Welfare Minister Shlomo Benizri (Shas) decided recently to reinstate the Demographic Council, in order to follow and encourage an increased Jewish birthrate in Israel. The purpose of the council is to create conditions that will make it easier for people to want to have children and ensure that Israel retains its Jewish character. Former government minister Shoshana Arbeli-Almozlino (Labor) explained, "Our intention is to preserve the Jewish nation, in light of the assimilation among Diaspora Jewry." This did not stop four left-wing MKs, including Yael Dayan and Zahava Gal'on, from protesting that the council is both racist and sexist. MK Anat Maor said that the government is trying to "turn the woman into a birth machine for the state."