| The Demon of Demography |
111 |
bNeve Yaakov, which are stoned in Bet Hanina and Shu’afat; the
battacks on children, the plague of burglaries and fearful women
bin East Talpiot, which stands across from Jabal Mukabber and
bArab-A-Sawahre; the tension in the Jewish quarter of the Old
bCity—all attest to the Arabs’ hatred of their Jewish “occupiers”
band are just a brief hint of what Jewish men—and women—
bmight expect from an Arab victory.
bSedan, the liberal, must condone illegal Arab infiltration
band building, must turn a blind eye to Arab violence, because
bdeep in his heart he is ridden with guilt concerning the Jewish
bemphasis of Israel and Zionism. And so, too, the deputy mayor
bof Jerusalem, Miron Benvenisti, presiding over a schizophrenic
bpolicy under which millions are spent on Judaizing the city
bwhile the fact that Arabs are illegally settling there is ignored.
bHe told the JTA that he was “in no way perturbed by the in-
bcrease in Jerusalem’s Arab population.” His party’s leader,
bShimon Peres, on the other hand, told a party forum on August
b25, 1977: “I do not want to wake up one morning to discover
bthat Jerusalem is subject to the demographic fate of Galilee.”
bWhat Peres was telling his party members, including all the Is-
braeli Arabs he hoped to attract, was that he did not want to see
btoo many Arabs in Jerusalem. But it was Labor that sat quietly
bby—and did nothing—as the Arabs illegally settled.
bThe Likud government is just as hapless. “The growth rate
bof the Jewish population in Jerusalem is declining steadily de-
bspite governmental policies aimed at increasing the number of
bJews who live in the capital”—the words of Gideon Patt, Likud
bminister of housing. Does he recommend the removal of the il-
blegal Arabs? Of course not. And so millions will be spent an-
bnually in a losing battle to keep Jerusalem “Jewish,” because
bthe Jewish leaders are striken by guilt and fear.
bIn any case, Jerusalem with its 120,000 Arabs (more than
bone out of every four in the populace) spotlights another aspect
bof the demographic demon. Not only are the Arabs increasing at
ban explosive rate, but they are concentrated in definite areas. In
bthose Israeli areas that border Judea-Samaria, which has al-
bready been promised “autonomy,” the Arabs make up much
bmore than their 18 percent of the national population. In Jerusa-
blem they are 27 percent; in the Triangle 50,000 Arabs sit along
bthe old pre-1967 “Green Line” border, cheek to cheek with rela-
b