ANOTHER REASON FOR THE U.S. TO MOVE ON

(h/t Andrew Sullivan)

Daniel Levy in Foreign Affairs notes that the Ultra-Orthodox have gained a lot of political influence in Israel and are likely to gain more in the future:

The two fastest-growing population groups are the Palestinian Arab community and ultra-Orthodox Jews (known as the Haredi). ... More dramatically, the Haredi population has grown more than threefold over only 20 years, from 3 percent of the population in 1990 to over 10 percent today. Estimates suggest that by 2028, Haredim will represent a quarter of all children in Israel under 14 years old and roughly a third of Jewish children that age.

Whereas settlements catering to the ultra-Orthodox population barely existed when Netanyahu first became prime minister, the two fastest-growing settlements today -- Modiin Illit and Beitar Illit -- are both ultra-Orthodox. (Their combined population is 80,000 today, compared to 10,000 in 1996.) It is worth noting that the average age in Modiin Illit is ten years old, the lowest of any Israeli city. Clearly, the political influence of the ultra-Orthodox settlers will only grow in the coming decades.