Answer to Question 1
As soon as Israel was created, the Arab nationsparticularly Egypt, Jordan, Iraq, Syria, and Lebanonannounced their intention to restore control to the Palestinian Arabs, by force if necessary. As hostilities broke out, the Israeli military stepped in to preserve the borders, which no Arab nation agreed to recognize. Some 60 percent of the 1.4 million Arabs fled or were expelled from Israeli territory, becoming refugees in neighboring countries. An uneasy peace followed as Israel attempted to encourage new Jewish immigration. Israel also extended the same services that were available to the Jews. The new Jewish population continued to grow under the country's Law of Return, which gave every Jew in the world the right to settle permanently as a citizen. The question of Jerusalem remained unsettled, and the city was divided into two separate sectionsIsraeli Jewish and Jordanian Araba division both sides refused to regard as permanent.
A significant ethnic issue is present in Israel. Among Israel's Jews, about 67 percent are Israeli-born, 23 percent are European or American, 6 percent are African, and 6 percent are Asian. The Law of Return has brought to Israel Jews of varying cultural backgrounds. European Jews have been the dominant force, but a significant migration of the more religiously observant Jews from North Africa and other parts of the Middle East has created what sociologist Ernest Krausz (1973) called the two nations.Not only are the various Jewish groups culturally diverse but also there are significant socioeconomic differences: the Europeans generally are more prosperous, better represented in the Knesset (Israel's parliament), and better educated. The secular Jews feel pressure from the more traditional and ultraorthodox Jews, who push for a nation more reflective of Jewish customs and laws.
Answer to Question 2
Stereotypesare unreliable generalizations about all members of a group and do not take individual differences into account. Numerous scientific studies have been made of these exaggerated images. This research has shown the willingness of people to assign positive and negative traits to entire groups of people, which are then applied to particular individuals. Stereotyping causes people to viewBlacks as superstitious, Whites as uncaring, and Jews as shrewd. Over the last 80 years ofsuch research, social scientists have found that people have become less willing to expresssuch views openly, but prejudice persists.
Stereotypes are exaggerated generalizations.Yet, they are widely held, andsome traits are assignedmore often than others. Evidence for traits may arise outof real conditions. Forexample, more Puerto Ricans live in poverty than Whites, so theprejudiced mind associatesPuerto Ricans with laziness. According to the New Testament,some Jews were responsible for the crucifixion of Jesus, so, to the prejudiced mind, allJews are Christ killers. Some activists in the women's movement are lesbians, so all feministsare seen as lesbians. From a kernel of fact, faulty generalization creates a stereotype.
World human population growth through history illustrates an exponential growth pattern.
Anatomy of the Lotka-Volterra equations for predator-prey population growth.
Projections of the Racial-Ethnic Makeup of the U.S. Population
Three Population Pyramids
Population Growth Versus Stability
World population density