On July 22, 2026, as part of the ongoing partnership between the two organizations, B’nai B’rith Alliance (BBA) and B’nai B’rith Israel launched a new lecture series focusing on Israel and the Jewish world.
The inaugural lecture, titled “Demographic Trends in Israel and the Jewish World,” was delivered by Prof. Yaron Felus, National Statistician of Israel and head of the Israel Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS). Prof. Felus also serves as President of one of B’nai B’rith Israel’s newly established “second-generation” lodges.
In his presentation, Prof. Felus examined demographic and economic trends in Israel and the Jewish world, including developments in GDP and life expectancy in Israel compared with other countries, the major Jewish communities around the world, patterns of Jewish migration, historical changes in the size and distribution of the global Jewish population, and the shifting demographic balance between Israel and the Diaspora during the twentieth century.
Prof. Felus also addressed the impact of major events such as the COVID-19 pandemic, the wars in Israel, and economic conditions in both Israel and countries of origin on immigration to Israel. In addition, he discussed the various methodologies used to measure Jewish population figures, reflecting the different definitions of “Who is a Jew.”
The lecture was moderated by Michael Naor, President of B’nai B’rith Alliance, and concluded with an engaging question-and-answer session.
Elise Shazar