Causes and Consequences of the Fertility Stall in Israel: The Case of Jewish Settlers

Anaïs Simard-Gendron, Université de Montréal

As wide as the literature about the fertility of all subgroups in Israel is, there is a lot less demographic research about the Jewish settlers. Their fertility has been stable for at least fifteen years (4.99 children per woman in 2011, ICBS) at a level well above replacement level despite some major changes in lifestyles and living conditions. The aim of this paper is thus to analyze the factors behind the apparent fertility stall of the Jewish Settlers in the occupied Palestinian territories by examining the relationships between observed changes in institutional, socioeconomic, and reproductive behaviour variables and changes in the TFR in a longitudinal perspective. We believe that barriers to the spread of new reproductive behaviors and interruptions in the societal development are the main factors behind the fertility stall of Jewish settlers rather than contextual factors associated with the ongoing conflict in the region.