Zarys zróżnicowań ludnościowych w Izraelu

Abstract

Contemporary differentiations of population in the country of Israel is discussed in the paper. The studies are based on Polish and foreign-language sources and on interviews made in Israel. It has been emphasized that these differentiations are the result of conquests, immigration and the process of settlement in those areas by different ethnic groups from the very past till today. It has been marked that the immigration of Jewish people which increased after the country of Israel was established in 1948 and the Arabic exodus, had the main importance for the demographic changes after the Second World War. It has affected changes in the proportion between Jews and Arabs-Muslims. Before the country of Israel was established the Muslims made up about 60% of the whole population on today’s areas. Then their part decreased to 8% and the Jewish part increased to 87%. The annex of the so-called occupied territories after the war in 1967 and a brith rate among Muslims of between 3696« and 3996o caused an increase in the total population of up to 14%, Jews make up 82% of the whole population. Apart from those two main population groups, there are other ethno-religious groups living in Isreal such as Christians, Druse and some ethnic minorities Samaritans, Circassians, Bedouins and Bahais. It has been marked that the high immigration of Jews and the neccesity to house them have caused the development of specificaly Jewish settlements in both urban and rural areas. In the cities this leads to the transformation of almost homogenously monoethnic settlements into polyethnic ones with a significantly large Jewish population as is the case in Nazareth or Akko.