Infant mortality increased slightly in 2002, largely due to very premature babies born from in-vitro fertilization and congenital defects found mostly in Arab families that inbreed.

Although efforts to discourage marriages between first cousins have not borne fruit, the Health Ministry has accepted a recommendation that will limit the number of IVF embryos implanted in the womb to two, thus reducing the risk of premature delivery...

...True, there are gaps between Arabs and Jews with regard to health, educational, and economic indicators, but, as I showed in a paper last year issued by the American Jewish Committee, these gaps are rapidly reducing. Thus, for instance, life expectancy of Israeli Arab males (74.7 in 2002), while somewhat lower than that of the Israeli male Jews (77.9), is slightly higher than the American male life expectancy figure of 74.6 years.

Furthermore, there are substantial differences between Muslim Arabs and Christian Arabs. Despite the fact that both communities share a common origin, language, and nationalist feelings, the Christians, who are 10% of Israeli Arabs, have achieved a very high standard of living, and their health and education indicators are higher than those of the Jews. Indeed, infant mortality - 2.7 per 10,000 births - is among the world's lowest (the American figure is 6.8), which indicates that there is something wrong with the accusation that Israel's policies are to blame for every ill...

...In general the gaps in infant mortality rates between majorities and minorities - even when there is no national conflict between them - are higher even in the richest of countries. In Switzerland, the infant mortality rates per thousand for Swiss and Turks are 8.2 and 12.3, respectively. In Britain, 7.8 and 5.6 (English and Pakistanis). The situation is worst in the United States, where the rate for whites is 8.5 and for blacks, an astounding 21.3...

...Rooted in ancient custom, consanguinity is nonetheless widespread in the Arab world; for example, a 1989 study in Iraq found 53 percent of the subjects to be consanguineously married. One result is the prevalence of extended clans that lead to nepotism and lower levels of identification with the state. The clan structure is a major factor in the Arab world's endemic corruption and lack of civil society...

The aim of this research was to determine the relative prevalence at birth of major malformations among the different religious communities in Israel as a way to better understand their causes. We collected data on malformations present among liveborn infants in a 10-year period from the national registry of birth defects according to the religious affiliation. In a total of 1,203,763 liveborn infants, the prevalence of major malformations was in a similar range among Jews and Christians and much higher among Muslim and Druze. These observations may be explained by differences between these communities, in particular, the rates of consanguinity and of therapeutic abortions. The Muslim and Druze communities in Israel are those with the highest consanguinity rates and the lowest rates of termination of pregnancies when a malformation is diagnosed. Analysis of the differences in the rate of malformations at birth in different communities is important for Public Health planning. It may also help to delineate causes and serve as the basis for research.

Inbreeding among Israeli Arabs is still very common, posing the threat of serious genetic defects among the children of consanguineous couples.

This was disclosed in new research by doctors at Hadassah-University Hospital on Mt. Scopus in Jerusalem, who found that in nearly half of all Arab couples, the partners are closely related.

Prof. Yona Amitai, Dr. Mira Galam-Baruch and Dr. Reuven Bromiker, with help from Dr. Rosa Goffin and Tali Bedolah of the affiliated medical school, found that 46% of Moslem babies have parents related to each other, and 23% of all the couples are first cousins.

The team examined a representative sample of 540 Arab couples who had babies at Hadassah's two university hos-pitals, and at Misgav Ladach and Bikur Holim hospitals in the capital.

The risk of congenital cardiological, neurological, kidney and other defects is twice as high among babies whose parents are closely related, the researchers said. These medical problems cause much suffering to the children and their families, and every year hundreds of Arab babies with genetic defects are born here.

This not only increases the infant mortality rate, but also puts a great burden on hospitals and institutions for the chronically ill, they said.

There are much-improved methods for prenatal diagnosis of congenital defects. But many of these babies continue to be born with serious conditions because their parents refuse to have the tests performed for religious or social reasons, as they might lead to pressure to abort.

The researchers said the main way to reduce this problem is to discourage close relatives from marrying, even though this is a common practice in rural and traditional societies, a way to keep land and other property within the family.

Better education for Arab women is also important: The more years a girl studies, the less likely she is to marry a close relative and have children when very young.