Geostrategist Professor Arnon Soffer spoke to the Mishkanot Shaananim Israel Newsmakers Forum earlier in the week, focusing on population growth in various sectors of Israeli society.  Soffer said the residents of Tel Aviv were impeding natural population growth, saying, “They’re all the time in restaurants; they’re not in beds.”  According to recent statistics, only 20 percent of Tel Aviv residents are under the age of 18—the lowest rate in the country.

Soffer also discussed child allowances and “family reunification” policies.  At least 100,000 Palestinian Authority Arabs have become Israeli citizens in recent years, he said, mostly by marrying Arab women with Israeli citizenship.  High child allowance payments encourage high birthrates in the Bedouin sector, where polygamy is common, he said.  A man with several wives and 30 children could receive NIS 24,000 a month from the government.