Details on How To Contribute to Brit-Am
http://britam.org/contribute-Brit-Am.html

Jerusalem News 920

15 September, 2010, 7 Tishrei, 5671
Contents:
1. Statistics:
Jews in Israel Becoming Much More Religious and Brit-Am Commentary.
2. The Straits of Hormuz: Strategic Importance in Volatile Times
by Yoel Guzansky.
3. 17,880 Made Israel Their Home in 5770 by Maayana Miskin

rose
Publications

Brit-Am
Discussion Group
Contact 		Contents by Subject Research
Recognition
Reconciliation

Contribute
Site Map
Contents in Alphabetical Order 		Search
This Site


1. Statistics:
Jews in Israel Becoming Much More Religious and Brit-Am Commentary.
From: imra@netvision.net.il
Dr. Aaron Lerner - IMRA:  Would the Israeli "secular" Jews be counted as
"secular" Jews by researchers overseas?

Social Survey 2009: Religiosity Of The Jewish Population In Israel
Poll carried out by Central Bureau of Statistics January-December 2009 -
7,500 people age 20+.

For details in Hebrew
www.cbs.gov.il/reader/newhodaot/hodaa_
template.html?hodaa=201019211

In 2009, the Jewish population aged 20 and over:
8% Ultra-orthodox,
12% Religious,
13% Traditional-religious
25% Traditional-not-so-religious
42% secular

72% reported that they visited the synagogue last year.

Among Secular:
24% visited the synagogue last year on Rosh Hashanah or Yom Kippur.
82% always Passover seder participants
67% always light Chanukah candles,
29% always light Shabbat candles
26% always fast on Yom Kippur
22% are very careful to eat kosher food for Passover
17% always say kiddush on Friday night
10% always make sure to eat kosher food.

21% of Jews report that Jews are more religious today than they were before.
5% define themselves as "returning to religion"
22% of ultra-Orthodox consider themselves "returning to religion" (17% of
religious and 9% of traditional)
14% report that today are less religious than before. ??
 
--------------------------------------------
IMRA - Independent Media Review and Analysis
Website: www.imra.org.il

Brit-Am Commentary:
The above figures mean that 20% (8% Ultra-Orthodox and 12% regular Orthodox Religious) are fully practicing the Jewish Religion in the strict sense.
Another 38% (13% Traditional-religious and 25% Traditional-not-so-religious) try and keep the basic laws and traditions though some are more successful than others. This means that 58% are religious (or consider themselves so) to an appreciable degree.

Even amongst the remaining 42% secular non-religious the majority observe at least some of the major holidays and practices.

Not only that but the religious inclination of the Jewish population is growing with 21% being more religious that they were before against 14% who report an experience in the opposite direction.

More than one of every five (22%)  of ultra-Orthodox was previously non-religious (defined as "returning to religion").
A slightly lower but similar figure (17%) applies to the Orthodox-religious.

[Another factor not mentioned above is variations in the birth-rate.
The more religious the Jews in Israel are the more children they have.
There is a direct and blatant connection between number of children and degree of religiosity.
Taking the increased birth-rate together with present trends of allegiance and assuming no drastic changes we may expect a gradual, but not necessarily slow, growth of the Jewish Religious Proportion and religious observance in general amongst the Jewish Population.

2. The Straits of Hormuz: Strategic Importance in Volatile Times
Guzansky, Yoel
INSS Insight No. 204, September 3, 2010
www.inss.org.il/publications.php?cat=21&incat=&read=4387
Extracts:
Iran's oft-sounded threats to close the Straits of Hormuz to international shipping and thereby stop the flow of Gulf oil seem to have increased in frequency and intensity, apparently in light of the decision to impose harsher sanctions against Iran. Senior Iranian officials have thus warned that "any act of aggression or adventure" - in practice this means inspections of cargoes of Iranian ships (a step included in the Security Council resolution on Iran) - would generate an "appropriate" Iranian response and turn the Straits into an unsafe place for Iran's enemies.

The Straits of Hormuz are considered one of the most important naval passages in the world, and any interference to the flow of oil through them would immediately affect the global energy market. An overwhelming majority of the Gulf's oil exports - some 90 percent - go through the Straits. The American Energy Department estimates that some 17 million barrels of oil - 20-30 percent of global consumption - pass through the Straits daily, in addition to 20 percent of the world liquid natural gas transports. Every day, some 15 tankers make their way through the Straits, most of which are headed for the Asian markets (e.g., over 75 percent of Japan's energy consumption comes from the Gulf).

The oil moves in tankers through the Straits, whose narrowest point is 33 km. The tankers move into the Gulf in a 3.2 km-wide shipping lane, with a lane of equal width for outgoing traffic (a 3.2 km wide no-traffic lane separates the two active ones), so at no point does the total width of the international crossing exceed 10 km. The international shipping lane at the entrance to the Gulf is in Oman's territorial waters but farther up the tankers enter an area that Iran claims as within its sovereignty. Accordingly, it would be relatively easy to interrupt naval transportation to and from the Gulf.

Even in the unlikely possibility that Iran could seal the Straits hermetically over a long period of time, such a move is not in Iran's own best interests, as it would interfere with the import of refined oil to Iran and Iran's export of crude oil (representing some 80 percent of its income) and would almost certainly lead to a confrontation with the American navy. Therefore, Iran has never attempted to block the Straits, certainly not fully. Operationally, such a move would require extensive naval mining in the Straits, something Iran found difficult to accomplish clandestinely in the past and which is tantamount to an act of war. At the end of the Iran-Iraq War, Iranian attacks on naval vessels generated an American response, whereby American navy ships escorted Kuwaiti oil tankers to and from the Gulf. In another case, after an American frigate hit an Iranian naval mine, the United States launched Operation Praying Mantis, during which the American navy sank most of Iran's usable naval forces in the Gulf, putting them permanently out of commission.

Because of the Iranian navy's weakness and America's military superiority in the Gulf, Iran has placed priority on acquiring and building a large number of small, fast-moving vessels (some of which are for unmanned use) and has re-outfitted civilian vessels for military missions. As a result, in recent years there have been reports of Revolutionary Guard naval vessels skirmishing with American vessels. In January 2008, Iranian boats approached American vessels in a threatening manner, using the so-called swarm tactic: many small, fast-moving boats, some laden with explosives, intend to attack the target simultaneously from different directions (together with support from air and land fire) in order to stun the enemy's defensive systems and limit the enemy's capacity for responding effectively.

Recent assessments indicated that the American 5th Fleet is capable of opening the Straits to naval vessels within a week. Such assessments may be based on the fundamental weakness of the Iranian air force, a belief in the American capability of paralyzing Iranian positions near the Straits, the US' improved ability to remove naval mines, and the fact that the Straits are deep and wide enough not to allow them to be easily blocked. In addition, unlike other vessels such as cargo ships, tankers are hard to sink due to their size, structure, and the nature of crude oil. Nonetheless, senior American military sources express themselves with caution: "Iran is developing its conventional military with 'limited' offensive missiles and naval assets able to disrupt Gulf shipping," and it "has the ability to restrict access to the Straits of Hormuz with its naval forces temporarily and threaten U.S. forces with missiles."[1]

Moreover, new Iranian means and improved tactics may present a more significant challenge to the American navy. As early as 2008, Iran already announced that it was building new bases, which could threaten movement through the Straits. The Iranians may also have introduced new types of vessels into service, such as mini-subs and improved weapons based on asymmetrical tactics.

A longer event might necessitate the use of strategic reserves, taking advantage of the redundancy of global manufacturing capabilities (greatly limited because it is primarily concentrated in the Gulf region) and using alternate shipping routes such as the Saudi pipeline moving oil from the Gulf to the Red Sea (5 million barrels per day) and the Habshan-Fujairah pipeline, which is supposed to start operating next year and ferry 1.5 million barrels per day from the Gulf daily.

3. 17,880 Made Israel Their Home in 5770
by Maayana Miskin
http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/news.aspx/139513
Israel National News
Extracts:
17,880 people made aliyah (immigrated) to Israel in the Jewish year 5770, according to Jewish Agency records - up from the previous year, when 15,180 people came to Israel via the Jewish Agency.

7,340 of the new arrivals came from former Soviet Union states, an increase of 16% in Aliyah from that region. Another 1,320 came from Ethiopia, at a rate determined by the government.

5,130 came to Israel from English-speaking countries. Of those, 3,350 were from the United States, 380 from Canada, 740 from Britain, 220 from Australia and New Zealand, and 260 from South Africa.

Aliyah was up in western Europe as well. 2,420 residents of France, Belgium, Italy, and Switzerland decided to make Israel their new home in 5770, compared to 2,090 the year before. The majority of the Western European immigrants ? 2,020 ? came from France.

1,360 new immigrants arrived in Israel from Central and South America. 330 came from Argentina, 240 from Brazil, 160 from Mexico, 140 from Peru, 120 from Venezuela, and 90 from Uruguay. The sharpest jump in South American immigration to Israel was in Venezuela, where 120 left for Israel this year, compared to 40 the year before.

Smaller groups of immigrants came from a variety of other countries, including Thailand, Japan, Tunisia, Nigeria, Kenya, Malawi, and Uganda.

See also:
Before you boycott Israel!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=saeky9I5T9c&feature=player_embedded


See Also:
Israeli Daily Report
http://britam.org/ID/IDContents.html




rose

Pleased with what you read'
The Brit-Am enterprise is a Biblical work.
God willing, they who assist Brit-Am will be blessed.
Brit-Am depends on contributions alongside purchases of our publications

Click Here to make an offering.
Click Here to view our publications.



'It is impossible to rightly govern the world without God or the Bible.'
  George Washington

Brit-Am is the "still small voice" that contains the truth.
[1-Kings 19:12] AND AFTER THE EARTHQUAKE A FIRE; BUT THE LORD WAS NOT IN THE FIRE: AND AFTER THE FIRE A STILL SMALL VOICE.

PREVIOUS ISSUES


Security Cameras, Florida, USA.
security cameras



The Lifestyle Doctor
Doctor


Home