The Seasonal Variation of Birth Rates in Israel

In a recent paper, Roger Selya (1980) showed that seasonal variations in the birth rates of Arab and Jewish populations are recognizable. In analyzing the trends for 1953-1972, Selya found that Jewish families had a climax of births during the summer months whereas among the Arab population it was during the winter. It must be emphasized that seasonality has an effect only on marginal groups in the populations. The low values of absolute births create the seasonality effect as shown by Selya. Therefore, it can be assumed, as stated by Selya, that only small female groups such as Jewish teachers of Arab agricultural workers create this small variability. Most of the births in the Jewish and Arab sector show no seasonality whatsoever.