National mission or a ‘civilizing mission’? Birthrates, perceptions, and East–West relations in Mandatory Palestine

This article examines how birthrates shaped power dynamics relations and Orientalist discourse in Mandatory Palestine (1918–1948). While a Zionist leadership sought a Jewish demographic majority, it also aimed for a Western-oriented society. Mizrahi Jews, with higher fertility than Ashkenazim, were both a demographic asset and a cultural challenge, fueling anxieties of ‘Orientalization’. The Yishuv’s leadership promoted a unified fertility norm: boosting Ashkenazi birthrates while restricting Mizrahi reproduction. Though this ‘civilizing mission’ applied to all Jewish groups, its rhetoric reflected a distinct, revealed and marked fear of Mizrahi demographic dominance. Drawing on archives, reports and press sources, this article shows how fertility policies embodied tensions between a ‘national mission’ to expand Jewish numbers and a ‘civilizing mission’ to regulate reproduction. These policies reinforced ethnic hierarchies, shaping attitudes toward Mizrahi fertility and influencing later Israeli demographic and social policies. The findings also inform ongoing debates on reproduction and national identity in Israel

Ancient history · Palestine · Political science · African history and culture analysis · History · Jewish and Middle Eastern Studies · Middle East and Rwanda Conflicts

• Demographic Anxieties of Jewish Sovereignty

  Lihi Ben Shitrit, Idan Chazan•Social Politics International…•2026

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