Israel

Conflict and Mothering in Israel

The army plays a greater role in Israeli society than is typical in most developed countries, because of the constant threats of violence within and without its borders. Although military service is universal, women have a lesser obligation and seldom see combat or rise to important positions, in part because of the expectation that they will be caring for children in their young adult years.

Population Trends

Israel's estimated population at the beginning of 2009 was 7,373,000, of which 75.5 percent were Jewish, 20.2 percent Arab, and 4.3 percent unregistered immigrants. In 2008, 151,000 babies were born, an annual increase of 2.5 percent. Mostly due to natural growth, the total population rose by 1.8 percent (2008–09), a higher than average annual increase for developed nations. Israel is characterized by high fertility rates, despite the decrease in average fertility from 2.95 in 2003 to 2.77 in 2008. Recent declining birth trends were most dramatic among Druze, whose average fertility rate dropped from 4.1 children per woman to 2.6 (1990–2005), and Negev Bedouin, whose fertility rate fell from 9 to 7.6 (2003–05). Muslim Israelis' overall fertility [Page 591]rate decreased from 4.7 to 4.0 (2000–06). Christian Israelis have the lowest overall fertility rate, falling from 2.7 to 2.2 (1996–2006). Among Jewish women, the fertility rate has remained relatively stable, wavering between 2.6 to 2.7 for over a decade, with modest increases beginning in 2006. Despite sharp declines, Orthodox communities retain the highest fertility rates in Israel (4.7 in 2006 compared to 2.3 among secular Jews).

Other recent trends include more babies being born to older women: 46 percent of Israeli newborns had mothers over age 30 in 2006 (29 percent in 1980). Muslim mothers are the youngest, with an average age of 23.2 for the first child. Birthrates among women under 20 are dropping with only 3,966 babies born to women under age 20 in 2005. Israel has relatively low levels of divorce and single parenthood, although both phenomena are on the rise, the latter especially among new immigrants from the former Soviet Union. In 2005, there were 93,000 single-parent families representing 6 percent of all Israeli families with children under 18. Of these, 90.7 percent were headed by mothers. The Family Custodian Act of 1962 grants automatic custody to (nonviolent) mothers for children under age 6 and in practice often beyond this age. Joint custody is rare. While Jewish law follows matrilineal principles, Muslim law grants custody to the father when a boy reaches age 7 and a girl age 9. By the early 21st century, most heads of single-parent families (54.8 percent) were divorcées, whereas in the 1970s, 58.5 percent were widows. There are no statistics on same-sex parenthood, but new support groups for lesbian mothers indicate increasing prevalence.

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