Israel's Religious Demographic Crisis (and why it's only going to get worse)

Check out the Nebula-exclusive companion video to this one over on Nebula: nebula.tv/videos/wonderwhy-israels-diverse-populat… Get 40% off a Nebula subscription by signing up to the annual plan using this link. This video has actually been up on Nebula for 5 days already. I do always upload to Nebula first anyway, but in this case it was because I was facing some issues with demonestisation (and still may be, actually). This is a very real reminder of why Nebula is the best way to watch my videos. First, and in their original form, without any editing to get past YouTube's automatic flags. Really hope you enjoy this video. It was quite a challenge to make it. Talking about Israel can be difficult, especially when topics like this one touch on some of the more controversial aspects of the country. Please keep in mind that some of the topics I've touched on here are background information for better understanding the main topic as a whole - there's a lot more complexity to these issues. As always, please keep the comment section civil and focused on the main topic at hand. Thanks for watching!

You can't have an ethno-state which is humane or democratic. It is fundementally indecent and undemocratic to say a state exists to prioritize the interests of only one group of its residents.

I live in Israel and agree with this video. I am trying to convince my husband to move to a liberal western country, just worried sick for my children. This country is changing and it is becoming more religious and less democratic. I belive in the two state solution for the Israeli-Palestinian conflict but now more and more people in Israel want to cling to the land, no matter what. Because they belive it was promised to them by god. All this will lead to a disaster.

Huh, who would have thought that allowing the demographic with the single highest birthrate in the country the privilege of not having to contribute anything tangible to society, economy or military whilst enjoying state funding might cause some issues in the long run...

One thing Israel needs is a written Constitution. One that can't be easily changed, but can be amended.

A few corrections on a very well made video You suggest that Arab citizens are "equal" for Israeli law. They are not. Palestinians can not serve in the army. In practice this means they are excluded from many rights Jewish citizens do have. And in practice, as you say it is a lot worse! Public services, housing and job opportunities, building permits are extremely restricted for Arab citizens. And if we regard East Jerusalem as part of Israel, the Arab citizens of Jerusalem are not citizens of Israel. Their position is extremely vulnerable and threatened, not only by extreme settlers, but also by discrimination in building rights, getting building permits, lack of protection, public services, leaving the city, coming back to the city, public services and more. And in the West bank it is total horror. It makes South African Apartheid look like just some silly game. Within the area of historical Palestine (Israel, Gaza, West bank) Arabs are already a majority. But since the Arab population in the West bank is under Military rule, the have no right to be part of any decision making except for the Palestinian enclaves which can get raided by the army whenever they feel like it. This is why Israel will never grant Palestinians in Gaza and the West bank voting rights. It would mean the end of the "Jewish State" and is not a democracy.

Babe wake up WonderWhy posted a new video

Im Israeli. I want to applaud you for this video, the level of accuracy is astonishing and the fact that you aren't even Israeli or Palestinian is mind blowing to me. The depth of you research really goes above and beyond. Literally every image you showed was directly relevant to the topic you were talking about, you even found images of spacifc politicans that are related to the corresponding topic. The quality is amazing compared even to israeli sources. Very minor nit-pick, in 19:29 you showed to logos the right one you correctly labeled as the logo of one of the religious Zionist parties, the left logo is actually the logo of the alliance of all three of the parties that support religious Zionism.

How did you manage to talk almost half an hour about Israel, telling the objective truth, while staying accurate, professional and polite is beyond me! That is an amazing achievement!!

"It's important to understand that the majority of Israel's population is Jewish." You learn something new every day.

This is a fascinating subject. It's more than just Arab vs Jew; there are so many more sides to it. I'd love to see a similar video that discusses the internal divisions on the Palestinian side, which you alluded to. Keep up the great work.

I'm really impressed with the prologue! Explains so well so many nuances and contexts that often get ignored in a lot of heated debates among foreigners and even among Israelis.

Frustrating to say just how accurate this video is.. I’m Israeli and like to watch YouTube videos about Israel made by international media and foreign people. Usually they get some to most details wrong and give a biased report to whatever side they support, but this guy got it perfect from history to culture and even slang. Big props for the research, I wish this wasn’t so true.

As an Israeli, this is the most accurate and well-researched video about Israel I have ever watched. Thank you for making such great content.

I've been watching this channel for 8 or 9 years, it's a real treat to see you posting all these years later. Cheers

The US has no problem with having relationships with Non democracies

I would be pissed if I was forced into the military but the guy next to me gets a pass because of his religion, and he gets free money as well? Wtf! Haha

I don't remember when I stumbled upon your channel man but I remember watching Winners and Losers quite a long time ago. You were one of the few geography focused channels in the early days and I want to thank you for your content up till this day. Thank you.

Great video! I remember watching an explainer a while back which mentioned that the two-state solution was becoming more and more unlikely, and I didn't want to believe it. But this video really gives me a sense for why experts are saying that; a lot has happened in Israel over the last 20 years and for those of us who tuned in only when there was an election or a flare-up of tensions it is easy to miss these demographic shifts and how significant they are in limiting what peace outcomes are even possible. I now have to agree that we missed our last real opportunity for a peace deal in the 1990s and the political leanings of both the Israeli and Palestinian populations have drifted further and further away from the hope of a two-state solution ever since.

I'm an Israeli American and recently relocated to the US a few months ago. I can't imagine the hours of research and learning that was done to pull this video together. This is by far the most accurate Israel related video I've ever come across. I will say that after some decompression in the states, and after viewing this video, thoughts on the chain reaction of future political and demographic events in Israel sadden and terrify me. The secular population is the only pillar left holding this country together, and the burden of its existence is growing heavily on their shoulders. Eventually, there will be an ultra orthodox-religious government in power. All seculars will concentrate in Tel Aviv. The Army will be lacking the proper workforce to operate efficiently, leading to overwhelming attacks and ineffective micro-wars. Seculars do not want to live in a religious state where the future majority of the population is exempt from paying taxes and participating in national burdens. Relations and funding from the US Jewish community will come to an end. Political relations with important allies will seize. Our grandparents sacrificed so we could live, but this is not living. The country they built is slowly poisoning itself, and there seems to be no antidote in sight. It breaks my heart to say, but I feel extremely privileged to have had the opportunity to leave this country and start a new life. It may not be clear yet what will become of Israel in the next 40 years, but I can't help but think of Israel as we know it, become just another chapter in history. Time will tell.