principles towards non-Jews in Israel, in order to ensure not only a Jewish majority in Israel but also a Jewish character that would be reflected in policies and culture?



If the State of Israel decides to do nothing, it is only a matter of time before it will cease to exist as a Jewish state and become a bi-national country. This bi-national state will be free to rename itself Palestine, change the Law of Return to apply to Arabs and not Jews, and change the national anthem from Hatikva to something more representative of the changed country.



The time has long since passed for Israel and the Jewish people to face up to the true demographic threat facing the Jewish State of Israel, namely the ever increasing Israeli Arab population.



We must once and for all determine our answers to the question of what role the State of Israel play in the lives of the entire Jewish people? Is it imperative that Israel remain a Jewish State? If so, what are we willing to do to ensure that it remains one?



I include all of the people of Israel in this equation because no Jew who cares about Israel remaining a Jewish State should be able to claim ignorance on this point. If Israel is to remain a Jewish State, then it requires Jewish bodies and lots of Jewish babies (aside from any other steps the State of Israel may feel compelled to take on this matter).



By choosing to remain living outside of Israel, those Jews are showing where Israel stands on their list of priorities, and they will have to live with any actions that the State of Israel ultimately takes in order to save itself from this grave threat.



There may be a difference of opinion on what actions the State of Israel should take, but there is no question that if Israel is to remain a Jewish State, the time to act is now, if only we will find the courage to do so.