Comparing Israel with Oregon

Nadene Goldfoot
People keep thinking of Israel in relation to their own state or country and do not realize how small it is.  Even though it's like a crumb off of a big loaf of bread, the world considers chopping off Judea and Samaria and take it  without the consensus of Israel.  The UN will be asked to allow this in September by the Arabs who call themselves Palestinians.  The fact is that in 1967 Israel gained their ancient former land because all the surrounding Arab nations attacked thinking of taking over all of Israel and instead lost Judea and Samaria which was illegally held by Jordan. Gaza was also a part of the package held by Egypt.  However, to be peaceful, Israel moved all Jews out of Gaza in September 2005.  It then became the staging ground for constant rocket and missile attacks on Israel.    Jordan was one of those belligerant countries that attacked, so they lost their holding of what they called "West Bank" which we call by the original name of Judea and Samaria, because Israel surprised everyone by overcoming the attack and won the battle.

Israel had 8,019 square miles in 1994  not including Judea and Samaria. The land is just a little larger than Oregon's  Willamette Valley of 5,200 square miles.  Tel Aviv has 51,000 dunams.  Haifa has 58,000 dunams.  Jerusalem's population  in 1995 was 591,400 of which Jews number 417,000 or 70.5%  Arabs made up 174,400 or 29.4% of Jerusalem.  Jerusalem covers 123,000 dunams.  (4 dunams = 1 acre).1 Sq mile=2,589.9881103 dunams, so 123,000 dunams= 47.49 square miles.  Therefore Jerusalem has the largest population and has the largest piece of land of any of the other cities in Israel.   The population is also the fastest growing of the cities as well. 

Jerusalem in 1995 =591,400 people on   47.49 square miles
Portland in 1990  =437,000 people      124.7 square miles

Oregon had 98,386 square miles in 1994.
The population of Israel had 1.3 million Arabs and a total of 4,593.000 as of January 1993. 
The population of Oregon was 2,949,000 as of January 1993. 
The population of Oregon was 3,825.657 as of 2009 

The population of Israel as of May 2011 was 7,746,000.
  75.4% are Jewish making up 5,795,000 people. 
20.4% are Arabs making up 1,571,000 people. 
 4.3% are "others" making up 318,200 
The density of population is that of 321 persons/Km.  91% of the people live in urban areas.

Another % of Religions in Israel in 2005 show:
Jews: 70%
Muslims: 16%
Others: 4%
Syriac Christians 2.5%
Druze 1.5% 

Israel's Central Bureau of Statistics in 2008 listed Israel's population as 7.3 million people. 
75.6% were Jews.  Of them, 70.3% were Sabras (Israeli-born and of 2nd  or 3rd generation), some 30% Olim (Jewish immigrants of which 20.5% from Europe and Americas, 9.2% from Asia and Africa including Arab countries.)
Tel Aviv has 393,900 people.  Jerusalem has 773,800 people. 

 The Muslim population at the end of 2008 was 1,240,000 which was 16.8% of the total population.   
Christians numbered 153,100 and were 2.1%
Druze numbered 121,900 and were 1.7%
Unclassified by choice were 289.800 and made up 3.9%.

Israel's Arab population includes East Jerusalem's Arabs of which 98% have either Israeli residency or citizenship.  It also includes the Arabs living in the Golan Heights, another section gained from the 67 attack of war on Israel.  82.6% of the Arabs are Sunni Muslim, and just a small % of Shia.  Another 9% are Druze and 9% are Christians, mainly Eastern Orthodox or Catholic.  Bedouins are also Arabs included in the count.  About 50,000  live in the north of Israel in villages and towns in the Galilee and the 110,000 Bedouins in the Negev. 10,000 Bedouins live in the central part of Israel.  Druze numbered 117,5000 at the end of 2006.  Most all remained when Israel was declared a state in 1948 and became Israeli citizens.  Most identify themselves as Israelis and consider that stronger than their Arab identity.  They serve in the IDF, are in politics and business.  Muslim Arabs are not required nor choose to serve in the IDF.  The Syriac Christians make up 2.5% of the Arab population and are the Maronite Lebanese and live mostly in the Galilee.  These are the former pro-Israeli Lebanese militia members and their families who fled Lebanon after 2000 when Israel's IDF withdrew from South Lebanon.  Some were from local Galilee communities, like one in Jish.

 Israel has some African Hebrew Israelites living in Jerusalem made up of people who believe they are descended from the Ten Lost Tribes of Israel.  They number 5,000+ and live in Dimona with some in Arad, Mitzpe Ramon and the Tiberias areas.  Some consider themeslves to be Jewish,  but mainstream Judaism questions this.  There are also Black Ethiopians living in Safed, in the northern Galilee.  They came in the 80's when I lived in Safed and were thought to be the descendents of the Queen of Sheba when she visited with King Solomon. 

5,000 Christian Armenians live mainly in Jerusalem and also in Tel Aviv, Haifa and Jaffa and have churches in these cities.  1,000 ethnic Assyrians live mostly in Jerusalem and Nazareth.  They still speak Aramaic and are of the Eastern Rite Christian minority descended from the ancient Mesopotamians.  Circassians, of which I had several students in Safed's junior high, number about 3,000.  There are 2,000 in Kfar Kama and 1,000 in Reyhaniye which are villages.  The men serve, at their leader's request,  in the IDF but the women are not required like the other Israelis.  There are 712 Samaritans living in Holon and Mt. Gerizim.  They claim descent from Israelites connected to Samaria at the beginning of the Babylonian Exile.  Other Israeli citizens are residents from the Soviet Union who were married to Russian Jews but were not Jewish themselves. 

The density of Israel with 6,990,700 people in 2005 had 851.400 living in the capital, Jerusalem or 12% of the people.  1,190,000 people were living in Tel Aviv or 17% of the population.  Israel had 247,300 Jews living in Judea and Samaria, which was 4% of their population. 

People per square mile in Oregon is 30.4  It is #40 in rank as one of the states with the fewest people per square mile.  #50 is Alaska.  #1 is New Jersey with 1,046.0 people per square mile. 

The largest city in Oregon is Portland which in 1970 had 380,000 people.  In 1980 they had 368,000.  That's when I left for Israel.  By 1990 the population went up to 437,000.  I was back the end of 85.  Between 1980 and 1990 Portland had a population made of 7.7% Black, 1.2% Native Americans, Eskimo and Aleuts, 5.3% Asian and Pacific Islanders, 3.2% Hispanics,  with a population of 3,508 per square mile. 

The religions of Oregon finds Christianity #1 and is like the rest of the USA.  Christianity is the major religion.  In Oregon the largest Christian groups are the Catholic Church and the Latter Day Saints or LDS. 
75%-79% % of the population in Oregon are Christians.
17% are non religious
1.2% are agnostics
Less than 1% are Buddhists, which has a bigger population than Jews do in Oregon.  Jews, Unitarian Universalits and Muslims are also less than 1% of the population. 
1/10th of 1% are Neo Pagan Wiccans. 

Portland's land area in 1990 was 124.7 square miles. 

Portland's sister city with Israel is Ashkelon.  It has 111,700 people.  It lies in southern Israel and has been hit by rockets and missiles from Gaza.  It holds the main hospital for the region and is the farther from Gaza.  Sderot, population 20,700  has been the closest to Gaza and has been hit many times by Qassam rockets.  Both Jews and Arabs find medical help in Ashkelon's hospital, even those from Gaza.   

Israel's land area as of 1948 was 20,582 km. or ............................   7,946.754 sq miles.
By 1994 it consisted of .................................... .............................   8,019.000 sq miles. 
  East Jerusalem, from 1967, formally annexed in 1980 is 336 km or     129.730 sq miles.
  Golan Heights, from 1967  formally annexed in 1981  is  1,154 km or 445.561 sq miles..
Israeli town, cities from 1967 in Judea and Samaria is     2,061 km or 1143.248 sq miles

In September of this year the Arabs called Palestinians are going to the UN to try to create a state of Palestine for themselves consisting of the Gaza Strip, Judea, Samaria and East Jerusalem.  President Obama has promised to veto this, so then they plan to go to the UN General Assembly to get a non binding nod of approval.  Many easily swayed countries are already on board to allow this.  If this happens,  this will be a huge calamity for Israel and for the United States for this will give a back-stabbing approval to people whose written and verbal ideology and goal is to destroy Israel.  Better for the world to say NO WAY.  First, get your act together and come to peace with Israel. Change your charter to prove your desire for peace.  Change your educational system to teach about your neighbor, Israel, not teach to hate them.   When that happens, when you demonstrate that you love your children as much as Israel does theirs, then you can have a state of Palestine.
Reference:  Almanac of World Facts from Newsweek /Rand McNally 1994
World Atlas from Newsweek/Rand McNally 1994
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Demographics_of_Israel
http://www.adherents.com/loc/loc_oregon.html
http://www.mfa.gov.il/MFA/MFAArchive/1990_1999/1998/6/Jerusalem%20Urban%20Development%20-%20Population%20Size-%20Inc
http://www.onlineunitconversion.com/square.meter_to_dunum.dunham.html
http://www.statereports.us/2011/01/population-oregon/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gaza%E2%80%93Israel_conflict
http://www.metric-conversions.org/area/square-kilometers-to-square-miles.htm