A Jerusalem Institute for Israel Studies report that Jerusalem’s population growth per capita has remained steady since 1967, and that due to education, modernization ushering women’s advancements, the argument that Jerusalem will have a non-Jewish majority in the future is no longer accurate.

By Amit Cotler

The population in Jerusalem has been steadily increasing since 1967 while the increase in the city’s Arab population is on a steady decline, according to new research.

“The Jewish populace is, of course, the majority, and although that majority is diminishing, the rate in which it is doing so is slowing down,” said Yair Assaf-Shapira, a researcher in the Jerusalem Institute for Israel Studies. “Now, we are at a state where the changes are becoming very small.”

Old City of Jerusalem – Photo: IsraelandStuff/PP

Assaf-Shapira also spoke about the possibility of an Arab majority in Jerusalem, saying that “this subject was very popular about 5-10 years ago. I think that as long that this trend is becoming more certain, you can see that it’s not data errors—the number of children per mother in the Arab community is dramatically decreasing due to modernization, education and other factors.

“I think that the subject on when Jerusalem will lose its Jewish majority, and what is needed to be done in order to prevent it—questions that have led in the past to the establishment of big neighborhoods and annexation—is slowly losing ground,” he added.

“We usually think of Jerusalem as a city that has a lot of ultra-orthodox Jews and Arabs, and so must have a high fertility rate, but when we actually compare it to the rest of the country we see that Jerusalem’s population per capita in contrast to the rest of the country has remained steady since 1967.”

Translated & edited by Lior Mor

View original Ynet publication at:
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4969166,00.html