Why "Zafuf" was founded

The State of Israel is a rare phenomenon in the demographic landscape of the early 21st century, due to an unusual combination: high population density, a high birthrate –typical of Third World countries, and an economy and consumption levels typical of a First World country. Since its founding in 1948, Israel’s population has grown tenfold in less than seven decades. Israel is currently the country with the highest population growth rate in the developed countries of the Western World, and the second largest population density. The ‘effective’ Israeli population density is even higher because more than half of the country’s area is covered with desert and/or being utilized for military and security purposes. With the current growth rate, the population of Israel is expected to further multiply itself until mid-century, with the number of residents per unit area becoming one of the densest in the whole world.

 The rapid increase in population size and density has far-reaching implications for all aspects of life in Israel, now and in the near and distant future.  It affects all sectors of society. But Israel has never conducted a meaningful and honest discussion about the dramatic implications of population growth on living conditions in the country, on our future and our children’s future. Population receives little if any attention in Israel’s public discourse and is not considered transparently and openly with the public. The outrageous disregard of the subject within Israel’s government, the private sector, and even civil society is problematic and will surely do little to reduce the negative effects of rapid demographic growth. The Israel Forum for Population, Environment, and Society was established to bridge this gap, to understand and quantify the implications of population growth on the State of Israel, to encourage discussion and to propose and to lead changes in public policy that are urgently required to address the rapid increase in population.