Middle East Research Institute - Israel (Routledge Revival): Meri Report

Routledge Revivals

First published in 1985, this study, focusing on Israel, looks at the underlying reasons why certain political, economic and social events have taken place in the countrys history. It provides vital analysis of the political and economic issues of the country, and those that have affected it, as well as providing statistical material on all the key data of the political economy.

The book was originally published as part of the Middle East Research Institute (MERI) Reports on the Middle East which quickly established themselves as the most authoritative and up-to-date information on the state of affairs in the region.

MERI Report

Middle East Research Institute

First published in 1985
by Croom Helm

This edition first published in 2015 by Routledge
2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon, OX14 4RN
and by Routledge
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Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business

1985 Middle East Research Institute

The right of the Middle East Research Institute to be identified as author of this work has been asserted by him in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers.

Publisher's Note
The publisher has gone to great lengths to ensure the quality of this reprint but points out that some imperfections in the original copies may be apparent.

Disclaimer
The publisher has made every effort to trace copyright holders and welcomes correspondence from those they have been unable to contact.

A Library of Congress record exists under LC control number: 85004164

ISBN 13: 978-1-138-90212-1 (hbk)
ISBN 13: 978-1-315-69754-3 (ebk)

MERI REPORT ISRAEL

Middle East Research Institute University of Pennsylvania

1985 Middle East Research Institute
Croom Helm Ltd, Provident House, Burrell Row,
Beckenham, Kent BR3 1AT

Croom Helm Australia Pty Ltd, First Floor,
139 King Street, Sydney, NSW 2001, Australia

British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data.

Israel. (MERI report)
1. Israel
I.MERI II. Series
956.94'054 DS 126.5
ISBN 0-7099-3548-X

Croom Helm, 51 Washington Street, Dover,
New Hampshire 03820, USA

Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data applied for.

Printed and bound in Great Britain
Antony Rowe Ltd., Chippenham

Israel is located at the eastern end of the Mediterranean Sea. It is bordered to the north by Lebanon, to the northeast by Syria, to the east and southeast by Jordan, to the southwest by Egypt and to the west by the Mediterranean.

Israel's pre-1967 area is 20,255 sq km of land (1 sq km = 0.386 sq mi) and 445 sq km of inland water. The area of the occupied and annexed territories total 7,407 sq km comprising the West Bank (5,879), Gaza (378), East Jerusalem (70), and the Golan Heights (1,150). The annexation of East Jerusalem in 1967 and the Golan Heights in 1981 have not been internationally recognized. The geographical area comprised by Israel, the West Bank, and Gaza is divided into four natural regions: (1) the Mediterranean coastal plain (Israel and Gaza); (2) the central highlands; (3) the Jordan Rift Valley (Israel and the West Bank); and (4) the Negev Desert (Israel). The central highlands, averaging 610 m, reach their highest point at Mt. Miron (1 m = 3.28 ft).

The Jordan River is the principal drainage system. Originating in the Dan, Hasbani, and Banias rivers, it flows into the freshwater Sea of Galilee and terminates in the highly saline Dead Sea, the lowest point on earth at 400 m below sea level. There are two much smaller rivers, the Yarkon and the Kishon, that empty into the Mediterranean, and a small section of the Yarmuk, a tributary of the Jordan River.

The most populous region is the coastal plain, where most of the Israeli population is concentrated in large urban centers and where the Gaza Strip Palestinians have one of the highest population densities in the world. In the central highlands, only Jerusalem and its environs have a substantial Israeli Jewish population. The largest concentration of Israeli Arabs lives in the Galilee in the northern portion of the highlands. Further south lies the West Bank, with its archipelago of Palestinian villages, a dozen principle towns, and a scattering of Israeli settlements. The Jordan Rift Valley and the Negev Desert are sparsely populated.

The climate is governed by Israel's location between the subtropical arid zone prevailing in Egypt to the south, and the subtropical wet zone prevailing in Lebanon to the north. The climate is Mediterranean; the coldest month is January at 5 to 10 C (40-50 F) and the hottest month is August at 18 to 38 C (65-100 F). Substantial rainfall occurs only during the five month period from November to March and is unevenly distributed in the country. In the south, the rainfall is light, averaging less than 100 mm annually (1 mm = 0.039 in), while in the north, average annual rainfall is 1,128 mm. The areas most cultivated are those that receive more than 300 mm a year; these include the coastal plain, the Jezreel Valley, the northern part of the Jordan Valley, and the Galilee.

At the end of 1983, the population of Israel was 4,200,000 (including 12,000 Syrian Druze in the Golan Heights which was annexed in 1982). The Israeli Jewish population was about 3.4 million, the Muslims nearly 600,000, Christians about 90,000, while Druze and others were about 50,000. In addition, there were an estimated 704,000 Palestinian Arabs in the West Bank, (including Jerusalem) and 420,000 in the Gaza Strip.

Two factors have historically affected population growth in Israel. An irregular growth pattern resulted from the several waves of immigration. The first from 1948-1951, involved primarily Europeans and Jews from neighboring Arab countries, while the second, from 1955-1957 and the third from 1961-1964 included immigrants from Eastern Europe, North Africa and the Middle East. Since then, the number of immigrants has been relatively low, primarily from the USA and the USSR from 1971-1980.

The second factor is the differential rate of Jewish and non-Jewish population increase. The annual growth rate for the population in 1982 was 1.7 percent. The growth rate of the Jewish population was 1.4 percent, while the non-Jewish population grew by 3 percent. The lower growth rate of the Jewish population as compared to the Arabs is due to a lower birth rate (25 Jewish births per thousand population as compared to 34 for Arabs), a low level of immigration (13,500), and emigration estimated tentatively at 7,400. Long-term projections, assuming medium conditions of Jewish and Arab fertility and Jewish immigration/emigration, predict that the proportion of Jewish population will by 2010 decrease to 75 percent. If the administered territories are annexed, Jews will by 2010 become a clear minority, comprising 45 percent of the overall population. This prospect is also reflected in the age structure of the population; the average age ot the Jewish population is 30.4, as compared with the non-Jewish average at 20.7 years.