Middle East - Anthony Ham [210]
Much of Israel was founded on the principles of socialism and the shared community life on the kibbutz, though many contemporary Israelis have converted to a suburban, comfortable, consumer-driven existence. New-found wealth and a love of the outdoors have made them an active lot; sports, outdoor pursuits, travel and other leisure activities take the edge off an otherwise stressful position in the Middle East. But while Tel Avivans are out clubbing on Friday nights, the Jerusalem Orthodox are busy maintaining strict religious laws, which inhibit any sort of work (for the most religious, this even means turning on light bulbs) from sundown Friday to after sundown on Saturday. And while gays and lesbians live an open lifestyle in Tel Aviv and other cities, their lifestyle in Jerusalem is more cautious and conservative. Secular Israelis usually have two or three children; the religious may have a dozen or more.
Israeli women enjoy a freedom and prestige on par with their European counterparts and have historically played significant roles in the economy, the military and politics. (Israel was one of the first countries to elect a female prime minister, Golda Meir, in 1969). But a number of challenges remain: most troubling is the fact that matters of marriage and divorce (and subsequent child custody) remain in the hands of religious courts. This, equally, is a challenge for Palestinian women, whose family matters are also dominated by religious rulings.
Palestinians earn far less than the average Israeli (an annual per-capita income of just US$1100), a troublesome statistic that has done much to keep the Arab-Jewish conflict simmering. With an unemployment rate of around 30% (in some places over 60%), and a spectacular birth rate (around 7.5 children per woman), the Palestinian home is both overcrowded and poor. In recent years, though, Palestinians have encouraged women to go to school and work outside the home, leading to an educated middle class at odds with the image of the desperate, illiterate militant often portrayed in the media. While the election of Hamas to national government in 2006 has led to fears of growing Islamic extremism, the West Bank, unlike highly troubled Gaza, retains for now its quite moderate outlook, and Ramallah in particular contains its fair share of Western trappings, including fast cars, health clubs and late night bars.
Population
For more than 50 years Israel has served as a melting pot for the Jewish faithful. Economic opportunities, the hope for a better life, or spiritual convictions have ushered in Jews from Morocco, Russia, Yemen, Syria, Iraq, India and beyond. Israel’s law of Aliyah confers full citizenship on any Jew, from anywhere in the world, who requests it.
Though in recent years, the Israeli middle class is tending towards the larger family (three or four children per couple is fast becoming the norm), the Israeli government continues to encourage immigration – offering cash incentives to young Russian and American Jews who move to Israel. Though never explicitly stated, the undertones are unavoidable: Israel’s Arab populations are far more prolific in child production, and demographers report that in 20 years the Arab minority will increase from 20% to 30%.
In Gaza, 99.3% of the population is Muslim and just 0.7% Christian; in the West Bank, Christians comprise around 8%. Christian Palestinians – traditionally more moneyed and educated – have opted, where possible, for emigration in recent years (some estimate that at least 35% of the