In honor of the new Jewish year of 5769, which begins Monday night, the Central Bureau of Statistics has released the latest population statistics. The bottom line: Jewish growth is up, Moslem growth is down.

Israel's population at the end of 2007 stood at over 7.24 million, including 5.48 million Jews (75.6%) and 1.45 million Arabs (20%).

The Jewish population grew by 1.6%. By contrast, the United States population grows annually by 0.9%.

The Muslim population grew by 2.8% in 2007 - compared with 3% just two years earlier, and 3.8% in 2000.

The Jewish population in Judea and Samaria [not including Jerusalem neighborhoods in areas liberated in 1967] stood at 282,000 at the end of 2007, according to the Interior Ministry. This is an increase of 5.2% over the year before - three times higher than the population jump in all of Israel. The population figures do not include citizens living in communities deemed illegal by the government.

At the beginning of 2007, the total world Jewish population was 13,155,000, the 2007 Annual Report of the Jewish People Policy Planning Institute (JPPPI) reported. This represents an overall growth rate of 0.5% over the previous year's figures. The Diaspora experienced a net decrease in population of 20,000 Jews, while Israel's Jewish population increased by 80,000 souls.

Number of Children per Jewish Woman - Up
The number of children per Jewish woman rose slightly in 2007, while dropping in other ethnic/religious groupings. It rose among Jews to 2.8 children per woman from 2.75 the year before. Among Muslim women, this figure dropped from 3.97 in 2006 to 3.9 in 2007, and from 2.64 to 2.49 among Bedouin.

In total, Israel's population grew by 1.8% in 2007 - equivalent to the growth rates in the 1980s, when immigration was down. In the early 90s, when immigration from the Soviet Union was at its peak, the population grew by approximately 3% a year.

Single Women - Up Nearly 2% a Year
On the other hand, Jewish bachelorhood also continues to rise. In 2006, 76% of the males aged 20-29 were single, compared with 73% six years earlier. Among the women in that age group, a full 60% were single, compared with 54% in 2000.

Another worrisome factor is that while 33,880 Jewish couples married in 2006, 13,439 divorced - 85% of the total divorces in Israel. Among the Moslems, 9,273 weddings were held, and 1,134 couples divorced - only 8% of the total divorces.

As investigations into the Kadima primary elections continue, polling irregularities have been found in 71 of 115 polling stations. While a Kadima internal court judge has upheld the election results, the possibility of a recount, or even a new primary, has been left open. Meanwhile, a Knesset Member appealing the results of the primary said that had Kadima candidate and Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz been aware of the extent of the polling irregularities, he would have appealed the results on the night of the vote.

A group of Mofaz supporters, led by Kadima MK Ze’ev Elkin, has been investigating a number of voting irregularities that they say casts serious doubt on the results. Among their findings is the troubling fact that the total number of votes that were cast is greater than the number of voters who are registered as having arrived to the polls.

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“The number of ballots with a question mark on them is around 300,” said Elkin. He confirmed that irregularities have been uncovered in a majority of the 115 polling stations, where either there were ballots cast that were not counted, or where the number of ballots counted exceeded the number of people who voted.

“Had [Mofaz] known of the magnitude of the discrepancies, he would have certainly appealed,” Elkin added.

On the night of the elections, lawyers for Mofaz requested the Central Election Committee to postpone announcement of the results pending a recount, given the tiny margin of victory and the disqualification of an entire voting station in the town of Rahat. In that station, 430 ballots were discarded, bringing Livni’s 431-vote down to a possible margin of just one vote.

Central Election Committee judge Dan Arbel ruled against the appeal, arguing that since Livni’s margin of victory was one vote larger than the number of votes disqualified in Rahat, she would have won the election by one vote even if all the Rahat votes were for Mofaz. Arbel said that had the number of disputed votes been even one vote higher, he would have suspended the election results.

With the new information found on polling irregularities, the total number of disputed votes is over 700, and Mofaz’s supporters are holding Arbel to his word.

“There were many examples of misconduct in the elections,” explains Elkin in the video above “there are hundreds of votes missing. More than ten polling stations had more ballots than voters, and so 60-70% of the polling stations were imprecise. We know today that there are around 700-800 votes that are questionable…with a margin of victory of only 431 votes. We also have claims of actual vote rigging.”

“It could very much be that the state comptroller will have to intervene and investigate” suggested Tzion Amir, an attorney for Elkin. “Maybe even the police might investigate these unexplained occurrences.”

“How could [Arbel] make a judgment based on a one-vote margin?” asked Elkin regarding Arbel’s denial of an immediate recount. The legislator also pointed to a polling station in the Arab sector where 13 votes were recorded for Mofaz, whereas about 20 people who were at the polling station have already signed a statement from investigators testifying that they voted for him.

Elkin added that the one hour extension in polling granted to Livni’s team was inappropriate, noting that both Mofaz’s lawyer and Meir Sheetrit protested the move. “It has no precedent in Israeli practice anywhere in the nation,” he said.

Elkin’s team argued Wednesday for an injunction to temporarily overturn the results of the primary before Kadima internal court Judge Yishai Levit, and was turned down by the judge. The team then requested an immediate recount, but Levit turned them down once again, citing the absence of the other two judges on the three-judge panel, and granted the claimants another hearing on October 5 to consider both requests.

Meanwhile, the Kadima MK explained that the only reason why Mofaz did not challenge the results on election night was due to lack of hard evidence, which he now says his team has. “My petition is personal,” said Elkin. “I advised Mofaz not to give in rather petition the court but he for his reasons decided not to. I feel obligated to my friends in Kadima to do this.”

Peace Now secretary-general Yariv Oppenheimer has been assigned a security detail in the wake of an attack on prominent political science historian, Professor Ze'ev Sternhell early Thursday morning. 

The controversial professor, who was awarded the Israel Prize, was lightly injured when a pipe bomb exploded outside his front door in Jerusalem as he was locking the gate to his home at 1:00 a.m.  Sternhall, who suffered light injuries to his legs, was taken to Shaare Tzedek Medical Center.

The 73-year-old Hebrew University academic has received "ideological" phone threats in recent weeks, according to police. Nationalists had appealed to the courts in an effort to prevent Sternhell from being awarded the Israel Prize because of statements he has made, which they said appear to legitimize terrorism.

Flyers proclaiming, "The time has come for a halachic state in Judea and Samaria! The time has come for the Kingdom of Judea!" were found in the streets near Sternhell's home, according to Ynet. A NIS 1.1 million award was promised on the flyers to anyone who kills a member of the Peace Now organization.

"The extremist Right poses an existential danger to Israeli democracy," said Oppenheimer on Thursday, who blamed the attack on rights activists in Judea and Samaria.

"Law enforcement authorities must abandon their lenient policy when it comes to law-breakers from within the settler community and their supporters before we see another politically-motivated murder in Israel," he said. "He who doesn't enforce the law on violent settlers in the territories will find himself with a Jewish terror organization in the heart of Israel."

Politicians Call for Increased Security, Left Blames Right 

Defense Minister Ehud Barak vowed not to let any harm come to Sternhell or any other person who chooses to express an opinion that might prove unpopular. "We won't let any elements, from any dark corner of Israeli society, harrass people who let their clear, lucid unique voices like that of Ze'ev Sternhell be heard," he said in a statement.

Kadima Knesset Member Otniel Schneller called for increased security, saying those who had bombed Sternhell's house were dangerous criminals who should face a judge for the attack.

However, warned Schneller, the attempt by the Left to "take advantage of difficult events to polarize the public is extremely dangerous. Those who automatically blame the extreme Right are stirring up discord," he said.

Meretz Knesset Member Zahava Gal-On slammed security agencies in the wake of the attack, charging them with favoring rights activists, who she also blamed for the attack. "The attempt to hurt Professor Sternhell is the result of the lenient attitude and weakness of the law enforcement agencies towards the extremist Right," she said in a statement following the bombing.

"They better not talk to us about a few bad weeds," added Meretz party chairman Chaim Oron menacingly, who added that the"thuggish and dangerous act" came as the result of law enforcement officials not cracking down on anyone "who doesn't agree with the brutish section of the extreme right wing."  Oron contended that "these phenomena spring up on the right wing."

The National Jewish Front organization denied responsibility for the attack, saying, "We're not connected to the incident and do not operate that way." However, the group also stopped short of criticizing the bombing, adding, "We will not condemn it. Sternhell legitimized attacks against settlers."

The Zionist Organization of America (ZOA) has criticized the National Jewish Democratic Convention and the left-wing J Street lobby for pressuring anti-Iran organizers to disinvite Republican vice presidential candidate Governor Sarah Palin while not calling on Democrats to attend. The Democratic party claimed that it did not want Gov. Palin to attend because the rally should not be politically oriented. However, Democratic Sen. Hillary Clinton previously announced she would not attend because she did not want to share the stage with Gov. Palin.

Morton A. Klein, president of ZOA, said, "The rally was not a partisan political rally. It was an anti-Ahmadinejad rally. It did not become 'partisan' when Democratic Senators Clinton, Biden and Congressman Wexler were invited. And it did not become 'partisan' when Republican Governor Palin was also invited. Quite the contrary, it became bipartisan, as it should have been. No, it became a 'partisan' event when  Governor Palin was disinvited."
The rally was not a partisan political rally. It became a 'partisan' event when Governor Palin was disinvited.

Klein added that the Jewish Democratic committee and J Street "were clearly less than thrilled about Gov. Palin attending because their concern for Israel was clearly subordinate to their domestic American political interests. Rather than welcome a call from Gov. Palin for tough measures to induce Iran to stop its nuclear program, these groups were terrified that her address might win over part of the Jewish vote in November."

He continued, "It should be noted that organizations like J Street are not representative of the majority views of American Jewry or the Israeli electorate regarding Israel and the Arab war on Israel. J Street supports major territorial concessions, including dividing Jerusalem, to Mahmoud Abbas' unreconstructed Palestinian Authority, the creation of a Palestinian state that would endanger Israel's existence and negotiations with Hamas,

The ZOA, the National Council of Young Israel, the Committee for Accuracy in Middle East Reporting in America (CAMERA) and the Jewish Institute for National Security Affairs complained that they were not consulted by the Conference of Major Jewish Organizations, which disinvited Gov. Palin.

"There was no emergency call set up to discuss the decision to disinvite Palin," said Klein. Malcolm Hoenlein, president of the Conference, has not commented on the complaints, and he has been attacked in the past for decisions that critics said did not represent the common Jewish voice.

The Conference sent its members an "urgent notice" about a conference call disinviting the Republican vice presidential candidate.

CAMERA executive director Andrea Levine told the New York-based Jewish Forward that Hoenlein told her the governor was disinvited under the threat of other organizers that they would pull out of the anti-Iran rally. 

The newspaper quoted "insiders" in reporting that the liberal "JCPA and the New York-based organizers had clashed with Hoenlein over his decision to reach out to the McCain campaign without telling Clinton, who had been invited weeks ago, or the Obama campaign. Hoenlein countered that he did so only after Republicans rebuffed his efforts to have a senator attend."

President Shimon Peres spoke in the United Nations General Assembly a day after Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmedinajad addressed the same body and called Israel "murderers," "deceitful," and in control of international financial centers. 

Peres responded firmly, saying that the Iranian leader, whom he did not mention by name, "is a danger to his people, the region and the world.  He is a disgrace to the ancient Iranian people.  He is a disgrace to the values of Islam.  He is a disgrace to this very house, the United Nations, its basic principles and values. His appearance here is already shame."

Peres said that the Iranian people "are not our enemies," but castigated their leadership for standing "at the center of this violence and fanaticism" and for having "built a danger to the entire world. Its quest for religious hegemony and regional dominance divides the Middle East and holds back chances for peace, while undermining human rights... Their despicable denial of the Holocaust is a mockery of indisputable evidence, a cynical offense to survivors of the horror [and is] contradictory to the resolutions adopted by this assembly." 
"Tehran combines long-range missiles and short-range minds," Peres summed up.

Accusing Iran of continuing "to develop enriched uranium and long range missiles," Peres said that the leadership "introduce[s] a religion of fear" and is the problem of the Iranian people and a concern of the world.

The Voice of America report noted that US diplomats were not present for Ahmedinajad's speech, adding acerbically that this was despite the Iranian presence during President Bush's speech.  Voice of America also barely noted the Iranian leader's tirade against Israel in its 14-paragraph report, waiting until the 13th paragraph to say merely that the speech "included scathing references to Israel." 

Iranian Lashes Out
Ahmedinajad said the Arabs of the Palestinian Authority have undergone "60 years of carnage and invasion... at the hands of some criminal and occupying Zionists [who] have forged a regime through collecting people from various parts of the world and bringing them to other people's land, by displacing, detaining and killing the true owners of that land."

Defense Minister Ehud Barak said, "The fact that Ahmedinajad was allowed to speak so hatefully and venomously in the United Nations, and to draw applause, is a badge of shame for the international community."

Peres Against Terrorism
Peres also noted that Israel's peace overtures have been met with Moslem terrorism: "In Lebanon, we implemented resolution 425. Yet Hezbollah paralyzed the country and cut the road to peace... From Gaza, we withdrew completely and dismantled our settlements. Hamas responded with a bloody takeover and turned the strip into a basis of rocket fire... They added kidnapping to bombings, bringing strife for innocent families. From this important stage, I call for the immediate release of Gilad Shalit, the son of Aviva and Noam, a peace-loving family." 

"Tehran combines long-range missiles and short-range minds," Peres summed up.

The President concluded with a quote from an 18th-century religious leader whose popularity and influence has grown and intensified in recent years. "The Jewish people are celebrating a new year," Peres said. "I would like to end with a quote from Rabbi Nachman of Breslav: 'May it be thy will to remove war and bloodshed from the world and perpetuate the wonders and greatness of peace.  All the inhabitants of the world shall recognize and know the truth: that we have not been placed on this earth to wage war and not for hatred or bloodshed.'"

Members of an eastern Jerusalem-based Arab terror cell have been arrested and indicted by Israeli authorities, it was announced on Wednesday. The cell is believed to be responsible for the murder of two IDF border guards in separate attacks, as well as plotting various other murderous attacks. Officials believe that Hamas’s increased foothold in the nation’s capital is linked to the current sharp rise in terrorism by Jerusalem Arabs.

Senior Shin Bet (Shabak) officials said that the seven Arabs in the cell, including six from eastern Jerusalem, were indicted early last week on charges of murder, attempted murder, weapons trafficking and illegal possession of firearms. Mahmad Abu-Sneina, the leader of the group, was charged with the murder of Border Guardsman Rami Zuheiri on January 24 at a checkpoint near Shuafat, as well as the July 11 shooting death of Jerusalem police officer David Shriki near the Lion’s Gate in Jerusalem’s Old City.  In both incidents Abu-Sneina, a resident of Anata in eastern Jerusalem, was aided by an accomplice.

In addition to the murders they committed, members of the terror cell are suspected of planning a number of other attacks, including the murder of another Jerusalem police officer in the Old City, a shooting attack on a bus station at the capital’s French Hill Junction, a highway attack on a police car, and an attack at a checkpoint in a Jewish area of Hebron. The group is also believed to have plotted to kidnap Jewish security officers in Jerusalem.

Abu-Sneina is the son of another terrorist, Adnan Abu-Sneina, who was sentenced to life imprisonment in 1981 for his role in the murder of an off-duty soldier and released several years later as part of a prisoner swap deal.

These attacks are just some of the many attempted in the last few years by Jerusalem Arabs. Two deadly attacks this year claimed the lives of 11 people (the Merkaz HaRav shooting and the first bulldozer attack). Since 2007, no less than seven terror attacks have been prevented in the city, including the attempted assassination of a government minister from the Shas party, an attack on the hotel at Kibbutz Ramat Rachel at the outskirts of the capital, and the shooting down of U.S. President George Bush’s helicopter during a landing at Hebrew University.

Along with the announcement of the latest terror-related arrests, security officials linked the sharp rise in terrorism in Jerusalem with increased activity of Hamas in the Arab neighborhoods in eastern Jerusalem. They said that areas like Sur Baher, Jabel Mukabar, the Shuafat refugee camp and Issawiya, long known as hotspots for terrorism, have become increasingly infiltrated by Hamas.  Hamas now controls Gaza and threatens to take over from the Palestinian Authority in Judea and Samaria.

The officials presented the rising terror wave as proof of the need to inflict harsher punishments, such as the demolition of the terrorists’ homes and financial penalties on family members, aimed at deterring future attacks. “This will have a long-term effect on people and contribute to deterring others from perpetrating attacks in the future," said a senior security official.

The security officers also called for a stronger security presence in high-risk areas of Jerusalem.

The Israel Prison Service has responded to Jewish security prisoner Ofer Gamliel's hunger-strike by abruptly transferring him to another prison. 

The General Security Service's Jewish department has been very heavily involved in the case, and is likely behind this latest move as well.

Gamliel, father of seven, has served nearly 6.5 years of a 15-year-sentence with no vacations.  He was convicted of his role in an aborted bombing of an Arab school in Jerusalem in 2002.  He and his two co-defendants from Bat Ayin claimed the bomb was never meant to go off, but rather to instill fear in the Arab community.

Gamliel began hunger-striking nine days ago in protest of the refusal to grant him any vacation days, while Arab and other prisoners receive them regularly, and in protest of the fact that his release is not being entertained, while Arab terrorists are released periodically as goodwill gestures to the Palestinian Authority.

Gamliel's wife met with Public Security Minister Avi Dichter several months ago, and reported afterwards that he told her, "The truth is that we don't have as much of an interest in releasing your husband and the Jewish security prisoners as we do in releasing the Arabs."

Shmuel Medad, head of the Honenu civil rights organization, said, "If people want their voice to be heard, they should fax Dichter at +972-2-530-8039, as well as the one man who can order their release - President Shimon Peres, at +972-2-5611033." 

Gamliel: To Solitary, and Now to Be'er Sheva
A few days after beginning the strike, Gamliel was transferred to solitary confinement - where he continued to refuse to eat.  The authorities have now added another punitive measure, transferring him to a prison in Be'er Sheva.

Gamliel has filed an appeal in the Tel Aviv District Court against the transfer. The move to Be'er Sheva has separated him from religious prisoners and from the synagogue in Ayalon Prison in Ramle.

Protest Tent Continues
Supporters of Gamliel and other Jewish security prisoners are manning a protest tent outside Yeshivat Merkaz HaRav in the Kiryat Moshe neighborhood of Jerusalem.  They wish to draw attention to the plight of Gamliel and other Jewish prisoners who are not allowed vacations - while Arab prisoners are permitted to visit their homes for Ramadan and the like, and sometimes even released en-masse.

The Shabak (GSS) claims they are hiding information on other Jewish conspiracies, and invariably tell judges that "every minute they are out of jail represents a danger to the State of Israel." 

Supreme Court Refuses to Veto GSS
About a year ago, Tel Aviv Judge David Rosen ruled that the danger presented by Gamliel is not different than those presented by prisoners who are allowed vacations, and that he must therefore be allowed a short vacation outside prison.  The GSS protested the ruling to the Supreme Court, which accepted the appeal. 

Gamliel protested and appealed the overturning of the decision, but Supreme Court Judge Uzi Fogelman rejected his appeal and upheld the no-vacations policy.  Gamliel then applied to the Supreme Court for a re-hearing, but Justice Eliezer Rivlin turned him down.              

Realizing that as far as the authorities are concerned, he is destined to spend the next 8.5 years in prison without ever leaving, Gamliel decided to begin his hunger strike.

At the same time, the public struggle on his behalf and on behalf of the other Jewish security prisoners continues. The Council of Prisoners' Families stated, "Transferring Gamliel is part of the attempt to break the spirit of the Jewish prisoners, in addition to not releasing them or allowing them vacations. This decision stems from petty one-upmanship of small-minded individuals who prefer to see Jews rot in jail while terrorists go free."

Nine people are still hospitalized after an Arab terrorist ran them over on Monday night in Jerusalem. A young yeshiva high school graduate shot and killed him.

IDF Chief of Staff Lt.-Gen. Gabi Ashkenazi phoned a young officer, Lt. Elad Amar, on Tuesday and congratulated him on his quick thinking in shooting a terrorist to death.  "As Chief of Staff, I am proud of you," Ashkenazi said. "You acted properly as a soldier and officer of the IDF. Your professional and quick response brought the incident to a swift and correct end."

Another Religious Hero
Amar, 23, married and the father of two, lives in Kiryat Motzkin, near Haifa. Sporting a knitted kippah (yarmulke), he is a graduate of the Pirchei Aharon yeshiva high school, the same school in which abducted-and-killed soldier Eldad Regev studied.  In the two previous run-down terror attacks in Jerusalem, as well as in the Merkaz HaRav massacre of eight students, the terrorists were also killed by quick-thinking national-religious soldiers or former soldiers.

In addition, earlier this year, the counselors of the Mekor Chaim yeshiva high school in Kfar Etzion were able to overcome and kill two terrorists who came to perpetrate a massacre there.

Car Hits Soldiers, Wall
Amar was leading several dozen soldiers who were on their way to the Western Wall on Monday night. Near Kikar Tzahal (IDF Square), at the end of Jaffa Road leading to the Old City's Jaffa Gate, the BMW-driving terrorist slammed into many of them. "I managed to jump away, but some of my friends were hit," Elad said. The terrorist then hit a wall, "and I was afraid that he might go into reverse and start running them over again. I wanted to stop him, and I fired 11 bullets through the car window."

At that point, a civilian and a policeman joined him, but Elad's job was still not over: "I though the car might be wired with explosives, so I ordered the soldiers who were unhurt to start treating those who were hurt, while staying clear."

Seven soldiers and two female civilians are still hospitalized, including one woman in moderate-to-serious condition and four with light-to-moderate injuries.

Army's Spiritual Activities Will Increase
IDF Chief Rabbi Avi Ronsky told Arutz-7's Hebrew newsmagazine on Tuesday that the pre-Rosh HaShanah educational activities in Jerusalem will continue, and even intensify. "The IDF Chief Rabbinate organizes hundreds of visits whose purpose is to prepare the soldiers and officers for the High Holy Days, and to connect them with the Jewish People's ancient history."

"Our activities are aimed at both religious and non-religious soldiers," Rabbi Ronsky said.  "There is tremendous demand, especially in the combat units, for discussions on Judaism in connection with combat spirit and leadership.  We are all Jews, and the more you are connected with your roots, the stronger you are."

MK Ariel: Why Are Homes Still Standing?
MK Uri Ariel (National Union) said, "The continuing delay in destroying the homes of the eastern Jerusalem terrorists who committed the recent attacks, and the periodic release of terrorists from prison, are what brought about this attack. This is an ongoing failure of Defense Minister Ehud Barak and the justice system."

In the course of 2008, 250 Arabs from eastern Jerusalem have been arrested for hostile terrorist activity - a large increase over previous years.