April 25, 2012 | 1:31 pm

Israeli and Mexican Migrants aren’t Coming to U.S. As They Used To

Posted by Pini Herman

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Taking Care of Us

As happened in other economic downturns, the U.S. is losing its attractiveness to potential migrants. 

Even with the tensions of an Israeli confrontation with Iran, rockets from the northern and southern neighbors, Israelis seem not to be choosing to come to the U.S.  “Israelis respond mainly to pull factors from abroad, not to push factors from home,” said Lilach Lev Ari, a sociologist from Israel’s Oranim Academic College and Bar-Ilan University.

South of the U.S. border is experiencing narco-terrorism and Mexican net migration to the United States has come to a statistical standstill, stalling one of the most significant demographic trends of the last four decades according to the Pew Hispanic Center.

California’s population will grow more slowly in the next few decades than it has in the past — and that is good for the state’s still-struggling economy, according to a new USC report.  The slower growth gives more time to plan and build needed infrastructure.

This slowdown in population growth may not be positive for L.A.’s Jews. Jews tend to marry a bit later, have kids later and live longer and they often do it as homeowners. Jews are heavy users of “personal services.” All of these factors conspire to affect the Jewish community a bit more when general population growth declines.

This may portend the perfect storm for Jewish baby-boomers caught with elder care of parents and perhaps child care for grandkids or even kids and major home repairs. The caregivers at both ends of the skill spectrum, from in-home aides, nannies to home maintenance to skilled physicians and nurses will be in shorter supply and hence will be more costly or unaffordable in the coming decade.

Update: See Rumors of Mass Israeli Emigration Are Much Exaggerated article which appeared in print this week.

Pini Herman, PhD. has served as Asst. Research Professor at the University of Southern California Dept. of Geography,  Adjunct Lecturer at the USC School of Social Work,  Research Director at the Jewish Federation of Greater Los Angeles following Bruce Phillips, PhD. in that position (I was recently notified that with 40,000 visitors this year the 15 year old study of the LA Jewish populationwas third most downloaded study from Berman Jewish Policy Archives in 2011) and is immediate past President of the Movable Minyan a lay-lead independent congregation in the 3rd Street area. Currently he is a principal of Phillips and Herman Demographic Research. To email Pini: pini00003@gmail.com To follow Pini on Twitter: Follow @pinih