A report from the University of Haifa in Israel has found if current demographic trends continue, Israel may cease to exist as a secular entity.
The Jerusalem Post has detailed the report, which says Israel is on its way to becoming a religious state.
The report, entitled “Israel 2010-2030, on the Path to a Religious State,” examines the demographic factors set to change Israel in the coming years, including an increase in poverty, the annexation of the West Bank settlements and Israel’s deterioration into an anti-democratic country.
In a comparison of the religious, haredi, secular and Arab birthrates in the country, the report revealed that by the year 2030, the majority of Israel’s Jewish population will be religious.
It found the Haredi population will reach more than a million people, which will place an especially high economic burden on the secular population.
Haredi Judaism is the most conservative form of Orthodox Judaism.
Haredi participation in the workforce is very low due to a phenomenon in which ultra-Orthodox men study Judaism all their life rather than working.
The report suggests the Haredi growth will create a situation of total dependence on the income-earning population as well as other inequalities, leading to dissatisfaction and bitterness among taxpayers.
With the higher Haredi birthrate bound to strengthen the voting power within their community, the report said, education will become Torah-based, courts will be operated according to Jewish religious law and much of the media will reflect the religious world of Haredi.
The report stated that the changes would lead to greater emigration of secular Israelis from the country, with the people of Israel once again finding themselves in the Diaspora, facing anti-Semitism.
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