Israeli Jews Research Articles

Vaccination anxiety when vaccinations are available: The role of existential concerns.

This study examined how existential fears are related to COVID‐19 vaccination anxiety and followed the Terror Management Theory (TMT) by examining the contribution of two existential concerns, subjective nearness‐to‐death (SNtD) and death anxiety, to COVID‐19 vaccination anxiety during the first month of COVID‐19 vaccinations. Data were collected during January 2021, when Israel was in lockdown, from a convenience sample of 381 Jewish Israelis (M = 55.39, SD = 17.17). Participants completed questionnaires examining demographics, SNtD, death anxiety and COVID‐19 vaccination anxiety. A hierarchical regression analysis examined the connections between these variables and COVID‐19 vaccination anxiety while controlling for demographics and for receiving COVID‐19 vaccinations. In line with the hypotheses, SNtD and death anxiety were each positively associated with COVID‐19 vaccination anxiety, and death anxiety levels moderated the positive connection between SNtD and COVID‐19 vaccination anxiety, as this association was not significant for individuals with low death anxiety. The findings of this study provide preliminary evidence concerning the role of death anxiety in moderating the effect that SNtD has on COVID‐19 vaccination anxiety. These findings are in line with the TMT and justify further investigation and may be utilized in future research in order to address COVID‐19 vaccination anxiety more effectively.

Stop the Show

On 17 April 2015, in honour of Palestinian Prisoners’ Day, A Parallel Time was performed with Hebrew translation the first time at the Palestinian-Arab Al-Midan Theatre. The play, created by Bashar Murkus, was inspired by the personal story and writings of Walid Daka, a Palestinian citizen of Israel convicted for aiding in the murder of soldier Moshe Tamam. On the night of the performance, niece of the deceased soldier Ortal Tamam led a demonstration against the play, claiming it glorified terrorists. News quickly spread to the press and social media, inciting what ultimately became a ‘big scandal’. Using a wide range of sources, this article reconstructs the scandal of A Parallel Time and demonstrates its bipolar dynamic. At one pole is a play produced by a state-supported theatre about the life of ‘security prisoners’, and at the other are protest performances that embodied bereavement discourse in Israel, the public support they received from politicians and rallies for freedom of expression. The scandal managed to transform a small play by a theatre unknown among Jewish Israelis into a public, multi-player drama. This drama also included bureaucratic and judicial performances that legally validated the ‘symbolic crusade’ against Palestinian theatre, and exposed the weaknesses of Israeli democracy. This article will propose that this type of big scandal, which culminated in the shutdown of a theatre, is in fact an interruption—and will work to unveil its components and the dynamics of delegitimization that characterized it.

The Holocaust in the Israel Museum Jerusalem: A prism of the Jewish-Israeli identity discourse

ABSTRACT In this article I look at the presentation of the Holocaust in the Israel Museum Jerusalem (IMJ) from its inception with special regard to the permanent exhibition after its refurbishment in 2010. It provides us with a “text” on Jewish identity of importance commensurate with the respect that the Israel Museum commands within the Jewish-Israeli cultural scene. I will do so by closely reading the presentation of the Holocaust within Israeli wider discourse on the Holocaust and its changing place in the formation of the Jewish Israeli civil religion; the IMJ both reflecting and aiming to influence toward a secular humanistic version of the state’s civil religion. Before the 2010 refurbishment, the Holocaust was presented by very few temporary exhibitions that presented the Holocaust within a framework of a universalist version of Zionism. After 2010 the Holocaust was represented at the IMJ as Yom Ha-Shoah (Holocaust Day), in a central position that ties it to both traditional and secular holy days as a vital link within Israel’s civil religion.

Kommunist omed ve-shar (A Communist Stands and Sings): On Israel’s Ron Workers’ Choir

ABSTRACT At first glance Jewish Israeli Communists and SLI (Songs of the Land of Israel) make strange bedfellows. Communist Party members would seem to be the last to sing songs that glorify the Land of Israel using Zionist tropes. Yet they did. Since the end of World War II, the Ron Workers’ Choir, which was affiliated with the Communist Party, sang SLI songs and performed on international stages in the Socialist Bloc and in Israel. This amateur choir, its history, and the ideological shifts that enabled its activity are the focus of this article. We argue here that the shift in the Jewish Communists’ ideology toward a form of qualified recognition of Israeli nationalism and the development of a Zionist Habitus enabled the reception and embrace of Zionist culture, including its settler colonial aspects, by Jewish Israeli Communists.

When "enemies" become close: Relationship formation among Palestinians and Jewish Israelis at a youth camp.

Having close relationships with outgroup members is an especially powerful form of intergroup contact that can reduce prejudice. Rather than examine the consequences of forming close outgroup relationships, which has previously been studied as part of intergroup contact theory, we examine how outgroup relationships-relative to ingroup relationships-form in the first place. We collected 7 years of data from Jewish Israeli and Palestinian teenagers attending a 3-week summer camp at Seeds of Peace, one of the largest conflict transformation programs in the world. We tested how being assigned to share an activity group (e.g., bunk, table, dialogue group) influenced relationship formation among outgroup pairs (Jewish Israeli-Palestinian) compared with ingroup pairs (Israeli-Israeli, Palestinian-Palestinian). Existing research offers competing theories for whether propinquity is more impactful for the formation of ingroup or outgroup relationships; here, we found propinquity was significantly more impactful for outgroup relationships. Whereas 2 ingroup participants were 4.46 times more likely to become close if they were in the same versus different bunk, for example, 2 outgroup participants were 11.72 times more likely to become close. We propose that sharing an activity group is especially powerful for more dissimilar dyads because people are less likely to spontaneously engage with outgroup members in ways that promote relationships. Thus, structured, meaningful engagement can counteract homophily. Furthermore, in this setting, propinquity proved to be an even better predictor of outgroup (vs. ingroup) relationship formation than that pair's initial outgroup attitudes. We discuss theoretical and practical implications for intergroup processes and relationship formation. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2021 APA, all rights reserved).

Ethnic Disparity in Mortality Among Ischemic Heart Disease Patients. A-20 Years Outcome Study From Israel.

Background: Long-term morbidity and mortality data among ischemic heart disease (IHD) patients of different ethnicities are conflicting. We sought to determine the independent association of ethnicity and all-cause mortality over two decades of follow-up of Israeli patients.Methods: Our study comprised 15,524 patients including 958 (6%) Arab patients who had been previously enrolled in the Bezafibrate Infarction Prevention (BIP) registry between February 1, 1990, and October 31, 1992, and subsequently followed-up for long-term mortality. We compared clinical characteristics and outcomes of Israeli Arabs and Jews. Propensity score matching (PSM) (1:2 ratios) was used for validation.Results: Arab patients were significantly younger (56 ± 7 years vs. 60 ± 7 years; p < 0.001; respectively), and had more cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk factors. Kaplan-Meier survival analysis showed that all-cause mortality was significantly higher among Arab patients (67 vs. 61%; log-rank p < 0.001). Multivariate adjusted analysis showed that mortality risk was 49% greater (HR 1.49; 95% CI: 1.37–1.62; p < 0.001) among Arabs.Conclusions: Arab ethnicity is independently associated with an increased 20-year all-cause mortality among patients with established IHD.

Nutrition, age, medical literacy and gender: The impact of ethnic origin (Arabs vs. Jewish Israelis) on obesity

Summary Background Overweight and obesity are serious risk factors associated with major health problems such as, mortality as a result of ischemic heart diseases, cerebro vascular attacks (CVA) and diabetes. Previous cross-sectional research reveals the “Mediterranean diet” paradox among native Arab Israelis: despite the fact that this diet, rich in vegetables, fruits, high fiber and low fat diet originated in the Mediterranean basin, Israeli Arabs exhibit a high prevalence of obesity and concurrent elevated mortality rates. Yet, referring to the few obesity studies conducted among Arab-Israeli populations, none used a panel data-set. The Israeli longtitudinal survey was primarily conducted by the Israeli Central Bureau of Statistics (ICBS) at the national level beginning in 2012. This was part of the new statistical requirements from the Organization of Cooperation and Economic Development (OECD), which Israel joined as member in 2010. Objective To fill this lacuna, namely, lack of any previous longitudinal study in Israel at the national level. The panel structure of our study, covering 2012–2016, permits the BMI between-group comparison (as an overweight and obesity measure) of native Jewish and Arab Israelis females and males (the two main ethnic groups in Israel), while controlling the age variable within the same group. We track the same individuals over time and observe the variations of their BMI. Sample The sample employed in this study is representative of the Israeli population. The information was collected by personal interviews. The sample contains 24,685 observations × years of native Israelis, and is divided to 16,538 native Jewish Hebrew speakers × years (67% of the sample); and 8147 native non-Jewish Arabic speakers × years (33% of the sample). Results: Between-group comparison when age is controlled, compared to native Jewish Israeli women, native Jewish Israeli men and Arab Israeli women cross the overweight benchmark (i.e., BMI≥25 – according to the World Health Organization classification) 20 years earlier. Results: Within-group comparison while during this five-year period, native Arab Israeli women gain weight at an increasing pace, there is a decrease in the weight gain among native Jewish Israeli women, and starting from 2014 – there is an actual weight loss. Interestingly, during the sample period, both native Arab Israelis and Jewish Israeli men gained weight at an increasing pace. Conclusions These outcomes may demonstrate the higher medical literacy of native Jewish Israeli women (i.e., better awareness to high fiber diets and physical activity), and may stress the need to increase this public awareness, particularly among native Jewish Israeli men and both Arab Israeli men and women.

Mathematical media literacy in the COVID-19 pandemic and its relation to school mathematics education.

In the first months of 2020, as the COVID-19 pandemic became a top concern worldwide, media coverage became full of information that demands mathematical literacy, or numeracy, to interpret. In this study, we examine the public’s understanding of mathematical notions that are required for understanding the pandemic and predicting its spread. We also explore its correlations with several variables: age group and gender, educational attainment in mathematics, and mathematics identity. To do so, we conducted a cross-sectional survey focusing on mathematical knowledge relevant to the pandemic. The survey was distributed to a representative sample of the Jewish Israeli population (n = 439). Findings showed that participants’ educational attainment in mathematics was positively correlated with their success in the mathematical media literacy tasks. However, even those with high attainment levels did not always perform well. Moreover, the explanatory variable with the strongest relationship to mathematical media literacy was found to be participants’ mathematical identity. These results suggest that school mathematics, especially in its high levels, may prepare adults to understand critical information important for their well-being, such as at a time of global pandemic. However, they also demonstrate that a weak mathematical identity may significantly hinder adults’ engagement with such information.Supplementary InformationThe online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s10649-021-10075-8.

Intention to seek professional and non-professional emotional help among Jewish young adults in Israel.

Young adulthood is a major and significant stage in life encompassing various life transitions which may increase the risk of developing emotional crises. Receiving mental health treatment and turning to nonprofessional resources for support can ease such emotional burdens. However, many of those in need of such help do not turn to professional services and, rather, tend to rely on themselves. The aim of this study was to examine the contribution of attitudes towards seeking professional emotional help, self-stigma, anticipated risk, anticipated utility, and social support to the intention to seek professional and nonprofessional emotional help among Jewish young adults in Israel. Participants included 282 Jewish Israeli young adults aged 18-30, recruited in person or online. They filled out a self-report questionnaire, between March and June 2017, regarding intention to seek professional and non-professional emotional help, attitudes towards seeking professional emotional help, self-stigma towards seeking professional emotional help, anticipated risk and anticipated utility of self-disclosure when seeking professional help, perceived social support and sociodemographic questions. A path analysis model was used to analyse the data. Intention to seek professional help was positively associated with positive attitudes towards seeking professional emotional help and anticipated utility and negatively with self-stigma and social support. Intention to seek nonprofessional help was positively associated with anticipated utility and social support and negatively with anticipated risk. In addition, indirect effects were found between religious affiliation and previous mental health treatment, and intention to seek professional help, through the mediating effects of attitudes and anticipated utility. Interventions for increasing intention to seek professional and nonprofessional support are important and should include reference to attitudes, anticipated utility, anticipated risk and self-stigma, and should promote mutual support and highlight the importance of support from close ones. In addition, a model for predicting intention to seek non-professional help should be developed.

The Holocaust Is a Significant and Independent Risk Factor of Late-Onset Cancers: A Systematic Review of the Literature and Original Data on Jewish Israeli, Jewish Non-Israeli and Non-Jewish Non-Israeli Survivors.

Seventy-six years after Auschwitz Liberation, the Holocaust keeps on persecuting its surviving victims. As witnessed by the psychiatric and medical literature in the last decades, in fact, the Holocaust survivors (HS) appear to suffer from several Shoah-related late-onset diseases impacting their survival, such as internal illnesses and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Cancer represents a further severe pathology which seems to be connected with the Holocaust experience. Our aim was to review the existing knowledge of Holocaust-related cancer in HS in order to assess its real incidence and clinicoprognostic significance. We systematically reviewed the literature dealing with Israeli Jewish and non-Jewish non-Israeli HS developing cancer. We also reviewed and analyzed the cancer data of noted Jewish HS not resident or having resided in Israel available as public information. We found 16 and 15 studies on Israeli Jews and non-Jewish non-Israeli survivors, respectively. A statistically significant association between the Holocaust and development of late-onset cancer in HS was seen in most studies with cancer adversely impacting the survival. We also selected 330 noted Jewish non-Israeli HS: genocide-related late-onset cancer resulted to be a significant and independent risk factor of poor prognosis (p<0.0001) imparting shorter survival in affected versus non-cancer subjects (57 versus 64 years, respectively, p=0.0001). Although 76 years have passed, our review shows how the Holocaust keeps on burdening its survivors. Moreover, we offered the first analysis of Jewish HS not resident or having resided in Israel in terms of genocide-related late-onset diseases focusing on cancer. Further studies on Jewish non-Israeli HS are needed in order to corroborate our findings on late-onset cancer occurring in this targeted population.

Jewish Diaspora, Israeli Diaspora, and Levels of Conviviality

Jewish Diaspora, Israeli Diaspora, and Levels of Conviviality

Differences in the Factor Structure of the Eating Attitude Test-26 (EAT-26) in Different Cultures in Israel: Jews, Muslims, and Christians.

Background: In recent years, there has been a shift in the clinical presentation and, hence, diagnostic definitions of eating disorders (EDs), reflected in a dramatic change in the diagnostic criteria of EDs in the DSM-5. The Eating Attitudes Test-26 (EAT-26) is currently considered an accepted instrument for community studies of EDs, although it features an inconsistent factorial structure in different cultures. Therefore, it is essential to investigate whether the EAT-26 can still be considered an adequate instrument for identifying the risk of developing EDs in different cultures. The aim of the present study was to examine the construct validity and internal consistency of the EAT-26. Method: The study used exploratory factor analysis (EFA) and confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) among different cultural populations in Israel. Results: Findings indicated different factors in different ethnic groups, most of which do not correspond with the original EAT-26 three-factor structure. Results: The analysis yielded two main factors among Israeli Jews, four main factors among Israeli Muslim Arabs, and three main factors among Israeli Christian Arabs. Conclusion: These findings shed light on cultural factors affecting perceptions of the EAT-26 items. This calls for a reconsideration of the generalization of the original three-factor structure of the questionnaire in different cultures.

Current and Future Costs of Intractable Conflicts-Can They Create Attitude Change?

Members of societies involved in an intractable conflict usually consider costs that stem from the continuation of the conflict as unavoidable and even justify for their collective existence. This perception is well-anchored in widely shared conflict-supporting narratives that motivate them to avoid information that challenges their views about the conflict. However, since providing information about such major costs as a method for moderating conflict-related views has not been receiving much attention, in this research, we explore this venue. We examine what kind of costs, and under what conditions, exposure to major costs of a conflict affects openness to information and conciliatory attitudes among Israeli Jews in the context of the intractable Israeli–Palestinian conflict. Study 1 (N = 255) revealed that interventions based on messages providing information on mental health cost, economic cost, and cost of the conflict to Israeli democracy had (almost) no significant effect on perceptions of the participants of these prices, openness to new information about the conflict, or support for conciliatory policies. However, the existing perceptions that participants had about the cost of the conflict to Israeli democracy were positively associated with openness to alternative information about the conflict and support for conciliatory policies. Therefore, in Study 2 (N = 255), we tested whether providing information about future potential costs to the two fundamental characteristics of Israel, a democracy or a Jewish state, created by the continuation of the conflict, will induce attitude change regarding the conflict. The results indicate that information on the future cost to the democratic identity of Israel significantly affected the attitude of the participants regarding the conflict, while the effect was moderated by the level of religiosity. For secular participants, this manipulation created more openness to alternative information about the conflict and increased support for conciliatory policies, but for religious participants, it backfired. We discuss implications for the role of information about losses and the relationship between religiosity and attitudes regarding democracy and conflict.

Virtual Online Home-Based Treatment During the COVID-19 Pandemic for Ultra-Orthodox Young Women With Eating Disorders.

Background: With the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, the need arose to maintain treatment continuity for religious Jewish Ultra-Orthodox young women with eating disorders (EDs) previously hospitalized in the ED department at the Ultra-Orthodox “Mayanei Hayeshua” medical center in Israel. This need led to the development of home-based online treatment channels, previously unfamiliar, and unaccepted in this population. The implementation of this model had to take into consideration many of the difficulties inherent in the use of online treatment in Jewish Ultra-Orthodox mental health patients.Aims: We sought to investigate our online home-based treatment model implemented during the COVID-19 pandemic in previously hospitalized young Ultra-Orthodox women with EDs.Method: We briefly review the literature on: (1) The Jewish Israeli Ultra-Orthodox culture; (2) Young women in Ultra-Orthodox society; and (3) EDs in Jewish Israeli Ultra-Orthodox women. We then present the inpatient ED department for Ultra-Orthodox young women and describe the online treatment model adapted to this population during the COVID-19 pandemic. We highlight the difficulties, dilemmas, and advantages of our online model with the description of three patients.Findings: Online therapy can serve as a barrier to treatment in some cases, due to physical (lack of suitable online devices except phones), familial (over-crowded families), and religious circumstances, as well as because of the patients' reluctance to take part in this treatment. In other cases, virtual home-based treatment can lead to a positive change. This may be the case in patients who find the distancing online model suitable for them, and in parents who are committed to treatment, using their greater physical and emotional presence at home during the COVID-19 pandemic for the good if their ill-daughters.Discussion: This paper highlights the difficulties and possibilities inherent in a virtual home-based treatment during the COVID-19 pandemic for Ultra-Orthodox young women previously hospitalized because of an ED. This model can be effective for some patients and families if undertaken by a multidisciplinary team that is not only knowledgeable about the treatment of EDs and the use of online strategies but also knowledgeable and culturally sensitive to the specific needs and codes of Ultra-Orthodox populations.

Risk-reducing salpingo-oophorectomy and breast cancer incidence among BRCA-mutation carriers.

10548 Background: Uncertainty exists with regard to the role of bilateral salpingo-oophorectomy in altering the risk of breast cancer in BRCA-mutation carriers. Methods: Included were 1645 healthy Jewish Israeli BRCA1/2 -mutation carriers from a single center without prophylactic mastectomy. Carriers with and without risk-reducing bilateral salpingo-oophorectomy (RRBSO) were matched according to BRCA-mutation type (BRCA1 vs. BRCA2) and year of birth (±1 year). Hormonal and reproductive variables were compared and incidence of breast cancer recorded. Association between RRBSO and breast cancer was studied. Results: Seventy-seven and 50 matched-pairs had BRCA1 and BRCA2 mutation respectively. Fifty-two carriers had breast cancer, 21 in RRBSO-group and 31 in no- RRBSO group, with no statistically significant difference. When analysing each mutation group separately, stratified by age at surgery, no association between RRBSO and breast cancer incidence was found among BRCA1-mutation carriers. However, in BRCA2 mutation carriers, RRBSO was associated with a statistically significant decreased overall incidence of breast cancer, HR = 0.2 (confidence interval 0.44-0.913, p = 0.038). Breast cancer incidence was lower after 5, 10,15 and 20 years in BRCA2-mutation carriers with RRBSO compared to no-RRBSO. Age at menarche, age at surgery, parity and oral contraceptive use were not significant risk factors for breast cancer. Hormone replacement therapy was used by 62 mutation carriers, 52 in the RRBSO group and 10 in the no-RRBSO group, and its use did not alter breast cancer risk (p = 0.463). Conclusions: According to our findings, RRBSO is associated with a reduced risk of breast cancer only in BRCA2 mutation carriers, regardless of HRT use.

Non-Vaccination Stage Model (NVST): The decision-making process among Israeli ultra-orthodox Jewish parents.

Although vaccination uptake is high in most countries, pockets of suboptimal coverage remain, such as those observed among ultra-orthodox Jews in Israel and elsewhere, posing a threat to both individual and public immunity. Drawing on the Precaution Adoption Process Model (PAPM), this study proposes a Non-Vaccination Stage Model (NVSM) to analyze the decision-making process among Non-Vaccinating Parents (NVPs), focusing on the ultra-orthodox Jewish population of Israel. In-depth interviews were conducted with 10 Israeli ultra-orthodox Jewish NVPs (mothers). The interviews revealed five stages in the participants' decision-making process: Being good mothers who vaccinate their children; Emergence of doubts regarding the risks of vaccination; Personal vaccination policy-hesitancy concerning vaccination; Decision not to vaccinate; Confirmation signs of what participants perceive as a wise decision. NVSM can help understand parents who consider non-vaccination to be healthier behavior and explore the various stages of their decision-making process. Differentiating among the various stages of NVPs' decision-making processes enables application of different intervention approaches by policymakers and healthcare practitioners.

Loss and Longing in the Zoharic Reading of Eichah

This essay proposes a close analysis of the introduction to the Kabbalist text known as Midrash ha-Ne’lam al Eichah, an interpretation of the biblical book of Lamentations which integrates the medieval text of the Sefer ha-Zohar. While the biblical version centers the destruction of the First Temple in 586 B.C.E., the medieval narrative of the Midrash ha-Ne’lam opens with an anachronistic argument between the two Jewish communities historically formed with the fall of the First Temple: the one in Babylon, the symbol of the Jewish Diaspora, and the other in Jerusalem, the heart of the Holy Land of the Jewish people. Collapsing the destruction of the First Temple with the subsequent destruction of the Second Temple in 70 C.E., the Midrash ha-Ne’lam intersperses literal and figurative meaning to craft a cosmic narrative of loss and longing, which runs parallel to the original biblical account. By focusing on the argument between the Babylonian and Jewish communities, the present article probes into a tension that structures the Jewish condition in the diaspora: the combination of material distance from, and spiritual attachment to, one’s sacred homeland, induces a state of spiritual homelessness. The Midrash ha-Ne’lam paints the “competition” for the right to mourn the loss of the Temple as a family argument between those who stayed in the destroyed homeland and those who have strayed from it many generations before, a tension that reverberates to this day on the inner division between diaspora and Israeli Jews.

Loss and Longing in the Zoharic Reading of Eichah

This essay proposes a close analysis of the introduction to the Kabbalist text known as Midrash ha-Ne’lam al Eichah, an interpretation of the biblical book of Lamentations which integrates the medieval text of the Sefer ha-Zohar. While the biblical version centers the destruction of the First Temple in 586 B.C.E., the medieval narrative of the Midrash ha-Ne’lam opens with an anachronistic argument between the two Jewish communities historically formed with the fall of the First Temple: the one in Babylon, the symbol of the Jewish Diaspora, and the other in Jerusalem, the heart of the Holy Land of the Jewish people. Collapsing the destruction of the First Temple with the subsequent destruction of the Second Temple in 70 C.E., the Midrash ha-Ne’lam intersperses literal and figurative meaning to craft a cosmic narrative of loss and longing, which runs parallel to the original biblical account. By focusing on the argument between the Babylonian and Jewish communities, the present article probes into a tension that structures the Jewish condition in the diaspora: the combination of material distance from, and spiritual attachment to, one’s sacred homeland, induces a state of spiritual homelessness. The Midrash ha-Ne’lam paints the “competition” for the right to mourn the loss of the Temple as a family argument between those who stayed in the destroyed homeland and those who have strayed from it many generations before, a tension that reverberates to this day on the inner division between diaspora and Israeli Jews.

Political Involvement of Social Workers in Majority and Minority Groups: Comparison of Palestinians-Israeli and Jewish-Israeli

AbstractPrevious research has examined the political involvement of social workers and their encouragement of their clients to be politically active. However, few studies have investigated this topic by comparing minority and majority groups. The current research focused on the political involvement of social workers themselves, their encouragement of clients to be politically involved, and the types of political involvement they engage in. Differences in these aspects between two groups—minority (Palestinian–Israeli) and majority (Jewish–Israeli) social workers—were also examined. One hundred and sixty-five social workers in northern Israel (Palestinian Israelis and Jewish Israelis), randomly selected from social service departments, completed self-report questionnaires. The results revealed low levels of political involvement across groups, with more encouragement of clients to be politically involved than political involvement of social workers themselves. Social workers engaged more in negotiating, as consensus-type, than in the other types of activity examined. According to their reports, the Palestinian-Israeli social workers were involved more than their Jewish-Israeli colleagues in political action and in encouraging their clients to be involved. Future training programmes should highlight the importance of political activity amongst Israeli social workers, encouraging future practitioners to participate in direct and indirect involvement and develop their sense of political efficacy.

Beyond cultural differences: The sociopolitical impact on supervision between Arab supervisees and Jewish supervisors in Israel

Little attention has been given to the cultural and political aspects of the supervisory relationship between Arab Palestinian supervisees and Jewish Israeli supervisors in medical psychology in Israel. This paper presents a focus group of five interns and certified medical psychologists of Arab Palestinian origin who describe their experiences and relationships with their Jewish supervisors. Constant comparison analysis revealed three main themes: fusion between professional and national identities, gaps that go beyond the cultural differences, and a sense of alienation and isolation in the supervision setting. The findings indicate the inevitable presence of the political conflict in the supervision relationship and correspond with findings for other professions such as social work. Clinical and theoretical implications are discussed and practical recommendations for supervisors are offered.