Concerned over the decline of the birth rate among Jews in Palestine, central Jewish organizations, including the Jewish National Council and the Hadassah, held a joint conference here today at which it was decided to launch a propaganda campaign in the Yishuv to popularize larger families.
It was pointed out by several speakers that the present decline in the birth rate seriously threatens the future of the Jews in Palestine. The average European Jewish family in Palestine has about one child, while the average Arab family has four. Jewish families from oriental countries tend to have larger families, but the Jewish birth rate is on the average only one-third of the Arab birth rate.
Even increased Jewish immigration may not fill the gap between the future Arab population and the Jewish, if the birth rate among Jews remains stationary, it was stated at the conference. Fear was expressed that while the Arab population in Palestine is growing, the Jewish population may proportionately decline until it reaches a point where it will endanger the development of Jewish life in the country.
A gathering of representatives of Jewish institutions from all parts of the country will be held in the near future as a result of today’s conference.
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
