From the latter part of the first millennium until modern times, Jews throughout the world have tended to make their livings in trade, moneylending, pawnbroking, and similar occupations. In some instances—e.g., medieval Spain, and Poland from the 1500s onward—large numbers of Jews were also employed in crafts such as tailoring, shoemaking, and metalworking. This was also the case in Morocco, as Chen Malul writes:

For centuries, Jews in Morocco made a living from crafts that the Muslim-majority society engaged in as well. The terms of the Pact of Omar, [which governed the status of Jews, Christians, and other “people of the book” in Islamic lands], as well as the laws of sharia, did not impose severe restrictions on non-Muslims’ occupations, though only Muslims were allowed to work in the fields of government and public office.

Despite the tolerant legal infrastructure, the Muslim majority population did eventually impose restrictions on non-Muslims through the guild system as a way to lessen competition in the crafts. Not having much choice, the Jews flocked to the trades that were open to them.

According to sharia law, Muslims are forbidden from working with silver and gold, as the labor results in a greater profit than the true value of the metals, making the profession immoral. The exclusion of Muslims from metalwork enabled Jews to integrate into the industries of goldsmithing and production of gold thread. Being a professional craftsperson was considered a respected occupation among the middle and lower classes.

Professor Eli Bashan, who researched this subject, wrote, “Even sages and rabbis, who did not want to be paid for their Torah teachings, worked as professional artisans, and this was considered a virtuous act; these included mainly goldsmiths but also other skilled workers such as builders and barbers.”

Yasir Arafat was often quoted as saying that his “strongest weapon is the womb of an Arab woman.” That is, he believed the high birthrates of both Palestinians and Arab Israelis ensured that Jews would eventually be a minority in the Land of Israel, at which point Arabs could call for a binational state and get an Arab one. Using similar logic, both Israelis and their self-styled sympathizers have made the case for territorial concessions to prevent such an eventuality. Yet, Yoram Ettinger argues, the statistics have year after year told a different story:

Contrary to the projections of the demographic establishment at the end of the 19th century and during the 1940s, Israel’s Jewish fertility rate is higher than those of all Muslim countries other than Iraq and the sub-Saharan Muslim countries. Based on the latest data, the Jewish fertility rate of 3.13 births per woman is higher than the 2.85 Arab rate (since 2016) and the 3.01 Arab-Muslim fertility rate (since 2020).

The Westernization of Arab demography is a product of ongoing urbanization and modernization, with an increase in the number of women enrolling in higher education and increased use of contraceptives. Far from facing a “demographic time bomb” in Judea and Samaria, the Jewish state enjoys a robust demographic tailwind, aided by immigration.

However, the demographic and policy-making establishment persists in echoing official Palestinian figures without auditing them, ignoring a 100-percent artificial inflation of those population numbers. This inflation is accomplished via the inclusion of overseas residents, double-counting Jerusalem Arabs and Israeli Arabs married to Arabs living in Judea and Samaria, an inflated birth rate, and deflated death rate.

The U.S. should derive much satisfaction from Israel’s demographic viability and therefore, Israel’s enhanced posture of deterrence, which is America’s top force- and dollar-multiplier in the Middle East and beyond.