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ISRAELI POPULATION IN 2003 NUMBERS 6.6 M; 76% OF RESIDENTS JEWISH; 20% ARAB 35,000 new immigrants in 2002 - 55% from the FSU and 45% from the West At the beginning of 2003, the population of the State of Israel is estimated at 6.6. 75.6% of the state's residents are Jewish, 20% are Arab and 3.5% are new immigrants who are not registered as Jews. The Jewish population numbers some 5.3, and the Arab population 1.3 million. Israel's population grew by 1.9% (127,000) in 2002 - the lowest growth rate since 1990. The major reason for the decline in the growth rate is the drop in the number of new immigrants. 34,831 new immigrants arrived in Israel in 2002 - compared with 43,471 in 2001. This year, there was a growth in aliyah from the West. 55% of the new immigrants were from the FSU and 45% from the West (Argentina, France, Uruguay, the US, etc.) Immigration contributed 23% to total population growth, compared with 29% last year. In 2002 the majority of the immigration came from the three following countries: Argentina: 6,000 immigrants. The immigrants are for the most part young and educated. Some 70% are married with families (an average of three people per family), 72% of them came from Buenos Aires, 9% from Tucuman and the North, and the balance from Cordoba, Rosario, Mendosa, and other places. 52% of the immigrants are age 45 and younger and 13% between 45 and 54 years of age. 25% of them are students and college graduates and some 20% are blue-collar workers and independently employed. Former Soviet Union: 19,000 immigrants. 17% of them are between 25 and 34 years of age, 30% are between 35 and 59, and 15% 60 and above. 15% are technology professionals, 3% are in scientific and academic professions, and 6% are in the medical and health care fields. The rest work in administration, arts, and various other professions. Ethiopia: 2,700 immigrants. There is pressure by members of the Ethiopian community to bring the Falashmura who still remain in Addis Ababa. Aliyah from has doubled in the past 15 years. Results of a recently published survey, "The Jews of France, Values and Identity," reveal that 6 percent said they would make aliyah "very soon" double the percentage of the last survey in 1988. That number was 12 percent among families with school-age children, and 28 percent among families with children attending Jewish schools. These figures were confirmed Jewish Agency data, which showed that aliyah from France doubled in 2002 to more than 2,500. On the other hand, percent of respondents said they had no intention of moving to Israel, up from 40 percent in 2002. The survey, based on interviews with more than 1,000 heads of households was commissioned by the United Jewish Social Fund (FSJU), and France's United Jewish Appeal. It also revealed an aging population, increasing rates of intermarriage, and declining numbers of French Jews. Conducted in January 2002, just at the beginning of a wave of attacks on French Jews and community institutions, Jews expressed concerned about their future in France -Nonetheless, while they placed terrorism, anti-Semitism and racism at the top of their concerns, some 90 percent of respondents expressed satisfaction with their lives in France. While the survey puts the number of Jews at 500,000 - down from the figure of 700,000 widely cited in recent years - "study shows we have a strong and diversified community but, most importantly, one that is happy and well-integrated, " notes FSJU director, David Sa'ada, adding "I don't think Le Pen's success reflects a rise in anti-Semitic feeling among French people. If anything, a lot of anti-Semitic statements recently have come from the far left, from anti-globalization groups and the like," Sa'ada said. The survey also confirmed a continuing demographic change that began after World War II, with the influx of Jews from North Africa. In conjunction with the destruction of about one-quarter of France's Jews in the Holocaust, the community became predominantly Sephardic. Today 70 percent of those interviewed describing themselves as Sephardic and 24 percent as Ashkenazic. Another trend reflected by the survey is growing interest in Jewish tradition. This includes a tremendous increase in demand for Jewish education. Today, some 29,000 children go to Jewish schools - almost double the figure in 1988, the date of the last survey together with an increase in religious practice. In contrast to the right-wing stereotype of French Jews, 48 percent of those surveyed, were in favor of "land for peace in Israel," as opposed to 39 percent against. 13 percent felt they had no right to express an opinion on the subject.
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