President of the World Jewish Congress: Israel faces an increasing existential challenge due to demography

Ronald Lauder, President of the World Jewish Congress, warned of the danger of the continuous increase in the Palestinian population compared to the number of Jews in Israel and the occupied Palestinian territories, saying that this threatens the existence of the State of Israel, calling on Israeli Prime Minister Yair Lapid to make history and avoid the one-state disaster.

Lauder explained in

in the American newspaper "Washington Post" that Lapid has a once in a lifetime opportunity to make history, and to discuss with the United States, the Sunni world and the "moderate" Palestinians a creative way to meet this challenge by approving the two-state solution.

One-state catastrophe

He added that even if it seems impossible to reach a two-state solution, Lapid must do everything in his power to avoid a one-state catastrophe, noting that there is no other task more important than this, saying that Israel's future is in the balance.

He pointed out that Israel has been enjoying a golden economic era since the Second Lebanon War in 2006;

The average annual growth rate is more than 3.5% and accelerates to 8% in 2021, and the national debt rate (relative to GDP) is much lower than that of the United States;

The unemployment rate is close to zero, and the standard of living is rising steadily.

He added that Israel had signed peace agreements with 6 Arab countries, and it was being viewed by countries other than America, including China, Japan, India, Europe and Brazil, as a strategic partner, and its per capita GDP exceeded that of Britain.

Serious existential threat

However, Lauder says, Israel faces a serious existential threat, not only from Iran's nuclear capabilities but from its own demographics.

In 2020, for the first time in decades, the number of Arabs living between the sea and the Jordan River rose slightly over the Jewish population.

He went on to say that despite some changes in the trends of the birth rate, this small Palestinian majority will become large within a decade or two, and this means that if the status quo persists and Israel continues to control the West Bank, it will face in a relatively short time a severe dilemma, if it gives the Palestinians full citizenship;

Hence full rights, and Israel will no longer be a Jewish state, and if it does not do that, it will not be a democracy.

Either way, Israel, as a democratic Jewish state, will cease to exist.

Each passing day brings Israel closer to the abyss

He added that there is no external threat to the Zionist project such as this internal threat, noting that the basic premise of Zionism is that there must be one place on earth in which Jews constitute the majority so that they can exercise their right to self-determination in a democratic framework, and if the Jews do not A strong majority in their land will collapse Zionism.

He said that despite economic prosperity, military prowess, and international standing, the indifference of the Israeli public and the dysfunctional political system prevent Israel from confronting this problem, and every passing day brings it closer to the abyss.