Dear Editor,
On Al Jazeera news of 25th December we were informed that births in Israel during 2007 was the lowest over the last four years and that during the said year approximately 20000 persons emigrated from Israel, while approximately the same number immigrated to Israel. This, we were led to believe, is a serious concern of the Government of Israel. We know that Canada, in recent years, has been making it easy for outsiders to take up residence there. In Denmark and other Scandinavian countries they are seeking to increase the population by taking measures to encourage citizens to have as many children as possible. Women are offered extremely favorable time away from work, plus tax relief on the birth of every child. Last time I checked they were considering similar time off from work for fathers. All of this became necessary since the population is aging. This aging population was on the cards. Young people in these countries, in keeping with the belief of many in the developed world, that personal material comfort supersedes all else, were inclined to have no more than one or two children, for they perceive children as a burden on their pockets and demanding of their time.
