Roberto Bachi researched statistics and demography at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem in Jerusalem, Israel, and was the director of Israel’s Central Bureau of Statistics from 1948 to 1971. The Central Bureau of Statistics was responsible for collecting, analyzing, and publishing demographic and economic data to inform government policy in the new state of Israel. In 1962, Prime Minister of Israel David Ben-Gurion established the first committee to address the Jewish birthrate, called the Committee for the Problems of Natality, and appointed Bachi to lead it. In that role, Bachi investigated population growth and demographic trends among Arab Palestinian citizens of Israel and among Jewish immigrant groups. His findings showed that while the overall Jewish birthrate was declining, Arab Palestinian fertility rates remained high, raising political concerns about maintaining a Jewish majority. Through his studies of the fertility of Jewish people in Israel and his comparative data on Jewish and Arab populations, Bachi helped to embed demographic concerns into Israeli national politics and Zionist policies.