Context-Informed Perspectives of Child Risk and Protection in Israel [1st ed.] 9783030442774, 9783030442781

Table of contents :
Front Matter ....Pages i-xiv
Introduction: The Israeli Stage for Context-Informed Perspective on Child Risk and Protection (Dorit Roer-Strier, Yochay Nadan)....Pages 1-12
The Evolving Concept of Risk and Israel’s Child Policy (Nofar Mazursky, Asher Ben-Arieh)....Pages 13-26
Context-Informed Research on Child Risk and Protection: Principles and Challenges (Ibtisam Marey-Sarwan, Natalie Ulitsa)....Pages 27-40
Risk Complexity—Culture and Identity in Migration: The Case of Ethiopian Jews (Michal Gatenio-Kalush, Shelly Engdau-Vanda, Naomi Shmuel)....Pages 41-59
Seeing Eye to Eye? Perception of Risk and Protection of Social Workers and Parents Regarding Children of Ethiopian Origin (Shelly Engdau-Vanda, Michal Gatenio-Kalush, Bat-Hen Karni)....Pages 61-80
Parental and Professional Perspectives of Child Risk and Protection in Israel’s Ultra-Orthodox Community (Rivka Keesing, Netanel Gemara, Mani Pollak)....Pages 81-104
Many Children, Many Risks? Listening to the Voices of Families with Many Children from the Ultra-Orthodox (Haredi) Community in Israel (Hannah Bartl, Heidi Keller, Natali Zohar, Nira Wahle)....Pages 105-129
Perceptions of Risk and Protection among French Immigrant Mothers in Israel (Noémie Bloomberg, Yan Serdtse, Dorit Roer-Strier)....Pages 131-148
Parental and Professional Perspectives of Child Risk and Protection in Unrecognized Bedouin Villages in the Naqab: An Intersectionality-Informed Approach (Ibtisam Marey-Sarwan, Galit Meir)....Pages 149-170
Child Risk and Protection: Perceptions of One-and-a-Half Generation Immigrant Parents from the Former Soviet Union and Israeli Social Workers (Natalie Ulitsa, Lital Yona, Anna Gogonsky, Dorit Roer-Strier)....Pages 171-196
Challenging Social Workers’ Envisioned Definitions of Child Neglect: Perspectives of Mothers Living in an Impoverished Neighborhood (Lital Yona)....Pages 197-215
“Permanent Temporariness:” Eritrean Refugees and Social Workers’ Perceptions of Israeli Policies and Their Implications for Family Well-Being (Lior Birger)....Pages 217-240
Children’s Rights, Protection and Access to Justice: The Case of Palestinian Children in East Jerusalem (Bella Kovner)....Pages 241-261
Young Children’s Perspectives of Risk and Protection (Yael Ponizovsky-Bergelson, Yael Dayan, Ibtisam Marey-Sarwan, Dorit Roer-Strier, Nira Wahle)....Pages 263-287
Disclosing Sexual Abuse in Religious Communities in Israel: Lessons Learned by the Research Group on Child Sexual Abuse (Dafna Tener, Amitai Marmor, Efrat Lusky Weisrose, Aya Almog-Zaken, Tsofnat Melamed Filtser, Shosh Turjeman)....Pages 289-304
An Ultra-Orthodox Researcher: Oxymoron or Opportunity? A Typology of Appearances of Conflicting Identities of an Insider Researcher (Netanel Gemara)....Pages 305-315
A Context-Informed Approach to the Study of Child Risk and Protection: Lessons Learned and Future Directions (Yochay Nadan, Dorit Roer-Strier)....Pages 317-331

Citation preview

Child Maltreatment: Contemporary Issues in Research and Policy 10

Dorit Roer-Strier Yochay Nadan  Editors

Context-Informed Perspectives of Child Risk and Protection in Israel

Child Maltreatment Contemporary Issues in Research and Policy Volume 10 Series Editors Jill E. Korbin Schubert Center for Child Studies Cleveland, OH, USA Richard D. Krugman University of Colorado School of Medicine Aurora, CO, USA

This series provides a high-quality, cutting edge, and comprehensive source offering the current best knowledge on child maltreatment from multidisciplinary and multicultural perspectives. It consists of a core handbook that is followed by two or three edited volumes of original contributions per year. The core handbook will present a comprehensive view of the field. Each chapter will summarize current knowledge and suggest future directions in a specific area. It will also highlight controversial and contested issues in that area, thus moving the field forward. The handbook will be updated every five years. The edited volumes will focus on critical issues in the field from basic biology and neuroscience to practice and policy. Both the handbook and edited volumes will involve creative thinking about moving the field forward and will not be a recitation of past research. Both will also take multidisciplinary, multicultural and mixed methods approaches. More information about this series at http://www.springer.com/series/8863

Dorit Roer-Strier  •  Yochay Nadan Editors

Context-Informed Perspectives of Child Risk and Protection in Israel

Editors Dorit Roer-Strier NEVET-Greenhouse of Context-Informed Research and Training for Children in Need The Paul Baerwald School of Social Work and Social Welfare The Hebrew University of Jerusalem Jerusalem, Israel

Yochay Nadan NEVET-Greenhouse of Context-Informed Research and Training for Children in Need The Paul Baerwald School of Social Work and Social Welfare The Hebrew University of Jerusalem Jerusalem, Israel

ISSN 2211-9701     ISSN 2211-971X (electronic) Child Maltreatment ISBN 978-3-030-44277-4    ISBN 978-3-030-44278-1 (eBook) https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-44278-1 © Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2020 This work is subject to copyright. All rights are reserved by the Publisher, whether the whole or part of the material is concerned, specifically the rights of translation, reprinting, reuse of illustrations, recitation, broadcasting, reproduction on microfilms or in any other physical way, and transmission or information storage and retrieval, electronic adaptation, computer software, or by similar or dissimilar methodology now known or hereafter developed. The use of general descriptive names, registered names, trademarks, service marks, etc. in this publication does not imply, even in the absence of a specific statement, that such names are exempt from the relevant protective laws and regulations and therefore free for general use. The publisher, the authors, and the editors are safe to assume that the advice and information in this book are believed to be true and accurate at the date of publication. Neither the publisher nor the authors or the editors give a warranty, expressed or implied, with respect to the material contained herein or for any errors or omissions that may have been made. The publisher remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations. This Springer imprint is published by the registered company Springer Nature Switzerland AG. The registered company address is: Gewerbestrasse 11, 6330 Cham, Switzerland

Preface

My interest in the relativity of the concept of risk arose from a visit to Cameroon, Africa, where I met the Nzo tribe. Our partner, Prof. Heidi Keller, had set up a research laboratory in a remote area in the mountains, where the Nzo maintained a tribal tradition and a language of their own, alongside the English they acquired during the colonial era. The issue of children’s risk, abuse, and neglect had been present since the first day of the visit. One of the local women, a teacher by profession, and a mother of an eight month old baby, joined us in the research lab where she worked as a research assistant. We went out early in the morning. In the afternoon, when I curiously asked her, “Where is the little girl now?” She replied, “I have no idea.” She gave me the same answer in the evening. I felt very guilty about our contribution to the baby’s neglect. When we returned to the village late at night, the baby arrived with her brother, calm and happy. On one of the mornings that followed, when the mother left for work again, I stayed behind with my camera to document how the girl spent her day. I found out that she started the morning on her brother’s back. When he went to school, she stayed with her grandmother, who took her to the market to sell cookies. She later dozed off on her neighbor’s back for an hour and was then returned to her brothers. They fed her, bathed her, and cared for her. Adults from the family and neighbors were present during the whole day and helped supervise. In the mornings, I saw little children wake up and help bring water and firewood, prepare food, and feed the animals and their little brothers. In Western eyes, this could definitely be seen as child labor and labeled as a source of risk. I remember my decision to have my own boys more involved in daily chores, which I immediately implemented upon my return. When I found out that babies were put in small basins in order to teach them to sit up, I asked if it caused any damage to their backs, as any pediatrician in Israel would tell you. They claimed that laying a child on their back is much more dangerous, not to mention leaving a child to sleep in a bed, alone, without their parents or siblings, which is definitely abuse. These examples have shown me that the concept of “children at risk” is context dependent and that there are many contexts involved. In this case, in order to v

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understand the values and behaviors of the Nzo members, one needs to be informed about the contexts of tradition, the social context of life in the tribe, the family structure, and the economic context whereby children are part of the home economy. Other important contexts in this case are the weather, the history of the tribe, gender values and roles, the tribal identity and colonial impacts, relations with the government and nonprofit organizations, the church and its institutions, the local language, and much more. During this visit I was often asked about my names, as members of the village have several names and hierarchical appeals. My one and only first name, Dorit, is an Israelized version coined after my great grandmother Dora who perished in the holocaust. I grew up in a trilingual family of an American-born father and a German-­ born mother. Both my parents immigrated to Israel as children but stayed loyal to their contradictory cultural scripts of child-rearing. From a very early age, I got the notion that a single word (e.g., family, relationship, and identity) could be said in many languages and may have different interpretations, connotations, or meanings. My interest and passion for making sense of their communalities and differences, and their impact on second-generation immigrant children, like me, grew from there. The discovery of “culture” at an early age opened up a magical world for me and diversity was its playground. I blissfully read all the books in the local children’s library describing little girls in different cultures. It was only at school that I realized that children of some cultures and skin colors were treated differently. Based on these different domains, teachers developed different expectations, different judgments, and different encouragements. The feeling of injustice, which generated from this realization, has accompanied me since this time. Over the past 44 years, my academic studies have been inspired by the above issues. The School of Social Work and Social Welfare at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem has been an academic home that supported my unconventional journey as well as my supportive universities in the United States, the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. I was lucky to have teachers and partners who supported, criticized, and helped me grow. My beloved,  the late Cigdem  Kagitcibasi from Turkey, introduced me to the concept “the majority world” and showed me how the “West” is a mere minority where the world is concerned. My American friend and colleague, Roberta Sands, taught me how to conduct international, culturally sensitive, qualitative research. Roni Strier, my Argentinian-born life partner, opened up many closed worlds for me and is responsible for my political and sociological upbringing. My American friend, Jill Korbin, provided inspiration and support for developing culturally aware research in the area of maltreatment. My Palestinian friend, colleague, and best critic, Nadera Shalhuv Kevorkian, introduced me to my whiteness, settler colonialism, and the resulting blind spots. My German friend, inspiration, and supportive partner Heidi Keller took me on a trip to Africa, which opened the doors to a new phase in my research and worldview. Together, we initiated the NEVET-Greenhouse (NEVET), which serves as an academic springboard for young researchers from diverse backgrounds who are interested in topics related to family, culture diversity, and context. My Israeli friend and partner, Yochay Nadan, is my better half in developing

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the conceptualization of context-informed perspectives in the area of children’s risk and protection, the innovative methodologies to study these topics in diverse groups, and the reflective means for reducing harm in doing so. We are both blessed to be surrounded by many of the colleagues and doctoral and master’s students who collaborate with us at NEVET. Many of them contributed to this book and continue to partner with us in developing research, policy, interventions, and training in the areas of context-informed perspectives in general and maltreatment, risk, and protection in particular. Jerusalem, Israel  Dorit Roer-Strier

Preface

My interest in issues of diversity can be traced back to my childhood. Over the years, I have been on a continuous quest for language to describe the experience of differentness and otherness—a journey that has taken on different stages over the years. During my social work studies, I became interested in ways in which different populations, including cultural and minority groups, think about and construct different professional concepts. Later on, I found White and Epston’s narrative therapy mind-blowing, as I felt that I was reading theoretical ideas that gave expression to those untold stories I had inside me for many years. I was privileged to be introduced to narrative therapy by the late Nava Elad, and later on I joined the Barcai Institute for Couple, Family and Narrative Therapy, which became a professional home for me. Narrative therapy’s ideas deepened my understanding of the reality that the stories we tell about ourselves are only a fraction of many of these untold stories. Moreover, the social-cultural-political-gender contexts, among others, give special meanings to personal and familial stories. Social constructionism and Kenneth Gergen’s groundbreaking ideas and subsequent partnership at the TAOS Institute have inspired me profoundly to think about social constructs and the constant quest to explore and deconstruct these constructs. Child “risk” and “protection” is an excellent example of such constructs, which we seek to deconstruct in this book. My professional experience in facilitating dialogue groups (Israelis-Palestinians; Germans-Israelis) is the background to an ongoing exploration regarding issues of social and intergroup relations. The social and professional construction of various concepts such as “risk” does not take place in a vacuum, but takes place within complex social structures and power relations—between the one who defines and the one who is being defined, between the majority and the minority, between hegemony and the margins, between the center and the periphery, and between professionals and laypeople. In my dissertation, supervised by Prof. Adital Ben Ari, I focused on discourses of “multiculturalism” in social work education and training in Israel. To put it mildly, I realized that the situation was not encouraging. Diversity tends to be thought of, and dealt with, mainly through conservative and essentialist discourses, which are mostly void of context. I set a personal goal to try and promote ix

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change in this area. In this sense, my involvement in NEVET-Greenhouse (NEVET) and the development of a context-informed perspective is another step forward in our efforts to facilitate and promote more critical, reflective, and contextual social work research, practice, education, and policy. Through my joint work with Prof. Jill Korbin in Cleveland, as part of my postdoctoral training, supported by the Haruv Institute and Prof. Asher Ben-Arieh in particular, I became acquainted with the fascinating intersection of culture, context, and child maltreatment. The privilege of working closely with and being inspired by Jill on these issues has been a life-changing experience. The intersection of culture, context, and child maltreatment places researchers and practitioners alike in the gray areas where there are no clear, simple “black and white” answers. Being able to live with such complexity and ambiguity is definitely challenging. When I joined the Hebrew University, it was only natural for me to join NEVET, which has become a home for me. Working closely with Prof. Dorit Roer-Strier, and the inspiring partnership we have formed, is the foundation on which this research project is based. The shared commitment to the mission and the way we complement each other lead to the development of shared ideas, creativity, and vision, and to working with our wonderful students, from whom we are constantly learning about context, culture, and power relations. Jerusalem, Israel  Yochay Nadan

Acknowledgments

We wholeheartedly thank all of the contributors and participants of the studies for their enthusiastic involvement and commitment. Thanks to you all, this book turned into a kaleidoscope of voices of children, parents, professionals, and researchers. We would like to thank the series editors, Professors Jill Korbin and Richard Krugman, for their patience, openness, and continuous support and advice. We thank the Israel Science Foundation (ISF) for the research grants which supported our studies (Grants No. 1935/15; 1958/17). Special thanks to Mrs. Debbie Rothfeld-Kushner for the professional and organized copy editing, to Ms. Netanya Mischel for the careful proofreading, and to Mr. Sabarigirinathan Thanikachalam, Springer’s production project manager, and his team for their valuable work and prompt collaboration. It was a pleasure to work with you all.

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Contents

1 Introduction: The Israeli Stage for Context-Informed Perspective on Child Risk and Protection ��������������������������������������������    1 Dorit Roer-Strier and Yochay Nadan 2 The Evolving Concept of Risk and Israel’s Child Policy����������������������   13 Nofar Mazursky and Asher Ben-Arieh 3 Context-Informed Research on Child Risk and Protection: Principles and Challenges ����������������������������������������������������������������������   27 Ibtisam Marey-Sarwan and Natalie Ulitsa 4 Risk Complexity—Culture and Identity in Migration: The Case of Ethiopian Jews��������������������������������������������������������������������   41 Michal Gatenio-Kalush, Shelly Engdau-Vanda, and Naomi Shmuel 5 Seeing Eye to Eye? Perception of Risk and Protection of Social Workers and Parents Regarding Children of Ethiopian Origin��������������������������������������������������������������������������������������   61 Shelly Engdau-Vanda, Michal Gatenio-Kalush, and Bat-Hen Karni 6 Parental and Professional Perspectives of Child Risk and Protection in Israel’s Ultra-Orthodox Community ����������������������   81 Rivka Keesing, Netanel Gemara, and Mani Pollak 7 Many Children, Many Risks? Listening to the Voices of Families with Many Children from the Ultra-Orthodox (Haredi) Community in Israel����������������������������������������������������������������  105 Hannah Bartl, Heidi Keller, Natali Zohar, and Nira Wahle 8 Perceptions of Risk and Protection among French Immigrant Mothers in Israel��������������������������������������������������������������������������������������  131 Noémie Bloomberg, Yan Serdtse, and Dorit Roer-Strier

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9 Parental and Professional Perspectives of Child Risk and Protection in Unrecognized Bedouin Villages in the  Naqab: An Intersectionality-­Informed Approach��������������������������������  149 Ibtisam Marey-Sarwan and Galit Meir 10 Child Risk and Protection: Perceptions of One-and-a-Half Generation Immigrant Parents from the Former Soviet Union and Israeli Social Workers����������������������������������������������������������������������  171 Natalie Ulitsa, Lital Yona, Anna Gogonsky, and Dorit Roer-Strier 11 Challenging Social Workers’ Envisioned Definitions of Child Neglect: Perspectives of Mothers Living in an Impoverished Neighborhood ������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������  197 Lital Yona 12 “Permanent Temporariness:” Eritrean Refugees and Social Workers’ Perceptions of Israeli Policies and Their Implications for Family Well-Being������������������������������������������������������������������������������  217 Lior Birger 13 Children’s Rights, Protection and Access to Justice: The Case of Palestinian Children in East Jerusalem����������������������������  241 Bella Kovner 14 Young Children’s Perspectives of Risk and Protection������������������������  263 Yael Ponizovsky-Bergelson, Yael Dayan, Ibtisam Marey-Sarwan, Dorit Roer-­Strier, and Nira Wahle 15 Disclosing Sexual Abuse in Religious Communities in Israel: Lessons Learned by the Research Group on Child Sexual Abuse������  289 Dafna Tener, Amitai Marmor, Efrat Lusky Weisrose, Aya AlmogZaken, Tsofnat Melamed Filtser, and Shosh Turjeman 16 An Ultra-Orthodox Researcher: Oxymoron or Opportunity? A Typology of Appearances of Conflicting Identities of an Insider Researcher ����������������������������������������������������������������������������������  305 Netanel Gemara 17 A Context-Informed Approach to the Study of Child Risk and Protection: Lessons Learned and Future Directions����������������������������  317 Yochay Nadan and Dorit Roer-Strier

Chapter 1

Introduction: The Israeli Stage for Context-Informed Perspective on Child Risk and Protection Dorit Roer-Strier and Yochay Nadan

According to the Statistical Report of the Council for the Child in Israel, “Children in Israel 2017,” the number of children in Israel was 2,768,700, and they comprised 33.0% of the population. The population of children in Israel is extremely diverse— approximately 70% are Jews, 23% Moslems, 1.5% Christians, 1.6% Druze, and 3% were not classified by religion. The aforementioned groups also present considerable in-group diversity. There are Arabs and Jews, religious, Ultra-Orthodox, secular, veteran Israelis and immigrants from various countries living in the center, in the periphery, in the occupied territories and in recognized and unrecognized Bedouin villages. According to the report, in all of Jewish society, one out of five children is defined as poor. Two out of three Ultra-Orthodox children live below the poverty line, as do two out of three Arab children. The greater the number of children in a family, the higher the family’s poverty level. Fifty percent of families with more than four children and 64% of families with more than five children live below the poverty line. According to the 2017 report, the number of Israeli children defined as being at risk was 367,440. Children whose legal status puts them at risk should be added to this number. Some 161,500 children, or 6% of the children living in Israel, do not have full Israeli citizenship. Some (80% of the above) are residents of East Jerusalem. The rest are children of legal migrant workers, immigrant children and children of mixed marriages between Israeli citizens and non-citizens, especially Israeli Arabs and Palestinian residents of the Occupied Territories who have received temporary status. A second group of 48,600 children are those without any legal status, not

D. Roer-Strier (*) · Y. Nadan NEVET-Greenhouse of Context-Informed Research and Training for Children in Need, The Paul Baerwald School of Social Work and Social Welfare, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem, Israel e-mail: [email protected] © Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2020 D. Roer-Strier, Y. Nadan (eds.), Context-Informed Perspectives of Child Risk and Protection in Israel, Child Maltreatment 10, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-44278-1_1

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even temporary residency status, and who have no rights, including the right to education, health and welfare services. These are the children of migrant workers, asylum seekers, and those who reside in Israel after their tourist visa has expired. Of the total number of children and youth at risk in Israel, 31% are preschool age, 37% are elementary school age and 32% are youth (Navot, Sorek, Sabo-Lal, & Ben-Rabi, 2017). The increase in public awareness of the phenomenon of children at risk has led to the significant development of programs for children at risk in many countries around the world and to an increase in welfare services available for the protection and treatment of the subject (Faber & Slotsky, 2007; Schmid & Benbenishty, 2011). Historically, treating children at risk in the Israeli setting began with the treatment of orphans and children with special needs, using approaches and principles from this field. The beginning of this work can be attributed to the opening of the famous Diskin Orphanage (1880), the Hebrew School for Blind Children (1910) in Jerusalem and the opening of the first special education school, “Netzach Yisrael,” in Tel Aviv (1929). In 1919, during the period of the British Mandate and the “period of streams”, various groups and educational-ideological sectors operated independently of their own educational systems (streams) and created programs for intervention with at-­ risk populations. The rise of Nazism in Germany led Mrs. Recha Freier to establish a rescue movement for children and youth in Berlin in 1933. The youth movement, “Aliyat Hano’ar,” developed a gateway to social-educational work that is still used as the basis for the national framework that handles the children of immigrants, as well as children and youth at risk outside of the home. Many of the immigrants to Israel were orphaned children or had immigrated without their parents. Some immigrants from Western countries were professionals and educators who had brought new educational and therapeutic approaches to the care of children and youth at risk, as well as those with special needs from their countries of origin, and tried to assimilate them into their new homeland. During periods of massive immigration prior to and after the establishment of the state, out-of-home institutions were utilized to integrate immigrant children who sometimes arrived in Israel without their parents. In addition, Youth Protection Authority for Juvenile Youth and the Service for Children and Youth in the Ministry of Welfare, further developed out-of-home institutions to deal with various aspects of risk (Sorek, Szabo-Lael, & Ben-Simon, 2014). Israel has one of the highest concentrations of boarding schools and educational institutions in the world, including youth villages, agricultural schools, frameworks in which foreign children and youth are educated in boarding schools, yeshivas (religious educational institutions) and boarding schools for children at risk (Zeira, 2004). The training of professionals to address risk, assess it and then create appropriate interventions was greatly affected by the 1996 ‘Social Workers Law’, which formalized the field’s achievements, regulated the level of training required for the profession, and strengthened social workers’ proprietorship in various fields of activity, including child protection service positions in  local Social Service Departments (SSDs) (Auslander, 2000; Doron, Rosner, & Karpel, 2008). To date,

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there are more than 270 SSDs located throughout Israel. These are supervised by the ‘Service for Children and Youth’ within the Israeli Ministry of Labor, Social Affairs and Social Services (IMLSASS), which is the governmental authority responsible for securing the safety and well-being of children at risk. This service is also in charge of the creation of national child protection policy, the development of interventions for at-risk children and their families, as well as workforce professional qualifications and development (Gorbatov & Ben-Simhon, 2011; Zeira, 2004). The establishment in 1998 of the Joint Distribution CommitteeAshalim (JDC-Ashalim) strategic partnership between JDC-Israel, the Government of Israel and the Jewish Federation of New  York is another relevant landmark. JDC-Ashalim was created to address the challenges of development, accessibility and the assimilation of solutions, knowledge and services for children at risk and their families, as well as for the professionals who work with them (Ben Rabi et al., 2008). The main child protection services for children at risk are provided by the SSDs. The SSDs’ workforce is broadly divided between: (1) general social workers; also referred to as community/family social workers, who deal with a wide array of community needs such as working with residents to enhance community resilience; and (2) specialized social workers; who provide treatment for an array of issues including child maltreatment and child neglect. The Israeli Child Protection System appoints special workers to carry out various child protection responsibilities such as conducting investigations and giving testimony in court about children and intervention (Bar-On, 2012). Additional child protective roles include hospital-based child protection teams that have been established in all hospitals in accordance with the Israeli Ministry of Health’s 1985 guidelines (Ben Natan, Faour, Naamhah, Grinberg, & Klein-Kremer, 2012; Benbenishty et al., 2014). These multidisciplinary teams are usually comprised of a pediatrician, nurse, psychiatrist, and social worker, and are primarily responsible for the mandatory reporting of hospitalized children for whom there are reasonable grounds to suspect maltreatment. The Shefi Psychological Counseling Service provides psychological services and educational counseling services within the Israeli Ministry of Education (Shefi Psychological Counseling Services, 2017). In addition, thirteen Emergency Centers currently operate throughout Israel to serve maltreated children (i.e., younger than age 14) in intra-familial cases (Freed, Figelson, & Slotzky, 2010). These multidisciplinary (e.g., clinical psychologists, social workers, creative arts therapists, teachers) focus on protection, diagnosis, investigation and decision-making, and efficiently serve to prevent unnecessary bureaucratic procedures involving a large number of interviews and examinations at various locations and over a lengthier period of time.). Thirteen governmentally-funded centers for the clinical treatment of sexually abused children are also spread throughout the country (e.g., Bnai Zion Medical Center, 2017). Ajzenstadt and Cavaglion argue that a gradual process of maturation within Israeli society regarding children at risk, beginning as early as the 1960s, has contributed to the realization that risk for children was a social rather than a private condition (Ajzenstadt & Cavaglion, 2004). The Israeli Treatment and Supervision

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of Youth Law (1960), recognizes that children and adolescents may be at risk in their parents’ homes and that there are children in need of state protection. Alongside the important recognition of providing protection for children, the Youth Law did not take into account the possibility of abuse or malice. The first law explicitly related to this in the context of children was the Penal Code (1977), which defined the various offenses related to violence and defined the sanctions placed on them. Dramatic changes have taken place with regard to how the system responds to and perceives maltreated children in Israel. As leading non-governmental nonprofit organizations, the Association for Child Protection (ELI), founded in 1979; and the Israel National Council for the Child (INCC), founded in 1980, both played a significant role in the process of change (Ajzenstadt & Cavaglion, 2004; Tzimrin, 1983, 2007). The INCC was the driving force in the creation of and advocacy for the 1989 Israeli Law for the Prevention of Abuse of Minors and Helpless/Defenseless Persons (hereinafter: the Mandatory Reporting Law). The International Convention on the Rights of the Child, which came out in the same year, 1989 (Israel ratified it in 1991), presented a new conception of the child that included protection as well as risk. As a result, the child is now perceived as an autonomous entity, carrying important and essential rights. “It is the obligation of the states to ensure the optimal development of children in all areas, and the primary responsibility for ensuring the development and protection of children rests with the parents, and the state has the duty to assist parents in this task by the means available to them” (Weisblay, 2010, p. 5). In 1991, the Law for the Prevention of Domestic Violence was enacted, and in 2000 the Prevention of Threatening Harassment Law was enacted to protect children who are at a constant risk of domestic violence and to restrict an offender’s movements. An amendment to the law required the reporting of domestic violence to the authorities. In 2006, a special committee about children at risk was established. The Schmid committee (2006) defined children at risk as “children and adolescents who live in situations that endanger them in their family and environment, and as a result of their inability to realize their rights under the Convention on the Rights of the Child in the following areas: physical existence, health and development; family affiliation; learning and life and acquiring skills; welfare and emotional health; belonging and social participation and protection against others and their own dangerous behaviors” (Schmid, 2006, p. 67). The Schmid Committee Report (Schmid, 2006) found that the majority of the services for children at risk in Israel are characterized by universality, and that there are very few services tailored to diverse population groups. Several contexts unique to Israel were found to impact both children and the definitions of risk and protection. Among the environmental risks for children is the ongoing Israeli-Palestinian conflict’s impact on children’s rights, child protection, and child welfare in all areas administered by Israel and for all populations residing therein—(e.g., Ben-Arieh, Khoury-Kassabri, & Haj-Yahia, 2006; Harel-Fisch, Abdeen, & Navot, 2016; Saltzman, Solomyak, & Pat-Horenczyk 2017). Another major contextual impact referred to the high levels of immigration and diversity in the Israeli population. The Schmid Committee Report (2006) notes that although there are services tailored to

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specific population groups alongside responses to special groups, much work is needed in order to achieve cultural sensitivity. In 2007, the first stage of implementation of the National Program for Children and Youth at Risk began. This interministerial program was led by the Ministry of Social Affairs and Social Services. The purpose of the program was to change perceptions and the ways of dealing with adolescents and children at risk, by strengthening and expanding the services in the community designed for them and their cultural suitability (Szabo-­Lael & Tzedaka, 2015). In 2007, the Schusterman Foundation established the Haruv Institute, Israel’s leading training and research center. It has become one of the world’s preeminent institutions in the field of child abuse and neglect. The aims of this multidisciplinary institute, based at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, include the training of professionals, paraprofessionals, researchers, parents and children on the prevention, identification, treatment and rehabilitation of abused and neglected children, as well as the development and dissemination of advanced professional knowledge in Israel and abroad. Currently, despite more than 10 years of intensive efforts at establishing culturally competent training and the cultural adaptation of intervention programs, the risk and protection field of knowledge is still largely rooted in universal developmental theories whose formulation was based on empirical research and clinical experience conducted primarily in the West. These universal theories are still the source from which professional definitions of child risk and protection in Israel are derived. While most of the Israeli risk discourse is still focused on the parents and their ability or inability to provide for the needs of the child, the parents’ perspectives are missing from the discourse. In addition, children’s voices are rarely heard. In sum, although a lot of resources and efforts have been invested in the Israeli risk discourse and interventions, we are concerned about its deficit-oriented focus, professionally-­centered orientation, and its culture and context-blindness.

1.1  C  ulture, Context and the Discourse on Child Risk and Protection In his paper: “Myths of nature: Culture and the social construction of risk”, Karl Dake (1992) argues that most research on the perception and communication of risk has focused on possible harms, largely ignoring the cultural contexts in which risk factors are framed and debated, and in which risk taking and risk perception occur. While individuals perceive risks and have concerns, it is culture that provides socially constructed myths about nature—systems of belief that are reshaped and internalized by persons, becoming part of their worldview and influencing their interpretation of natural phenomena. While Dake talks about environmental risk and hazards, our book adopts a similar perspective, focusing on perceptions related to the construct “children at risk.” Using examples from our studies in Israel, we aim

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to explore how culture and other contexts intersect to create a complexed web of socially constructed ideas and perceptions about child risk and protection.

1.2  Context-Informed Perspective This book adopts a context-informed perspective which was inspired by a compilation of theoretical foundations: (1) The constructivist approach (Gergen, 2015) states that we live in worlds of meaning; we understand and value the world and ourselves in ways that emerge from our personal history and shared culture. Worlds of meaning are constructed within relationships and are closely related to personal, familial and public action. (2) The narrative approach (White, 2007) argues that people, families and communities arrange their constructions in the stories that individuals, families and communities tell about themselves or that are told about them. These stories are told within contexts: the social-cultural-political-gender contexts, among others—that give special meanings to personal and familial stories. (3) The ecological framework, first promoted by Bronfenbrenner (1979), positions individual development as being nested in families, neighborhoods and communities, and the larger socio-cultural environment. Thus, from an ecological perspective, numerous factors operate simultaneously in a series of nested environments, which range from the micro-environment of the family to the macro-environment of society, and interact to increase or decrease the likelihood of child risk, abuse and neglect (Cicchetti & Lynch, 1993). (4) The critical, anti-oppressive approach to social work (Dominelli & Campling, 2002) addresses social divisions and structural inequalities in the work that is done with people. This approach embodies a person-centered philosophy, an egalitarian value system that is concerned with reducing the deleterious effects of structural inequalities on people’s lives; with the aim of empowering social service clients by reducing the negative effects of power differentials and hierarchy. Anti-oppressive practice promotes activism and resilience in people and their communities. (5) The salutogenic, strengths-based approach (Saleebey, 1996, 2006) challenges the widespread pathological, deficit-oriented, professional perspective. It therefore honors two central things: the power of the self to heal and to right itself with the help of the environment, and the need for an alliance with the hope that life might really be otherwise. Accordingly, professionals must listen carefully, from a not-knowing stance, to the individual, family or community theories. The professional’s job is to assist individuals and groups in developing the language, to mobilize the resources, to devise the plot and to manage the subjectivity of life in their world. (6) Intersectionality is a conceptual framework for understanding the ways in which aspects of human identity (e.g., gender, race, socioeconomic status) interact simultaneously and intersect to shape lived experiences and life’s potential opportunities through interlocking systems of bias and inequality that exist at the macro social-structural level (i.e., sexism, racism, classism) (Crenshaw, 1989). Whereas intersectionality originally focused on the categories of race, gender and socio-economic status, it was

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only later on that scholars broadened their analyses to include other categories of difference such as age, mental health, disability, sexual orientation, religion and geographic location (Murphy, Hunt, Zajicek, Norris, & Hamilton, 2009). Through our emerging understanding and analysis of the data presented in this book, in the course of a 5-year large-scale qualitative research project, we developed the following context-informed perspective conceptualization for the study of child risk and protection: People, families and communities live their lives in a matrix of diverse contexts including culture, religion, class, race, gender, nationality, socio-political context and more. These contexts shape the development of the individuals and families as well as frame life circumstances and opportunities. Contexts also influence the construction of meanings given to different events and experiences in the lives of individuals and families. Contexts are not fixed and static, they depend on place and time and are therefore subject to change. Contexts intersect and influence each other in some complex ways. A context-informed approach for the helping professions seeks to identify the specific contexts that are relevant to understanding the life experiences of individuals, families, and communities. The approach assumes complexity and hybridity, and takes into account power relations between the individual, the family and the different systems that influence their lives. A context-informed approach to understanding child risk and protection seeks to identify the relevant contexts in the construction of the “risk” and “protection” categories from the perspectives of parents, children, and child protection professionals. This book adopts a context-informed approach to the study of children’s risk and protection that challenges universality. It was already mentioned that much of the field of knowledge concerned with risk, maltreatment, well-being and the protection of children in Israel, is rooted primarily in universal developmental theories, and it is from these theories that definitions of risk, abuse and neglect are derived. The cross-cultural literature, however, is fraught with examples of childrearing practices that can be classified differently, as normative, abusive or neglectful, by different cultural groups (Korbin, 2002). Korbin stated that while attention has been directed to the relationship between culture, risk and maltreatment for more than 20 years, there is a need for further development in this area in order to “unpack” culture, to promote understanding culture in context, and to enhance research on child maltreatment and culture. “Culture does not work on its own or in a vacuum, but in transactions with other variables at other ecological levels. Culture can bring with it both risk and protective factors, whose impact varies not only between cultures but also within any culture” (p. 639). The development of a context-informed approach to the study of child risk and protection was encouraged by the challenge to “unpack” culture. The Context-Informed Perspective acknowledges hybridity, complexity and the dynamics of change and power, trying to avoid considering cultures as uniform, monolithic and static. While the cross-cultural literature examines child risk and protection in different cultural groups, in this book we will explore different contexts that influence child risk, maltreatment, well-being and protection. Whereas there are ample contexts to consider, in this book we will focus on some of them found central in our studies in Israel. Due to its very unique human

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Policy Political Violence

Power Relations

Religion and Spirituality

mmigration and Refugees

Racism and Exclusion

Poverty

Graph 1.1  The contexts explored in this book

diversity, for years Israel has been a natural laboratory for cultural and contextual studies. We will try to share our findings with the reader, hopefully leading to more reflection, awareness and research in this area, which will highlight more relevant contexts and complexities. Our book will focus on the following contexts: policy, political conflict, political violence, immigration, religion and spirituality, family structures, poverty, impoverished neighborhoods, exclusion, racism and gender (Graph 1.1). At this point, it is important to acknowledge the double-edged sword of both cultural and contextual approaches. In both approaches, we face an impossible mission of representing complexity, hybridity and change. Lack of the latter may put us in danger of cultural essentialism and stereotypization and if misused, could lead to further discrimination or stigmatization. We therefore propose that although the information presented in the following chapters will entail examples of separate contexts; in fact, these contexts are connected and interrelated. As mentioned, we will refer to the conceptual framework of intersectionality to help us demonstrate this complexity. The theory of intersectionality (Crenshaw, 1989, 2012) was originally proposed in order to shed light on the interconnected nature of social categorizations such as race, class, and gender as they apply to a given individual or group, was regarded as creating overlapping and interdependent systems of discrimination

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or disadvantage. We will utilize this framework to exemplify the web of connection between certain contexts manifested in parts of our studies, especially those related to the contexts of political conflict, marginalization and exclusion. Another important aspect of the context-informed perspective to the study of children’s risk and protection is embedded in the principle of participation, according to which the research calls upon parents, children and professionals to participate in the debates regarding the topic and to propose ways of promoting protection and ideas for prevention or intervention in situations associated with risk. In this book we try to bring together, compare and contrast voices of parents, professionals and children. Parents’ perspectives on risk and protection are rarely included in the academic discussion. Parents act as gateway providers (Stiffman, Pescosolido, & Cabassa, 2004) by recognizing the child’s need for help and in taking the necessary steps to obtain it. Parents possess and can share important knowledge regarding culture, contexts, challenges, and successful ways of coping with these challenges. Our findings support the notion of including parents’ perspectives. The analysis of the parents’ perspectives presented in this book clearly shows the importance of studying service recipients’ perspectives in diverse groups and contexts and the ways in which they both resemble and differ from the views of professionals. Children are the primary focus of the field of child protection, although their voices are also excluded from child protection literature. Nevertheless, recognition of the importance of including children’s perspectives is a growing trend in social work and related disciplines, in both academia and the practical realm (Andresen & Fegter, 2011; Ben-Arieh, 2005). From the studies presented in this book, we learn that children as young as 3 years old have their own ideas and perspectives about risk and protection. Professionals hold powerful positions in the arena of child protection and have the ability to influence the lives of children and families. Identifying the perceptions of professionals working with various communities in different contexts provides important insight into challenges, successful means of meeting them, and context-­ adapted interventions. Comparing the views of social workers who are from diverse groups is especially valuable as they can shed light on gaps between mainstream educational socialization and the views and voices in their communities. The data in this book provided by professionals also highlights the aspects that need to be addressed in order to strengthen contextual and cultural competence abilities. Comparing, contrasting, and triangulating the perspectives of service providers (e.g., social workers, educators) and service users (parents and children) provide a platform for further exploring the universal versus context-informed dilemmas of child risk, well-being, and protection. Exploring the similarities and differences in these perceptions are crucial for detecting mismatches and biases, preventing misdiagnosis of risk and providing context-informed recommendations for practitioners and policy makers. The book incorporates the findings of case studies in the intersecting contextual domains described above. These studies were conducted at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem’s NEVET-Greenhouse of Context-Informed Research and Training for

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Children in Need over the past 6 years. All of NEVET’s studies apply a context-­ informed approach to the study of perspectives of risk and protection among parents, children and professionals from different communities in Israel, utilizing varied qualitative methodologies. In Chaps. 3 and 14 we will explore the methodologies adapted for our studies, in both diverse communities and diverse age groups. We will also explore ethical and methodological dilemmas such as of “outsider” and “insider” positionality and the potential of research for social change (Chap. 16). Case studies demonstrating the complex intersecting and interlocking contexts at play regarding risk, maltreatment; well-being and the protection of children are presented: • In the context of policy, Chap. 2 explores the evolving concept of risk and Israel’s child policy. • The context of political conflict and political violence is evident in many of our chapters. An example of this is in Chap. 9 where we describe parental and professional perspectives of child risk and protection in unrecognized Bedouin villages in the Naqab, and in Chap. 13 where the case of Palestinian children in East Jerusalem, their rights, protection and access to justice, is explored. • The contexts of immigration refugees and asylum seekers are also explored in various chapters. Chapters 4 and 5 focus on immigration from Ethiopia. Chapter 4 explores the challenges to immigrants’ identity in the context of risk discourse, while Chap. 5 compares social workers’ and parents’ perceptions of risk and protection regarding children of Ethiopian origin. Chapter 8 focuses on perceptions of child risk and protection among French immigrant mothers in Israel. • The contexts of racism and exclusion and their relation to risk and protection are evident in the case of the Ethiopian immigrants in Israel. Chapter 10 exemplifies perceptions of one-and-a-half generation immigrant parents from the former Soviet Union and compares them with those of Israeli social workers. In Chap. 12, perceptions of Eritrean refugees and social workers regarding Israeli policies and their implications for family well-being are utilized for debating the protection of those who are not granted legal status. • The context of religion and spirituality is also explored in various chapters. In Chap. 6, parental and professional perspectives of child risk and protection in some of the Ultra-Orthodox (Haredi) communities in Israel are compared. In Chap. 7 we explore the context of family structure in the Ultra-Orthodox Community in Israel and challenge the risk attributed to extended families. In Chap. 13 we look at different lessons learned by NEVET’s research group on child sexual abuse regarding disclosing sexual abuse in religious communities in Israel. • Chapter 11 focuses on the context of poverty in an impoverished neighborhood of the southern city of Beersheba, demonstrating the intersection of marginal social locations. This chapter, based on mothers’ perspectives, challenges the social workers’ envisioned definitions of child neglect.

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• In Chap. 14, young children’s perspectives (ages 3–6) of risk and protection from different communities in Israel are described. • The lessons learned from the above contexts, their implication for further research and policy are described in Chap. 17.

References Ajzenstadt, M., & Cavaglion, G. (2004). Sociological perspectives on the origins of the child abuse legislation in Israel. Israel Law Review, 37(1), 169–196. Andresen, S., & Fegter, S. (2011). Children growing up in poverty and their ideas on what constitutes a good life: Childhood studies in Germany. Child Indicators Research, 4(1), 1–9. Auslander, G. (2000). Social work research and evaluation in Israel. Journal of Social Work Research and Evaluation, 1(1), 17–34. Bar-On, A. (2012). Between specialist and generalist: Case management of individuals and family. Jerusalem: IMWSS. [Hebrew]. Ben Natan, M., Faour, C., Naamhah, S., Grinberg, K., & Klein-Kremer, A. (2012). Factors affecting medical and nursing staff reporting of child abuse. International Nursing Review, 59(3), 331–337. Ben Rabi, D., Dolev, T., Cohen-Navot, M., Amiel, S., Kahan-Strawczynski, P., & Rivkin, D. (2008). Ashalim celebrates a decade of activity – Accomplishments and future challenges. Jerusalem: The Myers-JDC-Brookdale Institute. Ben-Arieh, A. (2005). Where are the children? Children’s role in measuring and monitoring their well-being. Social Indicators Research, 74(3), 573–596. Ben-Arieh, A., Khoury-Kassabri, M., & Haj-Yahia, M.  M. (2006). Generational, ethnic, and national differences in attitudes toward the rights of children in Israel and Palestine. American Journal of Orthopsychiatry, 76(3), 381–388. Benbenishty, R., Jedwab, M., Chen, W., Glasser, S., Slutzky, H., Siegal, G., et al. (2014). Predicting the decisions of hospital based child protection teams to report to child protective services, police and community welfare services. Child Abuse & Neglect, 38(1), 11–24. Bnai Zion Medical Center. (2017, May 20). The center for children who are victims of sexual assault (Hebrew). Retrieved from http://www.bzion.org.il/pages/907.aspx Bronfenbrenner, U. (1979). The ecology of human development: Experiments by design and nature. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press. Cicchetti, D., & Lynch, M. (1993). Toward an ecological/transactional model of community violence and child maltreatment: Consequences for children's development. Psychiatry, 56, 96–118. Crenshaw, K. (1989). Demarginalizing the intersection of race and sex: A black feminist critique of antidiscrimination doctrine, feminist theory and antiracist politics. University of Chicago Legal Forum, 1989, 139–167. Crenshaw, K. (2012). From private violence to mass incarceration: Thinking intersectionally about women, race, and social control. UCLA Law Review, 59, 1420–1472. Dake, K. (1992). Myths of nature: Culture and the social construction of risk. Journal of Social Issues, 48(4), 21–37. Dominelli, L., & Campling, J. (2002). Anti-oppressive social work theory and practice. Basingstoke: Macmillan International Higher Education. Doron, I., Rosner, Y., & Karpel, M. (2008). Law, social work and professionalism: Israeli social workers’ attitudes towards the 1996 Social Workers Act. Journal of Social Welfare & Family Law, 30(1), 3–16. Faber, M., & Slotsky, H. (2007). Between protection and treatment of at risk minors: The role of child protective service workers. In D. Horowitz, Y. Ben-Yehuda, & M. Hovav (Eds.), Abuse

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and neglect of children in Israel: Victims, law enforcement and justice, health, education and welfare (pp. 951–994). Jerusalem: Ashalim. [Hebrew]. Freed, B., Figelson, F., & Slotzky, H. (2010). Emergency centers: Information on emergency centers for professionals. Jerusalem: The Haruv Institute and Ashalim. [Hebrew]. Gergen, K.  J. (2015). An invitation to social construction (3rd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications. Gorbatov, R., & Ben-Simhon, M. (2011). Children and young people in the social services. In Y.  Sabah (Ed.), The social services review. Jerusalem: IMWSS, Research Planning and Qualification Division. [Hebrew]. Harel-Fisch, Y., Abdeen, Z., & Navot, M. (2016). Growing up in the Middle East: The daily lives and well-being of Israeli and Palestinian youth. In Pediatrics, child and adolescent health. New York: Nova Science Publishers. Korbin, J.  E. (2002). Culture and child maltreatment: Cultural competence and beyond. Child Abuse & Neglect, 26, 637–644. Murphy, Y., Hunt, V., Zajicek, A.  M., Norris, A.  N., & Hamilton, L. (2009). Incorporating intersectionality in social work practice, research, policy, and education. Washington, DC: NASW Press. Navot, M., Shorek, Y., Sabo-Lal, R., & Ben Rabi, D. (2017). System services for children at risk and their families: Achievements and challenges according to Brookdale institute. Jerusalem: Ministry of Social Affairs and Social Services. [Hebrew]. Saleebey, D. (1996). The strengths perspective in social work practice: Extensions and cautions. Social Work, 41(3), 296–305. Saleebey, D. (2006). The strengths perspective in social work practice (4th ed.). Boston, MA: Allyn and Bacon. Saltzman, L.  Y., Solomyak, L., & Pat-Horenczyk, R. (2017). Addressing the needs of children and youth in the context of war and terrorism: The technological frontier. Current Psychiatry Reports, 19(6), 30. Schmid, H. (2006). Report of the public committee for evaluation of children and youth at risk and in distress. Accessed July 8, 2018, from https://www.molsa.gov.il/About/OfficePolicy/ Documents/shmidreport2006newweb2.pdf Schmid, H., & Benbenishty, R. (2011). Public attitudes toward child maltreatment in Israel: Implications for policy. Children and Youth Service Review, 33, 1134–1141. Shefi Psychological Counseling Services. (2017, May 20). Jerusalem: Israel Ministry of Education. Accessed January 16, 2018, from http://cms.education.gov.il/educationcms/units/shefi/pirusmim/catalog/. [Hebrew] Sorek, Y., Szabo-Lael, R., & Ben-Simon, B. (2014). Foster care services in Israel: Changing process and a current status. Jerusalem: Myers-JDC Brookdale. [Hebrew]. Stiffman, A. R., Pescosolido, B., & Cabassa, L. J. (2004). Building a model to understand youth service access: The gateway provider model. Mental Health Services Research, 6(4), 189–198. Szabo-Lael, R., & Tzedaka, H. (2015). Evaluation report, “Magen”: Program for improving and upgrading child protection. Jerusalem: Myers-JDC Brookdale. [Hebrew]. Tzimrin, H. (1983). Building up a new service for the abused child. Child Abuse & Neglect, 7(1), 55–60. Tzimrin, H. (2007). A generation of action – The contribution of ELI: The society for the protection of the child for the development of services for risk in Israel. In D. Horowitz, Y. B. Yehuda, & M.  Hovav (Eds.), Abuse and neglect of children in Israel: Victims, law enforcement and justice, health, education and welfare (pp. 1007–1035). Jerusalem: Ashalim. [Hebrew]. Weisblay, A. (2010). The authorities’ treatment of reports of sexual offenses against children and teenagers. Jerusalem: The Knesset, Research and Information Center. [Hebrew]. White, M. (2007). Maps of narrative practice. New York: W.W. Norton. Zeira, A. (2004). New initiatives in out-of-home placements in Israel. Child & Family Social Work, 9(3), 305–307.

Chapter 2

The Evolving Concept of Risk and Israel’s Child Policy Nofar Mazursky and Asher Ben-Arieh

2.1  Introduction Israel is a multi-cultural society that incorporates diverse populations. The western melting pot ideology that has influenced the attitude toward immigrants began before the onset of the state, while in the 1990s various ethnic and religious groups started to demand a change toward multiculturalism. Social services, however, continued to “assist” immigrants in adapting to existing policies and the established Western “universal” norms (Halpern, 2018). Eventually, this mission proved to be only partially effective and in relation to sensitive social issues, such as child maltreatment, it has clearly failed. At the very least due to the fact that such issues demand context-informed consideration. Statistics regarding abuse and neglect assessed by Western “universal” norms show that in Israel, every fifth child suffers from abuse or neglect (INCC, 2017). Public awareness of the issue has increased, which in turn, influenced the relevant policy makers’ involvement in the effort to fight children’s abuse and neglect. Research on child maltreatment has also advanced in many ways over the last 30 years. However, recent studies teach us that the cultural and contextual aspects of child maltreatment, and its prevalence and interventions among specific minority and conservative groups, have not advanced enough (Korbin, 2017; Nadan, Spilsbury, & Korbin, 2015). Most studies on cultural and contextual aspects of child maltreatment were conducted outside of Israel. We would argue that in light of Israel’s unique social fabric, not only can we learn from looking at the ways that Israel’s child policy addresses N. Mazursky (*) · A. Ben-Arieh Paul Baerwald School of Social Work and Social Welfare, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem, Israel Haruv Institute, Jerusalem, Israel e-mail: [email protected] © Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2020 D. Roer-Strier, Y. Nadan (eds.), Context-Informed Perspectives of Child Risk and Protection in Israel, Child Maltreatment 10, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-44278-1_2

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child maltreatment amongst diverse minority and cultural groups, but that without doing so we would fail in addressing this social phenomenon in Israel. This chapter aims to discuss the relationship between context and child policy in Israel and exemplify how it is related to child maltreatment among the different minority and cultural groups.

2.2  The Context Israel is comprised of nearly nine million citizens as of January, 2019 who live in a very heterogenic society. Israeli society encompasses a large national minority (the Arab population), a large portion of immigrants from all over the world and diverse socio-economic and religious groups. Almost 75% of Israel citizens are Jewish, 21% are Arab, and around 4% are categorized as “other.” The Arab population is divided into the following: 83% Muslim, 9% Christian, and 8% Druze. Three point two million immigrants have arrived in Israel since the establishment of the state. Of these, 42.8% immigrated since 1990 (Central Bureau of Statistics, 2017). Throughout the history of Israel there were several great waves of immigrants from Europe, Asia, Africa and America, and specifically from the former USSR, Yemen, Iraq, Morocco, Ethiopia, Poland, Romania and the United States. In recent years there has been an increase in the number of immigrants from France and the Ukraine (Central Bureau of Statistics, 2018). Moreover, Israel society consists of many minorities that are without a formal qualification or precise data of their exact representation in the society, such as the  Ultra-Orthodox, Bedouins, refugees and migrant workers, or members of the LGBTQ community. Data published by the Israel National Council for the Child (INCC) (INCC, 2017) showed that by the end of 2016 there were nearly 2.85 million Israeli children between the ages of 0–17, comprising 33.0% of the Israeli population. In 2016, 438,963 Israeli children were known to social services, of which 367,440 were children at risk (i.e., 16.3% due to poverty, income and employment difficulties). Thirty-one percent of Israeli children were living in families with incomes below the poverty level (INCC, 2017). Comparatively, approximately two out of every three Jewish Ultra-Orthodox children and two out of three Arab children were living below the poverty line in 2016. According to data from the Israeli Parliament Research and Information Center (The Knesset, 2016), in 2014 the fertility rate in Israel was one of the highest among the OECD countries and stood at 3.11. This rate is influenced by the fertility rate of different cultural groups within the Israeli population. For example, the average number of children per Ultra-Orthodox family is 6.9, while in Muslim families it is 3.35. Larger families are mainly scattered in the northern and southern peripheries of the country (INCC, 2017). As a result of the larger families living in the periphery and their diverse cultural characteristics, their educational institutions are segregated, leading to differences in their educational curriculums as well as to differences in the resources invested in education. While among the general population the quality of education is higher,

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there is a higher prevalence of school drop-outs among the Ultra-Orthodox, Arabs and immigrants. As a result, the percentage of those entitled to a matriculation certificate is lower in the above- mentioned groups (INCC, 2017). Indeed, Israel is a multi-cultural society, which began with the establishment of the Zionist movement and has changed and developed with the country’s 70 plus years of existence. Thus, it is not surprising that the concept of risk has also evolved and developed. In fact, one can argue that the concept of risk in general, and in regard to children in particular, is both a consequence of and the reason for changes in society (Ben-Arieh, 2005), i.e. the concept of risk has an influence on society and in turn, the changes in society influence the concept of risk.

2.3  The “New” Discovery of Child Maltreatment In 2017, there were 48,203 (a rate of approximately 17 per 1000 children) new referrals to designated child protection officers, due to suspicions of child maltreatment. The new referrals to child protection officers were due to neglect (31.1%), physical abuse (28.0%), sexual abuse (12.0%), and emotional abuse (5.7%), among other things. Immigrant children1 referrals made up 16.8%; this can be explained by the tendency of professionals to view the minority groups as different and exceptional, therefore they judge their behaviors more harshly. Out of all the new referrals in 2017, 92.8% were validated (INCC, 2017). While the phenomenon of child maltreatment is definitely not new, its social visibility and society’s response to it is only around 30 years old in Israel. Yet in many aspects, it is part of a broader and older social concern regarding children’s welfare and risk factors in their lives. The focus on children’s welfare and risk factors in their lives pre-dates the state of Israel (Gal & Köngeter, 2016; Raz, 2010; Weiner, 1979). Several national committees have been established over the years to examine the topic of children at risk in Israel. The committees emerged after public attention was focused on the topic due to social protests or severe cases of abuse and neglect of children that caught the national media’s attention. One of these known committees was the Prime Minister’s Commission for Children and Youth in Distress (i.e., the Katz Committee) that published its report in 1972 and officially defined child deprivation in terms of the educational capabilities of the parents, the household density and its income (Ben-­ Arieh, 2006), thus in those days the concept of risk, while conceived as multidimensional, did not include a contextual perspective nor did it relate to child maltreatment. Only in the late 1980s and the 1990s was the phenomenon of child maltreatment recognized as a social problem (Faber, 2009; Kadman, 1992, 2010). Some argue that the lack of awareness, or even repression, of occurrence of the phenomena in Israel until those years transpired because of the sturdiness of Jewish values

 Children who immigrated to Israel since 1996.

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treasuring the “Jewish Mother” as one who would never harm her child (Ajzenstadt & Cavaglion, 2004). Others would argue that at least part of this “new discovery” of child maltreatment can be attributed to the establishment of two non-governmental organizations in the mid 1980’s, the Israel Association for Child Protection (ELI) and the Israel National Council for the Child (Ajzenstadt & Cavaglion, 2004; Tzimrin, 1983, 2007). The INCC, for example, was the driving force behind the Law for the Prevention of Abuse of Minors and Incapacitated Person (hereinafter: the Mandatory Reporting Law) in 1989 that for the first time introduced child maltreatment into the Israeli criminal code. This legislation became possible when the public opinion changed dramatically after the tragic death of Moran Danmias  in 1989, a 3-year-old Israeli girl who suffered serious and continuous maltreatment by her uncle (Kadman, 1992). During the same period, a worldwide revolution started with the growing awareness and acceptance of children and their rights. The peak was in 1989 with the introduction and signage of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC). Israel signed the UNCRC in 1991 which led to the beginning of a period of extensive legislation in Israel, interacting with the above mentioned “discovery” of child maltreatment. The attitude toward children shifted from objects that might deserve protection to human beings with rights for protection and participation (Ben-Arieh & Kimhi, 2007; Faber & Slotsky, 2007). The laws enacted were applied to various aspects of the child, e.g., The Prevention of Domestic Violence Law, 1991; The Basic Law: Human Dignity and Liberty, 1992; Amendments to the Penal Code on the prevention of child abuse and many more. These normative and legislative changes in turn led to major changes and developments in the social services for children. Numerous projects and services were designed to secure children and their rights. In the realm of child maltreatment, three major steps were taken. First, child emergency shelters were established in the mid 1990s. Then, in the early 2000s, child advocacy centers were introduced and over the next 10 years a network of treatment centers for sexually abused children was established (Gorbatov & Ben-Simhon, 2011; Zeira, 2004). The growing public attention, as well as the normative change toward children rights, led to the establishment of yet another set of national committees. In 1997 the Rotlevi Committee was established in order to adapt the Israeli legislation to the UNCRC, especially in regard to children at risk (Rotlevi, 2006). In 2002 the Gilat Committee examined the policies in regard to out-of-home placements and child protection services, especially the Planning, Intervention and Evaluation Committees (PIECs). In 2003 the Schmid Committee was set to examine the services and needs of children and youth in distress. In 2009, the Vinter Committee looked into ways of identifying children at risk and helped create a safety net that would make sure that society would notice signals of distress. Furthermore, a few years later in 2013, the Silman Committee was established and focused on children at risk and the out-of-­home placement process. There had been previous attempts to relate to cultural contexts in both the Katz Committee in 1979 and in the Schmid Committee in 2003, however, these attempts resulted in nothing more than lip

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service and none of them produced a concrete formulation of context-informed or culturally-based recommendations. Nonetheless, the various committees attest to the development of the concept of risk and the social services. In particular, we see a shift toward a focus on child maltreatment as the major group of children at risk while moving away from more traditional definitions of risk (i.e., socio-economic distress). This change in the concept of risk was accompanied by a number of laws and regulations, focusing on child protection that was legislated in response to pressing social needs and public opinion. Yet, while the Israeli legal framework for child protection mainly comprises laws that detail how to protect children’s welfare, there is a lacuna in laws that define rights to receive particular services as well as a binding legal basis for said required protection (Gottfried & Ben-Arieh, 2019; Hovav, 2007; Shnit, 1998). One of the major laws regarding child maltreatment is the Mandatory Reporting Law, which places all adult citizens under the obligation to report, as soon as possible, any knowledge of, or probable suspicion of, child maltreatment. The reports can be made to either the police or a child protection officer. An additional relevant landmark in the new focus on child maltreatment and the broader children at risk is 360°—the Israeli National Program for Children and Youth at Risk. This program is a product of the Schmid Committee and supports the development and supply of various services to children and youth at risk throughout their geographic areas of residence (Gottfried & Ben-Arieh, 2019). In sum, the social attention to children’s welfare in general, and to child maltreatment in particular in Israel, has changed over the years, especially in recent years. Yet, the question still remains as to the interaction and relationship between the contextual and cultural aspects of this complex society, the developing concept of children’s welfare and maltreatment and the social services and policy.

2.4  T  he Manner in Which Israeli Policy Relates to the Contextual and Cultural Aspects in Determining, Defining and Coping with Child Maltreatment A known argument is that the behavioral sciences were developed in western, educated, industrialized, rich, and democratic (WEIRD) societies and doesn’t take into account parts of other cultures and societies (Henrich, Heine, & Norenzayan, 2010). Nadan et al. (2015) discussed the importance of using the intersectionality approach for understanding the context of child maltreatment from the perspective of a context-­informed framework. This approach clarified that human lives cannot be understood through a single-factor explanation (e.g. race, gender or socioeconomic status) but rather seen as multidimensional and complex through interlocking systems of bias and inequality that exist on the macro social-structural level (i.e., sexism, racism, classism) (Crenshaw, 1989; Nadan & Korbin, 2019). Ben-Arieh and Haj-Yahia (2006) investigated the roles of the geographic area of residence,

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nationality and locality characteristics. Specifically, they call for examining the social, economic and cultural contexts of locality in order to understand child maltreatment (Ben-Arieh & Haj-Yahia, 2006; Ben-Arieh, 2015). Furthermore, locality characteristics have been found related to the availability of social workers and child protection services (Ben-Arieh, 2010b) and the higher the proportion of public expenditures on education and welfare, the higher the socioeconomic characteristics of the locality and child outcomes (Ben-Arieh, 2010a). These approaches and studies call attention to the multi-dimensional faces of child maltreatment. A context-informed perspective in the field of child maltreatment is argued to be crucial to the understanding and development of prevention and intervention programs (Nadan & Korbin, 2019). More specifically, the mere definition of child maltreatment might change from one culture to another, at least in regard to some aspects of maltreatment (e.g. physical abuse or neglect). Even more, the response to child maltreatment (in all its forms) is extremely culturally contingent. There is a need to emphasize contextual and cultural variability in aspects of the cultural setting and culturally-based child care practices and beliefs that would explain why child maltreatment is more or less likely to occur in different cultures (e.g., Korbin, 1981). Recent years have brought new knowledge about different populations and cultures in regards to the identification and understanding of child maltreatment among cultural minorities, even those we barely know or were not considered in this way. Indeed, one can argue that “new” clientele in need of or seeking social services has emerged. Three global changes contributed to continued interest in the relationship of culture and child maltreatment: children’s rights, immigration and disproportionate and disparate representation of cultural, ethnic, and racial groupings in child welfare (Nadan et al., 2015). These three trends can also be seen in Israel. Israel ratified the UNCRC in 1991 and in the last three decades absorbed 1.3 million immigrants, but the representation of minority groups is still not in line with their real proportion in society (Ben-Arieh, 2006; Gottfried & Ben-Arieh, 2019). This leads to the complex context of the Israeli policy in the field. On the one hand, Israel tries to enact rules that define what is permitted and what is forbidden in the relationships between people in general, and within the family or between adults and children, in particular. On the other hand, sometimes these rules contradict the behavioral norms of different cultural groups in Israel. For example, the Religious Courts (e.g., Jewish Rabbinical Courts, Muslim Sharia Courts, and Christian or Druze Religious Courts) all receive judicial authority from the state of Israel regarding family issues (Enosh, Nouman, & Sharon, 2016). This means that family matters can be decided by the religious code that differs between the various religions. Another example is the inequality between different sectors in Israel, the quintessential example being the Law of Return (1950). By virtue of this law, any Jew who wishes to settle in Israel automatically has the right to immigrate to Israel and receives Israeli citizenship upon arrival. This law is inclusive for all diaspora Jews but is exclusive of other migrants who are not Jewish, including the Arab population and Palestinians who previously resided in Israel and were war refugees. One good example in the context of child maltreatment and statutory rape is the Minimum Marriage Age Law. In

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2013, Israel raised the legal age of marriage to 18, which conflicts with the customs of some cultures. These and other examples exclude and ostracize some minority groups, which we frequently see within social services.

2.5  Cultural Division and the Mandatory Reporting Law Israel adopted the universal approach of the Eurocentric view concerning the responsibility of society in regard to child protection. This was demonstrated among other things by the ratification of the UNCRC in 1991. The State of Israel sees itself as a Western country based on individualistic, democratic values (Goldstein & Laor, 2007; Sagy, Orr, Bar-On, & Awwad, 2001). Yet, many groups in Israel such as the Ultra-Orthodox, some of the Arab communities, Bedouins, immigrants from conservative societies (e.g., Asian parts of former Soviet Union and immigrants from Ethiopia) were educated according to collectivist values or demonstrate a mixture of both (Goldstein & Laor, 2007). This conflict of values leads to differences in definitions of child maltreatment, neglect, abuse, risk and protection and requires a rethinking and reconsideration of the Western, “universal” approach in the field of child maltreatment. An example of the above-described gap is the application of the Mandatory Reporting Law (1989). This law obligates every adult citizen to report an offense committed toward a minor by the person responsible for them or by a family member who is under the age of 18. The report should be made to the police or to a child protection officer. If the latter receives a report, they are obligated to forward the report to the police, along with a recommendation as to whether or not to act in connection to the report. This procedure is followed unless they are granted temporary or permanent permission not to do so by one of the Exemption Committees designated by the Israel Ministry of Justice. Social workers frequently use these committees when a cultural conflict arises and there is a gap between the norms of the family and its cultural group and the views of the person reporting. In fact, in recent years we have seen an increase in the scope of approvals provided by the exemption committees (INCC, 2017). This tool is considered a culturally sensitive act in the framework of the Mandatory Reporting Law. As previously argued, there are behaviors that are  considered maltreatment in Western cultures while viewed as normative in others. The dilemma that arises from the obligation to peruse the law challenges both professionals who belong to the minority group and those who do not. Those who do not belong to the minority group may be contextually and culturally blind. They may find it hard to understand the norms and the worldview of minorities, or be overly judgmental. Professionals from the minority group may be brainwashed to see their group as “primitive” according to their Western professional socialization. Reporting child maltreatment may cause them to be ostracized from their community. Others can see the cultural logic of the norms established within their own culture, especially when it comes to behavior that is in a gray area and may serve as cultural translators. Many find it difficult to report someone from their own community.

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An additional example of the gap of definitions and reporting is that reporting an offense in the case of a child in religious or collectivistic groups may have a detrimental effect on the minor. It can result in more damage to the child (e.g., being murdered for dishonoring the family by being sexually abused) or to the siblings (e.g., hindering their marriage prospects). From the aspect of the report itself it also raises difficulties since some of the minority groups have internal issues regarding the reporting of a crime to the authorities. In these groups, the problems are often solved within the community with the assistance of leading figures from the community who are considered the authority that handles complex situations, thereby completely excluding government authorities. For example, within  the Arab community there is a problem with reporting to the authorities, especially to the police, which also plays a major role in the national political conflict. Hence, the implementation of the law is problematic since there is no reference to the need to comprehend cultural norms of the minority or to adopt the law and its implementation. Therefore, it appears that only context-informed and culturally- sensitive attitudes and flexibility in the implementation of law can help with the definition, legal determination and coping with child maltreatment. The lack of contextual and cultural awareness points at the need to train professionals to be context and culturally aware and to discuss the proper uses of the Exemption Committee to adopt approaches that respect the challenges of minorities in the multi-cultural society and to use context-informed agents (Agmon-Snir & Shemer, 2016; Goldstein & Laor, 2007; Roer-Strier, 2001).

2.6  W  hat Should We Do in Order to Promote Contextual and Cultural Awareness in Policy? As we argued above, Israeli policy adopted the universal law as other Western countries did. Yet no contextual or cultural adaptions or protocols on how to work with minorities in this field have been adopted. It is only in recent years that a new movement toward a contextual and culturally sensitive approach has become evident. One tool to promote awareness and inform policies may be developed in collaboration with non-governmental organizations. In recent years, numerous organizations were established to target and assist the needs of minorities. Each organization usually focuses on one minority group and specializes in its cultural values. The assistance to the communities includes advocacy, explaining social rights, translations and more. For example, Unitaf is a registered non-profit organization that supports children from the migrant-worker and refugee community. These children are among the most deprived and do not have citizenship or legal status in Israel. Unitaf works to ensure the right of every young child to an egalitarian and appropriate education. Organizations like this should be invited to voice their concerns to policy

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makers, participate in committees and contribute their knowledge to policy-making procedures. Another way to promote contextual and cultural awareness in policy and to cope with cultural gaps is to create partnerships with clients and encourage their participation in all the processes regarding them (Agmon-Snir & Shemer, 2016; Goldstein & Laor, 2007). It is important to view the term “partnership with clients” in light of the historical shifts of the approach to intervention with people in need. Over the years, the practice of social work in Israel, as in other parts of the world, changed its approach toward helping people in need. Initially social work practice relied on the needs-based approaches, which targeted fulfilling an identified need. The identified needs are defined by professionals who are considers experts and responsible for developing the intervention. The shift from the needs-based approaches occurred in the 1960s, which led to the rights-based approach. Unlike the first, the second approach points out the importance of human rights with a focus on the participatory process. Professionals are no longer seen as the only experts as this approach relies on individuals as experts themselves (Gatenio, 2016; Tew, 2002). Using a children’s rights-based approach in social work practice means viewing children’s rights, norms, and standards as the primary frame of reference for every intervention on the macro or the micro levels (BASW, 2015). The changes in the perceptions of needs lead to changes in the identification of the target population and to changes in the social policy and social services2 (Ben-Arieh, 2006). From the rights-based approach, that is currently practiced, the child has the right and the ability to be responsible and to receive rights according to his or her age and to influence their own life (for additional reading see Kosher, Ben-Aryeh, & Hendelsman, 2016). Therefore, giving the child the right to participate in the process of making decisions regarding themselves and the influence it has on their life conveys respect for the child (which is one of the principals of UNCRC). The principle of participation of children contributes to the child, to their family, and to society. The contribution is seen in the individual aspects of the child, such as respect to the child as a person, involvement in their environment, empowerment of the child’s capabilities, etc. (Ben-Arieh, 2006; Flekkoy & Kaufman, 1997; Matthews, 2003)3 as well as the results of efficient decision making relevant to the child’s life. Child and parent participation have a direct connection to the designed policy (Arnott, 2008; Kosher & Ben-Arieh, 2009). Children’s participation helps with collecting updated information that is relevant to their world and thus expanded the information available to the policymakers so that they could design policies and services that are suitable for children (Ben-Arieh, 2005). In Israel, there are few laws that express the participation principle, for example, section 3(D) of Family Court Law (1995) determines that children can apply legal claim by themselves in any matter in which there is a concern that their rights may 2  See Ben-Arieh (2006) for description of the different aspects of need, the changes of it over the years and its consequences in Israel. 3  See Kosher et al. (2016) “Why Should We Let the Child Participate?” for more information on the outcome of the child’s participation.

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be harmed. Another example is the amendments to the Youth (Care and Supervision) Law (1995) that determines that the court is obligated to give the child, the person responsible for him or her and the welfare officer an opportunity to state their arguments before making a decision on the child’s case. However, it is evident that a clear policy that requires children to be heard on different issues regarding their life is nonexistent (Ben-Arieh & Kimhi, 2007). Additionally, another approach that policymakers should take into account in their work is the intersectionality approach (Nadan & Korbin, 2019). Nadan and Korbin (2019) suggested that policymakers should use the intersectionality approach in order to move from unidimensional and linear explanations to complex, multi-­ dimensional explanations and solutions in order to understand not only the cultural context, but other factors for understanding child vulnerability as well.

2.7  Challenges in Implementing Children’s Participation Implementing children’s participation in the child welfare and child protection system in Israel is a complex and challenging mission. The national reform of child protection practice attempts to include the participation on behalf of parents and children when it comes down to intervention decisions (Kosher et al., 2016). The reality is that children’s opinions are actually not being taken into account in PIECs (Alfandari, 2015a, 2015b; Oppenheim-Weller, Schwartz, & Ben-Arieh, 2017). The restorative child protection practice that considers children to be active participants in the decision-making processes that impact them directly, rather than as being seen as addendums or the occasional guest, has yet to be fully put into practice in Israel (Gal, 2015; Kilkelly & Donnelly, 2011; McCafferty, 2017). Findings by Oppenheim-Weller et al. (2017) indicate that at-risk children are more likely to be involved in treatment planning and assessment committees when child protection social workers prepare parents prior to their participation in the committee meetings, and when the coordinators assigned the case are more senior. As described, there are challenges in implementing child participants in Israel. First, the Social Service Department’s organizational working environment and culture, as well as unreasonable and intensive caseloads of over one hundred families per child protection social worker, are not equipped to give greater preference to children’s views (e.g., Fryer, Poland, Bross, & Krugman, 1988; Itzick & Kagan, 2016). Secondly, the lack of time and communication skills among the professionals’ assisting children and parents, as well as the need for an established protocol regarding the practice’s priorities and differences in personal judgments of PIEC coordinators. Additionally, inconsistencies in the application of these guidelines in Social Services Departments due a lack of a solid foundation of the same guidelines in legislation, is another factor that has a negative impact (Alfandari, 2015b, 2016). Finally, Alfandari (2015a, 2015b) reports that not all PIEC abide by the decision-­ making framework and supplementary user’s guide as established by the Israeli Ministry of Labor, Social Affairs and Social Services which often creates

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adaptations, shortened versions, or does not use the set framework at all. This adversely affects the reform’s overall therapeutic objective of formulating effective and custom-made intervention plans that along with parents’ views and wishes, also take into account the children’s needs and preferences. The lack of participation in Israel is damaging, firstly to the minority groups that already suffer from the lack of a policy that is adapted to their culture. In addition, there is a lack of context and cultural awareness in the social services that leads to a circle of double exclusion from participation and from the actual policy. The challenges lie in accessibility barriers and equal rights. The results are social protests from minorities such as the LGBT community, refugees, or the Ethiopian community, which ask to equalize rights in participation, policy, social services and society. These protests urge policymakers to hear the voices of these groups. They demand their participatory rights in order to create social reform and create tailored policies for all groups.

2.8  Summary and Future Directions The uniqueness of the state of Israel is reflected in the diversity of its population. There is a gap between the perception of policy towards children suffering from maltreatment and the perceptions of minority groups living in Israel. The development concept of risk for children leads to the need to look at minority groups and to understand how social policy in Israel can be contextual and culturally aware. This chapter discussed the ways in which the gap between social policy towards child maltreatment and minority groups can be bridged is by community organizations, parents and children’s participation. While increasing the context-informed understanding of child maltreatment among professionals and policymakers is essential, children’s safety is of the highest priority and must not be overlooked. It is important to note that cultural norms may justify harmful practices or in turn cause professionals to decide not to interfere. Thus, context and culture awareness may provide tools to deal with child maltreatment but should be careful not to enable it. Another important reservation is the difficulty to adapt Israeli policy and rules to each minority group. This is not only due to the amount of the groups, but also to the differences within the groups’ legislation of specific rules for each minority, who according to its general characteristics will ignore the differences between individuals in the same culture. The tension between children’s right to be protected and participate in decisions regarding their lives and universal laws and social policies seems to create many challenges. However, the quest to make both policy makers and the professionals who implement the policies more contextual and culturally sensitive and aware of the above challenges seems essential.

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Chapter 3

Context-Informed Research on Child Risk and Protection: Principles and Challenges Ibtisam Marey-Sarwan and Natalie Ulitsa

3.1  C  ontext-Informed Methodologies for the Study of Child Risk and Protection In my pilot interview, as I was asking Rachel about the incident in which a family member molested her daughter, she started crying and asked to end the interview. I felt terrible because I did not have much experience in working with Ultra-Orthodox families. It was only later that I realized I should not have used the direct and open (not culturally proper) language when interviewing her. When I discussed it with my research group, they helped me re-write the interview guide and told me how to dress and how to connect.

The above report took place in a qualitative thesis seminar in which master’s students were practicing pilot interviews. Qualitative research is often praised for expressing the voices of excluded minorities or silenced groups and for being an important tool for advancing social change (Creswell & Creswell, 2017; Zapata-­ Barrero & Yalaz, 2018). However, much thought, caution, contextual awareness, adaptation, creation of new methodologies, training and reflection processes are needed in order to adhere to the principle of “do no harm” (Wood, 2006). This is especially important in contexts of political violence and religious and ethnic I. Marey-Sarwan (*) The Arab Academic College for Education, Haifa, Israel NEVET-Greenhouse of Context-Informed Research and Training for Children in Need, The Paul Baerwald School of Social Work and Social Welfare, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem, Israel e-mail: [email protected] N. Ulitsa Faculty of Social Welfare and Health Sciences, The University of Haifa, Haifa, Israel NEVET-Greenhouse of Context-Informed Research and Training for Children in Need, The Paul Baerwald School of Social Work and Social Welfare, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem, Israel © Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2020 D. Roer-Strier, Y. Nadan (eds.), Context-Informed Perspectives of Child Risk and Protection in Israel, Child Maltreatment 10, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-44278-1_3

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schisms, where researchers and participants come from conflicted groups (ShalhoubKevorkian, 2012; Shalhoub-Kevorkian & Roer-Strier, 2016). Taking measures to protect the research encounter from the prospect of creating or promoting risk is one of the basic concerns of context-informed research. In the first part of this chapter, we will outline main methodological aspects used by the majority of NEVET-Greenhouse (NEVET) researchers who participated in the studies examining perspectives of parents, children and social workers regarding child risk and protection presented in Chaps. 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, and 14 of this book. In the second part, we will discuss the “do no harm” and other methodological principles and challenges of context-informed research on issues related to child risk and protection.

3.2  T  he Qualitative, Constructivist Grounded Theory Approach The studies on child risk and protection described in this book utilize a qualitative approach aimed at holistically understanding phenomena by examining perceptions, worldviews, and meanings that are influenced by environmental contexts and the participants’ subjective interpretations (Denzin & Lincoln, 2011). The qualitative paradigm is suitable for the documentation of perceptions, experiences, constructions and subjective meaning. It sees the world as complex and dynamic, containing numerous layers of meanings and views acted upon by the environmental context (Shkedi, 2005, 2011). It takes on great importance, since scholars examining Middle Eastern contexts have pointed out that qualitative methods typically offer a more politically-sensitive approach to research than quantitative methods (Clark, 2006; Romano, 2006). Those approaches can also assist researchers in being more transparent in terms of their choices, analytical categories, and compromises (Jacobsen & Landau, 2003). The studies presented in this book utilize a grounded theory (GT) methodology, aimed at the systematic development of a conceptual model grounded in data. Originating in the work of Glaser and Strauss (1967), GT is now one of the most widely-used qualitative methodologies in the social sciences and has been identified as particularly relevant to social work (Oliver, 2011). GT seeks to achieve a holistic understanding of phenomena by examining individual perceptions, worldviews, and meanings and their relationship with broader interpersonal and social processes and environmental contexts (Corbin & Strauss, 2014; Denzin & Lincoln, 2011). The studies presented in the book employ the constructivist version of GT, which places the research process and product in historical, social, and situational conditions and adopts a more critical approach to the inquiry, as it seeks to expose, oppose, and redress forms of oppression, inequality, and injustice (Charmaz, 2014, 2017). In the following sections, we will summarize the data about participants, data collection procedures and the analysis of different studies. More detailed information about these issues with the specific groups of populations can be found in the individual chapters.

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3.3  Participants The participants in the studies presented in this book were parents (mothers and fathers), children and professionals (social workers) providing services to children at risk from different population groups (Table 3.1).

3.3.1  Parents Several studies were conducted with mothers and fathers. Parents act as gateway providers (Stiffman, Pescosolido, & Cabassa, 2004) by recognizing the child’s need for help and protection and taking the necessary steps to obtain it. They possess and can share important knowledge regarding culture, contexts, challenges, and successful ways of coping with these challenges.

3.3.2  Children Children are the main figures and primary focus of the field of child protection, although their voices are rarely presented in the scientific and professional literature regarding child protection. Nevertheless, recognition of the importance of including young children in research, theorizing from their voices and examining their perceptions regarding risk and protection in context can constitute the basis for future in-depth studies and can therefore make a significant contribution to the body of research on childhood and to its theoretical and empirical underpinnings (Marey-­ Sarwan, 2019). Including their perspectives in discourse about children’s risk and protection is a growing trend in social work and related disciplines, in both academia and the practical realm (Andresen & Fegter, 2011; Ben-Arieh, 2005).

3.3.3  Professionals Professionals hold powerful positions in the arena of child protection and have the ability to influence the lives of children and families. Identifying, understanding and documenting the perceptions of professionals working with various  populations, can provide important insight into challenges and successful means and contribute promotion of context-adapted interventions. Assessing their perceptions can also highlight the aspects that needed to be addressed in order to strengthen professionals’ contextual and cultural competence. Comparing, contrasting, and triangulating the perspectives of service providers (social workers) and service users (parents and children) may provide a platform for unpacking the universal versus context-informed dilemmas of child risk, wellbeing, and protection.

Noémie Bloomberg, Yan Serdtse Chapter 9 Ibtisam Marey-­Sarwan and Galit Meir Chapter 10 Natalie Ulitsa, Lital Yona, Anna Gogonsky and Dorit Roer-Strier Chapter 11 Lital Yona

Chapter 8

15 33 Bedouin mothers and 15 social workers 40 one-and-­a-half generation parents (25 mothers and 15 fathers) and 16 social workers 20

French Jewish immigrant Mothers Mothers and Social Workers Parents and Social Workers Single mothers

Unrecognized villages in the Naqab Immigrants from the Former Soviet Union

Impoverished NeighborhoodBeersheba

Ultra-­Orthodox community

Hannah Bartl, Heidi Keller, Natali Zohar and Nira Wahle

Chapter 7

30 one-and-­a-half generation Ethiopian mothers 20 Ethiopian men and women 50 Ethiopians from thirteen extended families (first, second and one-and-a-­half generations) 45 parents (24 mothers and 21 Parents and professionals working fathers) and 40 professionals within the community (30 men and 10 women). in Israel Sephardic Ultra-­ 5 large families (with 5–9 Orthodox families children each) Ethiopian people

Ethiopian Jewish community in Israel

Number of participants 50 parents and 30 social workers

Participants Parents and social workers

Community Ethiopian Jewish community in Israel

Rivka Keesing, Netanel Ultra-­Orthodox Gemara and Mani Pollak community

Authors Shelly Engdau-­Vanda, Michal Gatenio-­Kalush and Bat-Hen Karni Michal Gatenio-­Kalush, Shelly Engdau-­Vanda, and Naomi Shmuel

Chapter 6

Chapter 5

Chapter 4

Table 3.1  Breakdown of the research’s samples

A tour of the neighborhood and in-depth, semi-­structured interviews

In-depth, semi-­structured interviews including an “ice-breaker” drawing task and 15 open-ended questions about family In-depth, semi-­structured interviews In-depth, semi-­structured interviews In-depth, semi-­structured interviews

In-depth, semi-­structured interviews

In-depth, semi-­structured interviews

Research tools In-depth, semi-­structured interviews

30 I. Marey-Sarwan and N. Ulitsa

Children

Children

Reflections on Research Group Processes

Palestinians in East Jerusalem

Eleven different communities in Israel

Religious Communities in Israel

Chapter 13 Bella Kovner

Chapter 14 Yael Ponizovsky-­ Bergelson, Yael Dayan, Ibtisam Marey-­Sarwan, Dorit Roer-Strier and Nira Wahle Chapter 15 Dafna Tener, Amitai Marmor, Efrat Lusky Weiserose, Aya Almog-­ Zaken, Tsofnat Melamed Filtser, Efrat Lehman Shalit and Shosh Turjeman

Men and Social Workers

Eritrean Refugees-­Israel

Chapter 12 Lior Birger

N/A

N/A

260 children ages 3–6

N/A

In-depth, semi-­structured interviews and a socio-­ demographic questionnaire A secondary review of academic scholarship and NGO reports Children’s drawings and photos, as well as verbal explanations and descriptions

7 refugee men and 12 social workers

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3.4  D  ata Collection in the Studies with Parents and Professionals 3.4.1  Recruitment and the Samples’ Compositions Grounded theory designs rely on theoretical sampling, which is a method of data collection based on concepts derived from data in order to maximize opportunities to develop concepts in terms of their properties and dimensions, uncover variations, and identify relationships between concepts (Corbin & Strauss, 2014). The samples’ composition in the presented studies were selected based on a substantial concept of diversity as our studies evolved to diverse definitions of risk and protection among parents, children and social workers. Our studies combined two basic principles of purposeful sampling: (1) comparison-­focused sampling; an in-depth examination of the significant similarities and differences between cases (i.e. social workers who belong to the community as opposed to those who do not) and the factors that explain those differences; (2) maximum variation sampling in each composition in order to achieve a variation in the dimensions of interest. This assisted us in documenting diversity and in identifying important patterns that recurred across the diverse samples (Patton, 2015). The final sample size was determined using the principle of saturation—the point at which all major categories are fully developed, show variation, and are integrated (Corbin & Strauss, 2014). Participants were initially recruited according to the criteria relevant for each group of participants (as will be specified in the following chapters) through targeted sampling and by directly approaching parents, children and social workers. Subsequently, the samples were expanded through snowball sampling (Moser & Korstjens, 2018; Patton, 2002).

3.4.2  Instruments and Procedures Data were collected via in-depth, semi-structured interviews (Creswell, 2005; Creswell & Creswell, 2017; Nathan, Newman, & Lancaster, 2018). The co-editors of the book, together with the research groups, developed the interview guide which was refined throughout the studies and underwent context-informed adaptations for the different groups of parents and professionals (e.g., Marey-Sarwan & Roer-Strier, 2017; Nadan, Weinberg-Kurnik, & Ben-Ari, 2016; Roer-Strier, 2001), as well as for children (e.g., Nadan, 2016; Wahle, Ponizovsky-Bergelson, Dayan, Erlichman, & Roer-Strier, 2017). The interviews were held in the participants’ native language or in Hebrew, according to the interviewee’s preference to ensure that language would not be a barrier to the participant’s self-expression. Interviews were conducted at the parents’ homes, workplaces of the social workers or other meeting places (e.g., office of the interviewer).

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Data Collection in the Studies with Parents The researchers asked participants to describe risk and protection in concrete and everyday language. For example: “Tell me a little bit about the children in your community; what do you perceive as causes or expressions of risk for these children and their development? What can be done to protect children?” In general, participants were prompted to describe risks in the cognitive, physical, emotional, and social domains of child development and were asked for examples and clarifications when they were needed. The researchers also asked them to offer ideas for culturally appropriate prevention and intervention. Participants were prodded to elaborate on their views and offer more than one answer. Probing included encouragements like, “This is very helpful, can you tell me more about it? Can you give me an example?” Interviews lasted, on average, one to two hours each and were audio taped and transcribed and later translated (if needed). Data Collection in the Studies with Social Workers The studies with social workers employed an adaptation of the in-depth semi-structured interview guide described above. The interview guide covered the following areas: (1) perceptions of risk and protection for children and families within a specific group; (2) description of the actual daily practice of social work with children at risk, including examples; (3) examples of successful practice, challenges, and dilemmas arising from the work in this field; and (4) experiences of professional training throughout their career and its relevancy to actual practice. Data Collection from Children (See Chap. 14)

3.4.3  Socio-demographic Questionnaires Socio-demographic questionnaires were completed by the participant’s parents and professionals. A socio-demographic questionnaire aimed at collecting basic information about parents’ ages, immigration background, cultural and religious affiliation, gender, marital status, number of children in the family, number of paternal and maternal siblings, parental employment, etc. For the social workers, the socio-­ demographic questionnaire also included questions about professional training and number of years of experience in the field.

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3.4.4  Research Groups The studies described in this book took place in the framework of NEVET’s research groups. In each group, senior researchers supervised the research and took part in training, data analysis and the reporting of the findings. In order to allow for more variations of researcher-participant relationships and power relations, not only participants but also interviewers occupied “insider” and “outsider” positions (Ben-Ari & Enosh, 2013; Roer-Strier & Sands, 2015). Interviews were conducted by trained “insiders”: PhD candidates who shared background, language or other commonalities with the groups studied. “Outsiders” were Master’s students who did not belong to the communities under study (for a more detailed discussion on the term insider and outsider see Chap. 16). Group meetings of the researchers were held throughout the study. The unique composition of the research group—which included experts in the field of qualitative analysis, practitioners in child welfare and child protection, and individuals belonging to the different groups under study—provided multiple perspectives for analyzing the raw data and  debating differences until a consensus was achieved (investigator triangulation).

3.5  Data Analysis The researchers performed data collection and analysis in parallel to achieve a circular connection between the two (Corbin & Strauss, 2014). Firstly, all interviews were audio-recorded, fully transcribed verbatim and anonymized. Transcripts were translated into both Hebrew and English. The texts were read and re-read several times by the researchers. All of the participants’ answers to each question were grouped together so that they could be easily considered at the same time (Denzin & Lincoln, 2011; Elliott, 2005). Researchers used Narralizer and Dedoose, qualitative analysis softwares, to aid in the analysis of the qualitative data. The softwares allowed for a systematic analysis of information units that consists of codes (basic units of words or phrases) (Denzin & Lincoln, 2011; Giannantonio, 2010; Shkedi, 2011). For each group, two independent coders carried out the open coding and defined the key categories emerging from the data (Creswell, 2012; Denzin & Lincoln, 2011). Secondly, axial coding was conducted in order to identify the relationships between the categories, according to the content and context, and to organize them into themes. The coders compared their definitions of the codes, categories, themes and ratings. In cases of discrepancies, the coders discussed them with the research team until they reached a consensus (Guion, 2002). In order to contribute to the conceptual model, integration was achieved by looking for relationships among the themes and by looking for similarities and differences between the groups (Charmaz, 2014; Corbin & Strauss, 2014).

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3.6  Research Rigor In qualitative research, the terms “rigor” and “trustworthiness” replace the terms “validity” and “reliability” (Denzin & Lincoln, 2011). In order to promote the study’s rigor, the researchers’ triangulation described above was conducted (Creswell, 2005). In addition, the researchers who collected data kept a field diary in order to enable the triangulation of data, to understand the interviews in context and to provide a means of reflection for the interviewers. All of the study data and the different stages of analysis were saved in order to allow for the examination and assessment of the researcher’s conclusions and reliability of the collected data (Denzin & Lincoln, 2011; Shkedi, 2005).

3.7  Ethical Considerations The Ethics Committee of the Paul Baerwald School of Social Work and Social Welfare at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem gave its approval to all the studies conducted by the NEVET researchers. The committee requested the inclusion of a reference to the law obligating the reporting of violence and abuse on all consent forms. Since the topics of risk and maltreatment are sensitive issues, participants were informed about the possibility of declining their participation at any time during the interview process. They were also offered referrals to professional help when needed. All of the participants were guaranteed confidentiality and anonymity. They agreed to be recorded and signed consent forms prior to their participation. Participants’ names that appear in quotations have been changed to pseudonyms in order to protect their privacy (Allen & Wiles, 2016).

3.8  Challenges in Context-Informed Research Context-informed research addresses complex issues and requires creativity and sensitivity in building research tools, the adaptation of methodologies and tools, training and reflection processeses (Freund & Band-Winterstein, 2017). Studies conducted in conflict zones point to various methodological and ethical challenges facing researchers who attempt to “do no harm” in highly polarized research settings (Roer-Strier & Sands, 2015; Shalhoub-Kevorkian & Roer-Strier, 2016; Wood, 2006). Context-informed qualitative research depends on a deep understanding of multiple contexts and the complexity of participants’ experiences (e.g., Marey-­ Sarwan, 2019; Marey-Sarwan & Roer-Strier, 2017; Marey-Sarwan, Roer-Strier, & Otto, 2018; Nadan, Roer-Strier, Gemara, Engdau-Vanda, & Tener, 2018). Consequently, participants are regarded as people with expertise and contextual knowledge. Forming an alliance between researchers and participants is the first

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challenge of context- informed research (Marey-Sarwan, Roer-Strier, & Strier, 2020). On the one hand, power relations and positionalities are often discussed in relation to the interview process, as the interviewer selects and asks the questions, resulting in asymmetrical and hierarchical relations (Kvale, 2006; McCorkel & Myers, 2003). On the other hand, interviewees have power in their possession of knowledge that interviewers wish to acquire. They can assert their power by refusing to be interviewed, withholding information, choosing to remain silent, sidestepping the question or telling the interviewer what he/she seems to want to hear (Bengtsson & Fynbo, 2018; Kvale, 2006). Positionality is manifested in the interviewer’s social locations (race, gender, class, religion, etc.) in relation to the interviewee (Pustulka, Bell, & Trąbka, 2019; Wolf, 1996). The interviewer’s positionality may be troubling to the interviewee. Researchers who are members of a privileged or dominant group may, wittingly or unwittingly, portray the role of the oppressor in cross-cultural interviewing. In such cases, the interview may turn into an arena for mutual ‘Othering’ (Bott, 2010; Krumer-Nevo, 2002). In order to create more balance in the interviewer–interviewee relationship, some researchers negotiate collaborative relationships with the interviewees (Merriam et al., 2001). Others argue that interviewing an individual from one’s own group leads to a more balanced view or to the acquiring of privileged information (Wolf, 1996). However, while such practices imply that they are dealing with power differentials, they do not explicitly take them into account; rather, they essentialize insiders, rendering them homogenous entities (Bhavnani, Chua, & Collins, 2014). Similar to anti-oppressive (Dominelli, 2017; Strier & Binyamin, 2013) and feminist research (Nielsen, 2019), context-informed research is aware of the challenge and danger that research may reproduce and intensify unequal power relations between the researcher and the researched and between academic institutions and populations that do not have access to knowledge and to processes of knowledge creation (Daly, 2016). However, overcoming the above challenges may assist context-informed research in becoming a potential strategy to destabilize binary and oppressive theoretical, methodological and practical boundaries and discourses with minority and silenced populations (Marey-Sarwan et al., 2020). Kincheloe (2011), building on the theoretical concepts of Freire, Weber, Bakhatin, Habermas and others, has called for the creation of a new form of multidimensional scholarship. They argued for a methodological and multidisciplinary bricolage, which they call “critical humility.” The proposed bricolage requires an awareness and the development of the researcher’s analytical consciousness in respect to the numerous complex and entangled contexts that shape the researcher’s narrative, such as political and social position, religious or ethical affiliation or one’s own personal or group history. The task of the bricoleur is to interrogate the complexities of the multiple contexts, uncovering the otherwise invisible artifacts of the asymmetries of power and multiplicity of contexts, and to document the nature of their multidirectional influence, focusing on culture, language, power, desire, enlightenment and emancipation. Shalhoub-Kevorkian and Roer-Strier (2016) propose that the above perspective is essential for context-informed research in order to overcome positionality and power challenges. They discuss the advantages of

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research group work for promoting context-informed reflexivity, emancipatory consciousness and academic activism. A number of feminist researchers recommend reflexivity in tandem with positionality and the consideration of power relations as a means of understanding the research process, and as protection against researcher bias (e.g., Finlay, 2002; Fonow & Cook, 1991; Wolf, 1996). Interpreted in a variety of ways (D’Cruz, Gillingham, & Melendez, 2007), reflexivity is generally understood as the researcher’s ongoing process of examining and acknowledging her/his roles within and outside the research, as well as the intersubjective dynamics that may affect the research (Bott, 2010; Deutsch, 2004; Finlay, 2002). The term reflexivity is also understood as examining how knowledge is constructed, how power relations operate, and the role of emotions in this process (D’Cruz et al., 2007). In this regard, Pelias’s (2016) discussion of personal and public realization is relevant. Personal realization is a process of reflection in which researchers/writers put themselves in touch with their attitudes, beliefs, political investments, relational attachments, and identity. Public realization places the researchers in contact with the social or cultural sphere in which structural arrangements and institutional practices guide human behavior and control human desires, dictate entitlements, and support privileges and political injustice. Pelias (2016) notes that personal and public realizations are connected. In this book, we view these two processes as being interrelated. Research group participation may expand individual reflexivity to be context-­ informed and sensitive to group reflexivity. Based on previous and current research team’s discussions, context-informed group reflexivity is seen as an acquired ability to recognize and consider multiple contexts and their effects not only on the people under study, but also on the individual researcher as a participant in an ethnic, religious or national minority or majority group. Context-informed reflexivity is based on an understanding of the power relations and asymmetries embedded in the process of research and their effect on the researcher’s abilities to detect, understand, name and deal with the researched phenomenon. Shalhoub-Kevorkian and Roer-­ Strier (2016) argue that context-informed reflexivity is also the growing ability to deal with one’s blind spots and denial. It helps to view oneself through the eyes of the other and offers oppositional forms of consciousness, which create research as a mode of resistance-forming solid ground for the mobilization against injustice. Context-informed research group work is seen as a catalyst for raising consciousness, which can only be nurtured through dialogue. Mobilization against injustice may result in academic activism. This activism takes place in academic and non-­ academic writing, documenting, acknowledging, presenting and representing the risk and protection findings. In particular, it takes place in findings related to racism, exclusion, political violence and other social inflicted risks. Academic activism includes taking steps to name and condemn ideologies, politics and methods that contribute to risk for children. The microclimate in the research team may be seen as creating a community of concern and of resistance, a liminal “homeplace” for a hopeful example of mutual listening and exchange. Even though many of the researchers who were involved in the studies described in this book were practitioners, they reported experiencing changes in the ways they viewed risk

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and protection in their social work settings; two resigned their positions and others chose to take active measures toward achieving social change. Researchers reported that engaging in the process of working with their diverse research groups enhanced both their emancipatory consciousness and their academic activism.

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Oliver, C. (2011). Critical realist grounded theory: A new approach for social work research. British Journal of Social Work, 42(2), 371–387. Patton, M. Q. (2002). Qualitative research and evaluation methods. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage. Patton, M. Q. (2015). Qualitative research & evaluation methods: Integrating theory and practice (4th ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage. Pelias, R. J. (2016). Leaning: A poetics of personal relations. New York, NY: Routledge. Pustulka, P., Bell, J., & Trąbka, A. (2019). Questionable insiders: Changing positionalities of interviewers throughout stages of migration research. Field Methods, 31(3), 241–259. https://doi. org/10.1177/1525822X19839368 Roer-Strier, D. (2001). Reducing risk for children in changing cultural contexts: Recommendations for intervention and training. Child Abuse & Neglect, 25(2), 231–248. Roer-Strier, D., & Sands, R. G. (2015). Moving beyond the ‘official story’: When ‘others’ meet in a qualitative interview. Qualitative Research, 15(2), 251–268. Romano, D. (2006). Conducting research in the Middle East’s conflict zones. Political Science & Politics, 39(3), 439–441. Shalhoub-Kevorkian, N. (2012). Trapped: The violence of exclusion in Jerusalem. The Jerusalem Quarterly, 49, 6–25. Accessed December 16, 2019, from http://www.jerusalemquarterly.org/ ViewArticle.aspx?id_399 Shalhoub-Kevorkian, N., & Roer-Strier, D. (2016). Context-informed, counter-hegemonic qualitative research: Insights from an Israeli/Palestinian research team studying loss. Qualitative Social Work, 15(4), 552–569. Shkedi, A. (2005). Multiple case narrative: A qualitative approach to studying multiple populations (Vol. 7). Philadelphia, PA: John Benjamins. Shkedi, A. (2011). In [Hebrew] (Ed.), The meaning behind the words: Methodologies of qualitative research: Theory and practice. Tel Aviv, Israel: Ramot Tel Aviv University. Stiffman, A. R., Pescosolido, B., & Cabassa, L. J. (2004). Building a model to understand youth service access: The gateway provider model. Mental Health Services Research, 6(4), 189–198. Strier, R., & Binyamin, S. (2013). Introducing anti-oppressive social work practices in public services: Rhetoric to practice. The British Journal of Social Work, 44(8), 2095–2112. Wahle, N., Ponizovsky-Bergelson, Y., Dayan, Y., Erlichman, O., & Roer-Strier, D. (2017). On the margins of racism, immigration and war: Perspectives on risk and protection of young children of Ethiopian origin in Israel. European Early Childhood Education Research Journal, 25(2), 305–320. Wolf, D. (1996). Situating feminist dilemmas in fieldwork. In W. Diana (Ed.), Feminist dilemmas in fieldwork (pp. 1–55). Boulder, CO: Westview Press. Wood, E. J. (2006). The ethical challenges of field research in conflict zones. Qualitative Sociology, 29(3), 373–386. Zapata-Barrero, R., & Yalaz, E. (Eds.). (2018). Qualitative research in European migration studies. Barcelona: Springer.

Chapter 4

Risk Complexity—Culture and Identity in Migration: The Case of Ethiopian Jews Michal Gatenio-Kalush, Shelly Engdau-Vanda, and Naomi Shmuel

4.1  I dentity in Immigration and the Duality of Risk and Protection While risk and protection are discussed in the literature as separate entities, many of the chapters in this book suggest that these constructs are not binary homogenous entities. The case of identity formation of those who immigrated as children and were educated in the host country (one-and-a-half generation) and of children of these immigrants born in the host culture (second generation), gives us an opportunity to discuss the dynamic nature and the complexity of risk and protection. As identity changes from one generation to another are influenced by historical events, parenting, socialization attitudes of the host country among other contexts, we need a more multidimensional view on this phenomenon.

Michal Gatenio Kalush completed her Post-Doctoral Fellowship at MOFET Institute. Naomi Shmuel is an author, illustrator and anthropologist. She teaches at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem, specializing in families in transition and training professionals for working in culturally diverse environments. M. Gatenio-Kalush NEVET-Greenhouse, the Paul Baerwald School of Social Work and Social Welfare, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem, Israel School of Social Work, Sapir Academic College, Sderot, Negev, Israel Bar-Ilan University, Ramat Gan, Israel e-mail: [email protected] S. Engdau-Vanda (*) · N. Shmuel NEVET-Greenhouse, the Paul Baerwald School of Social Work and Social Welfare, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem, Israel e-mail: [email protected] © Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2020 D. Roer-Strier, Y. Nadan (eds.), Context-Informed Perspectives of Child Risk and Protection in Israel, Child Maltreatment 10, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-44278-1_4

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We begin this chapter with a brief background on the Ethiopian Jewish community in Israel, followed by an explanation of our studies. We then proceed to discuss culture and identity in immigration, the viability of a hybrid or bicultural identity and ambivalent identities, illustrated by the example of the immigrant’s journey to Israel via Sudan as a formative experience. We continue with identity and immigration as factors in risk or resilience, following immigration and the issue of skin color. We then discuss differences between first, second and one-and-a-half generation immigrants, and the consequences of public policy and the ‘risk industry’ on the immigrant’s experiences.

4.2  The Ethiopian Community in Israel There are currently 141,200 Ethiopian Jews (also known as Beta Israel) living in Israel today (CBS, 2016), approximately one third of whom (55,500) were born in Israel to an Ethiopian father, while 85,700 were born in Ethiopia. Ethiopian Jews1 immigrated to Israel in Operation Moses in 1984 (7000), and Operation Solomon in 1991 (14,260) and were initially directed to absorption centers (Mantbar, 2011). The transition that Operation Solomon immigrants faced, moving from one civilization to a fundamentally different one in a short period of time, is a rare event in human history (Westheimer & Kaplan, 1992). In Ethiopia, most of the Jews lived in small villages in the north-western part of the country, primarily in the Gondar and Tigray regions, for hundreds of years (Kaplan & Rosen, 1993). Their villages were isolated and self-sufficient and communities led a segregated lifestyle that was dominated by religion. Most of the villages were completely cut off from technological innovations, and most residents subsisted through the traditional methods of agriculture and basket-weaving (Banay, 1988). Ethiopian Jews lived in extended families where a communal household was comprised of several families living in a cluster of adjacent huts. The social sphere was characterized by familial ties however the concept of “family” is different from how it is regarded in the West. The “betesev” refers to home dwellers (it can include people not related by blood) whereas “zamad” includes a wider category of relations (Levine, 1965). In Ethiopia, the ability to recall relatives seven or eight generations back is of great social significance, marking social status and legitimacy while the lack of such knowledge is a distinct sign of social inferiority (Salamon, 1999: 74; Shmuel, 2010). The home served as the center of daily activities (Bodovsky, David, Baruch, & Eran, 1994). In addition to these homes, which appeared to be similar to the huts of other (non-Jewish) groups, Ethiopian Jews also maintained special buildings that reflected their religious identity, such as a house of prayer and a menstruation hut (Salamon, 2007a).

 For a history of Ethiopian Jewry see Kaplan and Rosen (1998), and Kaplan (2007).

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Childhood is a socially constructed phenomenon embedded within different contexts such as time, space, culture and religion (Lancy, 2008). In Ethiopia, children took part in village activities and contributed according to their age and ability. Children were regarded as an asset; their self-image as able and capable was developed as a result of their natural contribution to the family (Shmuel, 2010). In such a society, an abundance of children is an investment in the future. This is in comparison to Western societies where children are an emotional rather than a practical asset (Ijzendoorn, Bakermans-Kranenburg, & Sagi-Schwartz, 2006). There, individuals without families were at the bottom of the social ladder (Salamon, 2007b). The majority of children raised in Ethiopia did not go to school. Socialization of children and youngsters took place in the community, through observation and engaging in work performed around the home as their elder’s apprentices, which led them to imitating their practices. Children were expected to learn their chores and social skills of their own volition, as opposed to the children in Western society who are expected to learn via adult instruction (Lancy, Bock, & Gaskins, 2010). Children also learned a great deal from one another as it was common for siblings (and other relatives) to care for each other (Konner, 2010; Maynard & Tovote, 2012). The means of education commonly held by Ethiopian parents included: a rich oral tradition of proverbs and stories; a cohesive community providing an extensive support network for every child (as the proverb “it takes a village to raise a child” suggests); a lifestyle that enabled parents and children to spend a lot of time together, fostering strong family ties and intuitive communication; a social hierarchy based on age and gender; and the legitimacy of physical and verbal punishment to ensure discipline (Freiher, 1996; Shmuel, 2010). The dream of returning to the Holy Land was a key motif in the lives of Ethiopian Jews. Stories of Jerusalem (called “Yerusalem”) were recounted at every opportunity and constituted part of the education that parents gave to their children (Shato, 2011). Family transition from Ethiopia to Israel is unique. It involves a combination of sudden dramatic changes and the immediate necessity for each family to cope without any preliminary preparation.2 Changing power relations within the family, on the basis of gender and age, challenges the ability of family members to pull together and cope as a cohesive unit. Each immigrant family develops their own dialogue to deal with these dramatic changes; their specific coping mechanisms create the reality into which their Israeli-born children grow up.

4.3  The Studies This chapter is based on findings from three different qualitative studies on the Ethiopian Jewish community in Israel and will be outlined in more detail in this section.

 For a detailed discussion on these changes see Shmuel (2017).

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Gatenio-Kalush’s (2015) study examines the perceptions and child care practices of 30 mothers born in Ethiopia (belonging to the one-and-a-half generation). Their average age of immigration to Israel was seven years old. The researcher conducted qualitative interviews with mothers approximately 3 months after they gave birth and once again after the child’s first birthday. One of the questions in this study was: How do mothers from the Ethiopian community describe the different components of their identity? The analysis of the interviews suggests a broad repertoire of identities that may contribute to resilience or, alternatively, to risk. Shmuel’s (2017) research connects folklore studies and the study of families in transition. This facilitates an examination of the process of continuity and change amongst Ethiopian immigrant families in Israel. Specifically, it explores the place of cultural heritage in inter-generational relations, and how this heritage is changed and re-formed by cultural transition. Shmuel interviewed 50 people from 13 extended families; the interviewees varied in age and educational background. Interviewees either were born in Israel or arrived as infants (second generation) or made the perilous journey by foot from Ethiopia to Sudan to reach Israel as older children or as adults (first and one-and-a-half generations). Engdau (2010) studied the life stories of 20 Jews from Ethiopia who made the journey to Israel via Sudan on foot as children in the 1980s and people’s experiences as new immigrants. Most of those interviewed were men and women in their twenties. Her study examines the issues of integration or marginality in Israel from the subjective point of view of young members of the Ethiopian community. The informants demonstrate critical and reflective contemplation about their lives, the integration, the Ethiopian community and Israeli society.

4.4  Culture and Identity in Migration We understand identity as being rooted in culture and changes throughout the different stages of a person’s life (Chávez & Guido-DiBrito, 1999). Group identity is expressed by shared views, customs and values, as well as sanctions based on the deviance from acceptable norms. Ethnic identity is a psycho-social process in which people develop a self-image based on ethnicity, that considers a critical developmental goal (Hargrow, 2001), especially during adolescence (Shato, 2011). However, identity is more than self-definition or group affiliation, identity is also about social involvement and gives meaning to life. In other words, identity is not only a category; it is an experience involving participation and demonstration. Thus, identity is emotional and psychological and is connected to deep perceptions of self-worth (Berhanu, 2005). During periods of transition, as people are faced with change, this fundamental meaning is questioned, and long-held assumptions about society and self may lose their validity. In Ethiopia, identity was derived from one’s genealogy and family, and one’s collective identity was manifest in a sense of self that was inseparable from the collective. In contrast, in Israel, individual identity is dominant, and is formed in a

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more personally active manner, distinct from the community (Salamon, 1999). This differentiation is very significant for children growing up in-between cultures as it creates a detached self that requires reconstruction and then re-affirmation of belonging to one or both cultures. All three studies reflect the spectrum of identities as Israeli, Ethiopian, or both, as expressed by interviewees. In view of these findings, the following questions arise: In what context can people be Ethiopian and/or Israeli? Is it possible to be both at the same time? Under what circumstances can people form a viable hybrid or bicultural identity, and at what personal cost? Hybrid identity includes the ability to function effectively in both cultures (Benet-Martínez, Leu, Lee, & Morris, 2002). The following is an example of adjusting to the dynamic cultural environment from Shmuel’s (2017) study: “When I visit Ethiopia, that’s where I come from, I know the language, and I enjoy the music, the food. I know how to utilize this [knowledge] when working with Ethiopian parents, it serves me well.” The same person, describing her skills as an Israeli: ‘I work with everybody, mostly Israelis. That’s where my “Israeliness” is expressed: in the advice I give, when I sit with parents at school, in evaluation meetings, when I meet the local council, everywhere. I teach at college, there are no Ethiopians there, that is my “Israeliness.”

As is evidenced by our studies and will be demonstrated in this chapter, identity definitions are flexible and change according to circumstances. Thus, the same individual can feel a strong sense of identity (either Ethiopian or Israeli or both) in certain contexts, and, at other times can feel detached. The sense of identity is influenced both by family relations (enhancing or hindering inter-generational cultural transmission) and society at large (rejecting or accepting). Based on our research, we believe that when all partners: family, school, welfare, legal and the social environment enable people to develop a strong hybrid identity, this can be a powerful factor in their personal resilience. Thus, it is possible to see identity as an anchor in one’s cultural heritage and family legacy, or alternatively, as a potential risk factor which generates feelings of disconnection and vulnerability.

4.5  Bicultural Hybrid Identity If new immigrants end up feeling disconnected from both their culture of origin and the culture of the host society, their impaired identity formation might be considered a risk factor. Multiple identities may also be difficult to negotiate, especially if they conflict with each other. Studies on how immigrants manage multiple identities show that they have different beliefs about compatibility or a lack thereof, between their ethnic culture and the mainstream culture. Research about individual differences in bicultural identity integration (BII) found that Sino-American immigrants with a high BII view both cultures as compatible and not oppositional, while those with low BII reported difficulties in integrating both cultures in order to create a single, seamless identity. The low-BII group was identified with both cultures and was

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especially sensitive to the tension between them; they considered the disparities between the two cultures to be a source of internal conflict. They felt pressured to choose one culture over the other, or neither, but the option of choosing both cultures was inconceivable to them (Benet-Martínez et  al., 2002; Benet-Martínez & Haritatos, 2005). Our studies show that while there are many structural obstacles, many immigrants eventually establish a viable hybrid identity that is both complex and flexible, enabling people to function effectively in different situations and under different identities. In our three studies (Engdau, 2010; Gatenio-Kalush, 2015; Shmuel, 2017) most immigrants, especially from the one-and-a-half generation, managed to form an integrated bicultural identity (Ethiopian Israelis or Israeli Ethiopians). However, some adopted one main identity; they saw themselves as “white underneath” or identified with Afro-Americans, or felt predominantly Israeli. While members of the one-and-a-half generation were educated in Israel, they spent their formative years in the education system in their country of birth. Consequently, they are often better able to integrate the two cultures. In Shmuel’s study (2017) many one-and-a-half generation interviewees demonstrated a high level of functioning in both cultural spheres—Israeli and Ethiopian. This involves an accurate knowledge of expected codes of behavior in different circumstances, and the ability to instinctively and spontaneously respond in a culturally appropriate manner to every situation. This intertwining of cultural abilities reflects the internalization of elements of both cultures, the ability to match response with context, and the skill to create a special mixture of both. Recent studies (Benet-Martínez et al., 2002; Benet-Martinez, Leu, & Lee, 2006; Ying, Morris, Chiu, & Benet-Martinez, 2000) clarified that people who live in two cultures, both of which have been equally absorbed, hold two frames of reference shaping their thoughts and emotions. This is considered to be true biculturalism. Culture, in this sense, is not a “mentality” or “orientation,” rather it is a source of parallel knowledge that is context dependent (Ying et al., 2000). Personal differences in the integration of two cultures create different applications of appropriate cultural knowledge. For some people these differing frames of reference coexist in harmony, while for others, they are in conflict (Benet-Martínez et  al., 2002). Thus, culture is internalized in small fragments, becoming part of our basis of knowledge and is available to assist in interpreting reality. The boundary between the two cultures is related to context; the circumstances under which we interpret reality according to one culture or another (Hong, Benet-Martinez, Chiu, & Morris, 2003). This is demonstrated by Averash in Shmuel’s (2017) study, who said: “I have to be both Ethiopian and Israeli in this country. So I try to combine the two.” And Miki stated: “Of course I am Israeli, but being Israeli does not delete my identity, my roots, which are Ethiopian.” In Gatenio-Kalush’s (2015) study mothers expressed their desire to integrate into Israeli culture despite the fact that it differs greatly from Ethiopian culture. They described the process of identity formation as a continuum that ranged from those who defined themselves as Israelis in all respects to those who presented themselves as proud Ethiopians. Nonetheless, all of them shared a desire to transmit the importance of Ethiopian traditions and a connection with their roots to their children. One

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of the study’s principal findings relates to the mothers’ perception that “Here, you have to speak.” This perception, which was built as part of parenting, is a Western value which is not typical of Ethiopian culture of origin. As the study demonstrates, this insight is prominent among Ethiopian mothers, who believe that in order to meet local behavioral expectations; they must talk to their children about varied and diverse subjects. Socialization and parenting can become a powerful motivator for examining one’s own identity and the identity one chooses to pass on to their children. Gatenio-­ Kalush’s study (2015) found that the role of motherhood had a significant impact on her own identity formation process. This is illustrated by Aviva who said: Sometimes society makes you … try and be as Israeli as you can, and then you start to think, like, [you should] try to be more Israeli, more like a Sabra [native born Israeli], more dissociated from your own customs, and then you’ll be more popular, more connected to society. Once, that was also what I thought…. But…it’s important for me to teach [my children] from an early age that that is not true, you can also be Israeli and remain Ethiopian, you don’t have to ignore or be ashamed of the customs….because in fact that’s what I felt when I was younger, and I wouldn’t want them to feel that way too…

Initially, Aviva tried to be as Israeli as possible, but when her children were born she wanted to strengthen their connection to their Ethiopian heritage and help it to become a positive force in their lives. Similarly, in Shmuel’s study (2017), Averash said that she needs to be both Ethiopian and Israeli and described how she skillfully combines the two cultures in her daily life to provide her children with a strong and viable bi-cultural experience. This type of almost imperceptible “daily juggling” between the two cultures allows children growing up on the cultural divide to comfortably adopt aspects of both cultures and prevents the sense of inner split in identity caused by differing expectations at home and school.

4.6  The Dynamic Nature of Identity Many responses to questions related to identity were complicated and ambiguous. In Gatenio-Kalush’s study (2015), in response to the question about how they define themselves, several participants answered uncertainly by saying “Israeli …. Ethiopian…” and later on changed their self-definitions. Ora’s responses illustrate the ambivalence and complexity of her identity formation process. Initially, she stated: “I define myself as an Israeli and Ethiopian.” However, later on, she described the difficulty inherent in this process when she said: “I am trying to fit in and I don’t define myself as being purely Ethiopian. [I am] Between one and the other but […] there are all kinds, so first of all I am Ethiopian, and then Israeli, but when I look at myself, I say that I am Israeli. I don’t know; it depends.

Shmuel (2017) also found evidence of dynamic identities that change according to circumstances, in responses such as “It depends what day you ask me” [Havtam],

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and “It’s something that changes all the time” [Naama]. In Engdau’s study (2010), Osher illustrated the difficulty of declaring or choosing a single identity: True, all the boundaries became blurred for us… Sometimes, when it’s convenient for me, I am Ethiopian… and on the other hand, when it’s not convenient…let’s say that I haven’t yet decided if I am more Ethiopian or…. First of all, I am Jewish, that’s obvious, and then there’s the Israeli-Ethiopian thing. True, I was born in Ethiopia but […] I don’t know if I am 100% Israeli. I don’t know regarding many things: like, sometimes I am Israeli first and then Ethiopian. And sometimes I am Ethiopian first and then Israeli…

4.7  Ambivalent Identity: Neither Here Nor There Many dimensions can contribute to feelings of ambiguity around self-definition. However, it is important to remember that this can be characteristic of both risk and adjustment. People resolve this ambiguity in different ways and through different choices including continually moving in self-perception along the continuum between Israeli and Ethiopian and all of the variations therein. Thus, in Gatenio-­ Kalush’s study (2015), Miraim’s statements accurately illustrate being trapped between two worlds and perhaps not being part of either of them: There are places where I feel Israeli… There are places where I feel Ethiopian… So, in our community, I feel as if …. I don’t belong, and it’s a difficult feeling. When I’m there, I feel as if I am the Israeli who walked in. The same thing happens when I am with Israelis.

Similarly, in Engdau’s study (2010), Mahant said: Maybe my problem is that I am neither here nor there, that I don’t know who or what I am myself. So, I am very critical of my community, and I am not yet accepted by other sectors. But I live among them because I married one of them.

The narratives in Shmuel’s (2017) study often also reveal a similar ambivalence experienced by the second generation. Avi, for example, said he is “Israeli but not a whole Israeli. Israeli but you know a part of you is Ethiopian, even if you were born here. You were born here, but your home is Ethiopian, a home that just arrived here.” Havtam commented: “You’re not Israeli enough, and in [the Ethiopian] community, you’re not Ethiopian enough. And, as far as being Jewish, lots of times the feeling is you’re not Jewish enough.” An unresolved identity, reflected by many of the narratives, may often be combined with strong personal feelings of inadequacy and a sense of inferiority. Another solution is to deny both and invent a new identity. Na’ama, for example, defined herself as “universal” and says she has “disconnected from the original: “I don’t even understand them any more…you create something which is not necessarily Israeli and not necessarily Ethiopian, it’s something entirely different. That’s why I say my identity is neither Israeli nor Ethiopian, it goes beyond both…” At this juncture we will now discuss identity as a potential risk or resilience factor using the example of the journey to Israel via Sudan, described by interviewees in all our studies, as a formative life experience.

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4.8  The Journey as Testimony of a Resilient Identity The context of the  journey from Ethiopia to Israel via Sudan is one of the most important factors in defining the self-identity of Ethiopians in Israel and the way in which they view their own “absorption” (Herzog, 1998).3 It is estimated that approximately 4000 people lost their lives on their journey by foot from Ethiopia to Sudan; many survivors were not able to bury their dead along the way, and some family members were left behind under harsh conditions of uncertainty in Ethiopia. These factors led to an on-going process of bereavement, depression and crisis which was generally left untreated (Haklay, 2002). In Engdau’s study, Ethiopian immigrants described their journey as reflecting three main elements: their Jewish identity, their physical and psychological suffering, and their heroism. Their adjustment to the new country was influenced by the trauma of their journey, which involved great suffering and loss of life (Ben-Eliezer, 2007). Tzahi’s quote (Engdau-Vanda, 2019) illustrates this: “Every day a funeral… people didn’t have strength to bury anymore… I remember we even didn’t cry so much, people didn’t have enough energy.” Smadar, who lost her father during this journey, said: “He died there in Sudan. He was sick. Never got to see Israel, O.K. let’s continue, I don’t want to remember that” (Engdau-Vanda, 2019). In Shmuel’s study (2017), an extensive description of the journey through Sudan was recounted in nearly all of the interviews, even though there was no direct question about this issue. The narrative of the journey to Israel is a powerful message of communal resilience, personal sacrifice and heroism, passed down from generation to generation during Passover celebrations every year. As one of the interviewees put it: “It instils a feeling of belonging to something greater than ourselves”; in the younger generation. This re-telling of the stories reinforced the connection between the generations, empowered the second generation to cope with their own challenges. And yet, as evidenced by this study, many second generation children are not knowledgeable about the journey their parents underwent, since “it is not considered important to tell such things to children.” Thus, they miss the opportunity to connect with this heroic heritage and adopt it as their own. In both of these studies (Engdau, 2010; Shmuel, 2017), the hardships experienced on the way to Israel are articulated by the interviewees as being formative experiences, creating within them resilience and independence that has enabled them to cope with other life challenges, such as the difficulties of transitioning. However, the journey to Israel via Sudan is often publicly portrayed as Israeli heroism, diminishing the role of the Ethiopians themselves who boldly took initiative and embarked on this journey (Gatenio-Kalush, 2015; Shato, 2011). Second generation children risk either not knowing their parents’ roles in this historic event, or

 For more literature on the journey via Sudan see Ben-Dor (1987), Ben-Ezer (2007, 2010), and Shato (2011).

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alternatively, misconceiving it as Israeli heroism.4 In contrast, children who grow up hearing the story at home derive strength from it, as evidenced in Shmuel’s (2017) study. She found that children expressed admiration for their parents because of their journey and one father said that his son told him he joined a combat unit in the army because he was inspired by his parents’ determination to reach Israel on foot. The next topic we would like to discuss is the dimensions relating to influencing risk and resilience in immigration, which also represents an opportunity for growth.

4.9  M  igration & Identity Consolidation: Opportunity for Growth A criticism on the approach relating immigration and risk points out that immigration should not only be characterized by vulnerability, but also by resilience and notable adaptability (Chiswick, 2011; Hernandez & Charney, 1998). Scholars suggest that immigration should also be viewed as an opportunity for growth flexibility, change and improvement (Roer-Strier & Strier, 2006; Usita & Blieszner, 2002). This positive view is also reflected in our studies, in the voices of the interviewees who describe narratives of change, coping and building something new in Israel. For example, Shmuel (2017) found that each family has identified their own coping mechanisms in their transition to Israel. Many parents know that they must change their basis for parental authority from one of status to one based on connection, or as one father put it: “In Ethiopia, the father was resolutely authoritarian and tough. Here he has to be understandably authoritarian and explain himself.” Those parents realize that they cannot expect the same level of obedience from their children, who in Israel must learn to be assertive in order to survive. Thus, one mother stated: “When they [her children] say ‘no’ it drives me crazy, but I cannot judge them. Sometimes I wish they would behave the way I did, but I know it is impossible.” These parents have learned to match their expectations to a new reality; they are making conscious choices regarding the values they want their children to take from each culture. Similarly, in Gatenio-Kalush’s study (2015), one mother described how she initially tried to teach her son the Ethiopian values of respect and tradition, but he bluntly told her: “Mom, I can’t. I have to be clever and cheeky.” She then changed her approach and decided to also teach him about “the other side, the Israeli norms” regarding sticking to one’s opinion. This response illustrates a mother’s attempt to integrate traditional culture with western mainstream culture, and how mothers who participated in this study negotiate their role as a bridge between two worlds and two cultures. This bridge, that reflects flexibility, can be a source for growth and resilience. 4  Only recently is there more awareness of this issue; since 2003 the Knesset annually marks a remembrance day for the Ethiopian Jews who died in the Sudan. This combined with public recognition of the contribution of Ethiopian community leaders to the success of Operation Moses is a positive contribution to their sense of belonging.

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Many Ethiopian immigrant mothers in Israel are very involved in their children’s education, which they view as their responsibility. Mothers described the need to prepare their children to cope with racism. Contrary to common portrayals of Ethiopian immigrants as passive and incapable, these mothers were assertive and motivated towards promoting their children’s success (Gatenio-Kalush, 2015; Shmuel, 2017; Unger & Sever, 2012).

4.10  Identity and Skin Color Another criticism regarding immigration and risk discourse relates to the latter downplaying the part of the host country in building barriers to identity formation of immigrant children. The case of identity and skin color depicts this challenge. In Ethiopia, blackness was not part of one’s identity, but in Israel, a predominantly white society, it has become an identity marker (Antebi-Yemini, 2010). As Kaplan (1999) explained, Ethiopian Jews did not see themselves as black but as red-brown; the “black” people (called “baria” in Amharic) were slaves (Kaplan, 2002; Salamon, 2001). Immigrants aren’t the only ones to face this issue; even children born in Israel find that skin color becomes an integral and definitive part of their identity (Ben-Eliezer, 2004). Interviewees in all three studies described experiences of constantly being labelled “Ethiopian” because of their skin color. For example, in Shmuel’s study (Shmuel, 2017), an Israeli-born interviewee said: Every day you get a slap in the face… every day you are surprised again: the Ethiopian, Dana the Ethiopian. So you might as well accept it, don’t try to correct them every time, don’t fight over your identity every day… you are both, but you are more Ethiopian, so what? It’s also more visible.

Similarly, an interviewee in Gatenio-Kalush’s study (2015) noted: However pathetic it sounds, skin color leads to that. Whenever I come into any society, they will say ‘oh that nice Ethiopian girl’ [….] I also feel that, I am the Ethiopian girl. I can’t do anything about it—I am dark-skinned.

Some of the participants in this study viewed incidents of racism as opportunities to teach people about prejudice by demonstrating that there are different types of Ethiopians. Similarly, several interviewees in Shmuel’s study (2017) complained about the expectation that they “represent” the Ethiopian community, saying that they only represented themselves: “One has to learn not to get upset by racist comments, but to let it go, that is what keeps our community going…you have to get out of the box of ‘oh I’m Ethiopian so it’s hard’ and change it to ‘I’ll show the world’ and prove yourself, and not be mediocre.” This young man is serving in an elite and extremely selective army unit. Thus, the issue of skin color leads to formative social experiences, mostly of categorization and/or rejection, and community members have adopted different ways of coping with these experiences.

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4.11  Risk and Identity in the First and Second Generations Having a proud ethnic identity can help people overcome discrimination and become successful in their social, emotional and academic endeavors (Else-Quest & Morse, 2014). Shabtai (2001) found that first-generation Ethiopian immigrants had fewer identity crises, especially in reference to the active strategies used to cope with identity threats. Findings on the well-being of different generations of groups with immigrant origins also demonstrate that first-generation immigrants had the highest level of physical health and the highest level of functioning based on a variety of educational measures (Pumariega, Rothe, & Pumariega, 2005; Takeuchi, Hong, Gile, & Alegría, 2007). In comparison, the second generation, who were born in Israel, were found to be challenged. Shmuel’s study, which focuses on narratives of children born in Israel, exposes the harsh reality of “otherness” they experience both in and out of the home. Their coping mechanisms reflect a strong desire to belong somewhere. Some youngsters explicitly described themselves as being vulnerable: they are caught between parental expectations rooted in cultural concepts of the ideal child and a larger society which often inadvertently defines them as being different. Both at home and at school they experience cultural rejection as personal rejection. At home they often disappoint their elders, who still expect children to be obedient and helpful, reserved and modest (in contrast to the Israeli expectation of children to be assertive). At school, they are often categorized as “Ethiopian,” or treated differently because of their ethnic background (Shmuel, 2017). One might expect that children born in Israel (the second generation) would automatically feel completely Israeli, yet many questioned their “Israeliness”; they explained that, in their experience, their skin color marked them as Ethiopian (Gatenio-Kalush, 2015; Shmuel, 2017). Thus, the second generation becomes alienated through experiences that define them by skin color, rather than assimilated by a common Jewish identity (Shabtai, 2001). One of the reasons for the frustration felt by second-generation immigrants in comparison to their Ethiopianborn parents and siblings could be their built-in expectation that they would have equal standing to their Israeli-born peers. One of the interviewees noted: “You are Ethiopian, so the image they have of you is minus ten and you need to work hard to get to that ten.” Many interviewees expressed the constant need to prove themselves: “They always doubt you […] you can see it, you will always be on the side…” (Shmuel, 2017). In Shmuel’s study, participant narratives reflect the complexity of inter-­ generational relations, and the many factors affecting families and individuals in transition as they cope with and adjust to new situations. The changing definition of the family and the restructuring of relationships frame the environment in which children born in Israel grow up. The differences between the families are reflected in their ability to either cope with the transition as a functioning, supportive unit, or to disintegrate into a collection of struggling individuals. In daily life, forces of change and continuity form powerful undercurrents, permeating all areas of life and

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relationships. Adults who are more flexible and better able to adjust to their new environment enable their children to identify with their culture of origin and become bi-cultural. In contrast, when adults cling inflexibly to traditional methods of conduct, the result is often a painful rift between the generations. In such families, it is often the young people from the one-and-a-half generation who become a stable source of support to both their parents and their younger siblings.

4.12  T  he Historical and Institutional Context of Ethiopian Immigration Ethiopian immigrants faced prejudices and misconceptions prevalent in Israel about people from Africa; such individuals are often seen as primitive, childish, naïve and quick to take offence (Bar-Yosef, 2013; Salamon, 2003). These attitudes fostered a paternalistic approach to the absorption process (Ben-Eliezer, 2004). For example, this is reflected in the attitude towards Ethiopian Rabbis (the “Kessim”) who were community leaders in Ethiopia, and, in Israel have no official religious authority (Kaplan & Rosen, 1998; Sharabi & Kaplan, 2014). In addition, Ethiopian immigrants often encountered “cultural racism” (Ben-Eliezer, 2004) that encouraged them to maintain their traditions but in doing so, distanced them from the mainstream, complicating the possibility of their integration because they were conceived of as being different. The bureaucratic machine often treated Ethiopian Jews as a distinct category deserving of special treatment (Herzog, 1998). Hertzog believes that this approach created dependency and segregation that impaired their absorption and led to their social and economic marginalization. Some examples of these policies and their consequences surfaced in all three studies. For example, one aspect of the paternalistic approach towards the immigrants included changing their names upon arrival and assigning them birth dates, as described in Gatenio-Kalush’s study (2015). Two mothers explained their personal experiences. The first one said: “[…] when someone celebrates my birthday, let’s say at work, it means nothing to me, it even embarrasses me, it’s not really me….” and the second mother expressed her feelings: “When we made Aliya to Israel, they changed my name to Bracha. At age 22, I returned to my name Yevarnesh, which means ‘woman of the sea’ in Amharic. There are many Brachas but not Yevarneshs.” Another example, from Shmuel’s study (2017), is the fact that many parents complained bitterly that their children were sent to boarding schools by authorities soon after their arrival. At the time, they did not understand that they had a choice in the matter.5 One interviewee, who was 11 when she arrived and 12 when she was sent to boarding school commented:

 Ben-Eliezer (2004) also discusses this.

5

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M. Gatenio-Kalush et al. It was a traumatic experience, that separation without consent, without discussion…. You are not a partner [to the decision]; they [the authorities] do what they want with you, like an object. I know it was hard for me, and I am sure it was even harder for my parents.

Engdau’s (2010) study points to the extended period of time the new immigrants remained in absorption centers (sometimes up to 9 years) as indicative of the establishment’s attitude towards the immigrants. They perceived them as having cultural gaps that require the host society to educate the “ignorant” immigrants, rather than seeing them as capable people in transition who need guidance and assistance. Engdau’s interviewees (2010) described their own initiatives and choices as facilitating their adaptation to Israeli society.

4.13  Project Policy and the Risk Industry Throughout the period of immigration from Ethiopia to Israel, there have been a burgeoning number of projects run by various organizations intended to serve this community. The stated aim of such organizations is to take responsibility for helping the immigrant community combat risks in the face of the failure of state institutions to do so. The perceptions of the Ethiopian community as discussed in the previous section created, what we regard as the myth that the entire community is constantly at risk and requires special treatment. This is especially evident in Engdau’s study (2010) where some of the interviewees discussed the paradox of the extensive funds apparently invested in helping the community against the continuing problems facing the community. They expressed the view that these funds were misused or did not reach their intended target. Osher, for example stated: I think that we are being used. I think that Ethiopians are a gold mine for raising money for many organizations […] Because honestly, we’ve been here for 30 years and every organization and every ministry suddenly wakes up and says ‘I’ll help the absorption of this population,’ raises money and….for 30 years there’s a general sense of failure, a lack of progress, we haven’t gotten anywhere, and when we try to get somewhere, the doors are frequently shut for us.

A similar remark was made by another participant: Our community is needy. More correctly, we were made into a needy community. That serves the country’s interests. This is because we are all constantly being cared for; piles of money, so much money, on behalf of the community, and the money that I am talking about could have been used to build magnificent homes…. It hurts me to see all this money swimming around out there, on that mountain where those organizations are. After all, every project has a manager, has a district manager, a head manager […] in the end, some, very few, funds reach the children and parents.

The view of immigration as a risk factor together with a community that initially had limited communal organization and political power led to the establishment of hundreds of projects, special programs, non-profit organizations and a host of research studies. Jewish Federations around the world identified donors wishing to help black Jews from Ethiopia who came to Israel. This became known as “risk

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industry” (Engdau-Vanda, 2019) and is viewed as a way for governmental authorities to evade responsibility. All of the projects share a desire to “save” the Ethiopian community by facilitating its absorption into Israeli society. In Engdau’s study (2010) interviewees commented that the group that immigrated to Israel in the 1980s developed and succeeded without special assistance from the non-profit world. Immigrants which arrived in the 1990s do not always use available services and sometimes need to be persuaded to do so. However, it is important to note that financial aid in form of scholarships for education was regarded as a crucial, positive incentive that has enabled some of the interviewees to achieve higher education: I couldn’t have earned a degree if it wouldn’t have been paid for. Who paid? The Ministry of Absorption or the Jewish Agency. Without them, it’s difficult to start. You finish 12th grade. We can’t bring [don’t have access to] 10,000 shekels right at the start [for tuition]. I think that there is no doubt, it helped me very much. So, scholarship projects and studies— they do help.

Finally, an important point to be noted is the tendency to generalize that all Ethiopian Jews are members of a single community with identical undervalued characteristics, in terms of “one size fits all”. This issue was raised and criticized by many interviewees in all three of our studies. This is especially true for intervention programs in at-risk situations—where solutions must be customized to each person or family and their specific needs.

4.14  C  onclusions and Policy Recommendations: Viewing Immigration as a Complex Process This chapter combines three different qualitative studies that were undertaken and focused on Ethiopian immigration to Israel. Together, they shed light on our perception of transition as a factor contributing to risk and resilience. Specifically, this chapter has shown that immigration must be seen as a complex process, in which the following factors bear great significance: • The journey itself is a formative experience with long-lasting consequences. • Self-definition after transition as both dynamic and complex and influenced by experiences in the family and in society, including the significance of being a black minority in a white society. At the same time, the adoption of a viable dynamic and hybrid identity is a common coping mechanism, facilitated by personal and familial attributes as well as social circumstances. • The complexity of inter-generational relations and cultural transmission after transition, and the different coping mechanisms individuals and families adopt in order to survive. These differences are reflected in the fact that, for some, transition is a risk factor, while for others it is an opportunity for resilience and growth. In many cases it is both.

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• The varying coping patterns utilized by the different generations of immigration (first, second and one-and-a-half), and the motivation of parents to overcome and adapt to prevent risk for their children. • The far-reaching and often damaging effects of paternalistic and unsuitable absorption policies, otherness and racism. Our studies suggest that fully understanding the experience of the Ethiopian Jews who came to Israel requires a deep understanding of their long and difficult journey to Israel, changes that take place in the family, complexities of the inter-­ cultural experience and their new situation as a black minority in a white society. This reality must be viewed in its full complexity and not reduced to simplistic generalizations that distort the picture and facilitate inappropriate solutions for multifaceted problems. Instead of temporary projects and one-size-fits-all interventions, long-term programs that provide customized packages of support designed for each individual or family, according to their changing needs, are needed. All of these programs must be run by professionals who have a deep and genuine understanding of the complexity of the issues involved. There is a need for comprehensive training of existing professionals in many fields such as social work, education, psychology and the health in cultural competence, intersectionality and the awareness of context. Identity is a fundamental aspect of human personality and experience; it is the connection between past and present and the basis on which we build our future. Identity can adversely affect many other areas of one’s life, including self-­motivation and self-image. However identity is dynamic and is influenced by many factors including the host culture’s attitudes to the social group. Identity is simultaneously a definition of individual distinction and of what we share with other people; therefore, it is the key to a sense of belonging. Consequently, it is crucial to recognize and encourage diversity as a positive contribution to our education system. Different traditions and customs should be cherished as part and parcel of a multicultural-­ Israeli heritage, and presented as being of equal value and significance, without creating or enhancing stereotypes. It is equally important for professionals to work with immigrant families, in respectful and culturally appropriate ways, to encourage parents to build on traditional sources of strength while acquiring new skills that enhance their adjustment to the new society. Only the empowerment of the Ethiopian community, a change in their image, the provision of equal opportunities and an attitude of respect and appreciation can break down the barrier of racism. Many immigrants view success as a result of personal efforts, and not because of outside help (whether by family or the state), as illustrated in Engdau’s study (2010). Thus, cultural transition can be seen as traumatic and involving many difficulties leading to risk situations; equally meeting the challenges it involves can be an opportunity for growth and development as individuals and among groups. Both of these paths depend on interlocking contexts, on circumstances, personal and group resilience, and the interplay of experiences.

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Haklay, A. (2002). Identity formation among adolescents of Ethiopian origin: Theory and models of group intervention. Minituk Lishiluv [From disconnection to integration], 11, 8–21. [Hebrew]. Hargrow, A. M. (2001). Racial identity development: The case of Mr. X - An African-American. Journal of Mental Health Counseling, 23, 222–237. Hernandez, D. J., & Charney, E. (1998). From generation to generation: The health and well-being of children of immigrant families. Washington, DC: National Academies Press. Herzog, A. (1998). Bureaucracy and Ethiopian immigrants: Dependency relations in an absorption center. Tel Aviv: Tcherikover. [Hebrew]. Hong, Y., Benet-Martinez, V., Chiu, C., & Morris, M. (2003). Boundaries of cultural influence. Journal of Cross Cultural Psychology, 34(4), 453–464. Ijzendoorn, M., Bakermans-Kranenburg, M., & Sagi-Schwartz, A. (2006). Attachment across diverse sociocultural contexts: The limits of universality. In K.  Rubin, O.  Chung, & O. (Eds.), Parenting beliefs, behaviors, and parent-child relations: A cross-cultural perspective (pp. 107–142). New York: Psychology Press. Kaplan, S. (1999). Can the Ethiopian change his skin? The Beta Israel (Ethiopian Jews) and racial discourse. African Affairs, 48(393), 535–550. Kaplan, S. (2002). Black and white, blue and white and beyond the pale: Ethiopian Jews and the discourse of color in Israel. Jewish Culture and History, 5(1), 52–68. Kaplan, S. (2007). Community planning. In H. Salamon (Ed.), Ethiopia: East Israel communities in the 19 and 20 centuries (pp. 43–55). Jerusalem: Ben Zvi Institute and Education Ministry. Kaplan, S., & Rosen, H. (1993). Ethiopian immigrants in Israel: Between preservation of culture and invention of tradition. The Jewish Journal of Sociology, 35, 4–35. Kaplan, S., & Rosen, H. (1998). Ethiopian immigrants in Israel: Between preservation of culture and invention of tradition. In E. Leshem & J. Shuval (Eds.), Immigration to Israel: Sociological perspectives. Transaction: New Brunswick, NJ. Konner, M. (2010). The evolution of childhood. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press. Lancy, D. (2008). The anthropology of childhood: Cherubs, chattel, changelings. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press. Lancy, D., Bock, J., & Gaskins, S. (Eds.). (2010). The anthropology of learning in childhood. Lanham, MD: AltaMira Press. Levine, D. (1965). Wax & gold: Tradition and innovation in Ethiopian culture. Chicago, IL: The University of Chicago Press. Mantbar, A. (2011). It “takes” a generation: Absorption of immigrations – The Israeli experience 1990-2009. Et Hasadeh [The Pen in the Field], 6, 13–17. [Hebrew]. Maynard, A., & Tovote, K. (2012). Learning from other children. In D.  Lancy, J.  Bock, & S. Gaskins (Eds.), The anthropology of learning in childhood (pp. 181–234). Lanham, MD: AltaMira Press. Pumariega, A.  J., Rothe, E., & Pumariega, J.  B. (2005). Mental health of immigrants and refugees. Community Mental Health Journal, 41(5), 581–597. https://doi.org/10.1007/ s10597-005-6363-1 Roer-Strier, D., & Strier, R. (2006). Immigrant fathers in Israel: From the deficit theory to the theory of the established fatherhood. Hevra Virevaha [Society and Welfare], 26(4), 405–431. [Hebrew]. Salamon, H. (1999). The Hyena people: Ethiopian Jews in Christian Ethiopia. (pp. 18, 66–74). Berkeley, CA: University of California Press. Salamon, H. (2001). In search of self and other: A few remarks on ethnicity, race and Ethiopian Jews. In L. Tessman & B. Bar On (Eds.), Jewish locations: Traversing racialized landscapes (pp. 78–88). New York: Rowman & Littlefield. Salamon, H. (2003). Blackness in transition: Decoding racial constructs through stories of Ethiopian Jews. Journal of Folklore Research, 40(1), 3–32.

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Chapter 5

Seeing Eye to Eye? Perception of Risk and Protection of Social Workers and Parents Regarding Children of Ethiopian Origin Shelly Engdau-Vanda, Michal Gatenio-Kalush, and Bat-Hen Karni

This chapter focuses on the exploration of perception of risk and protection of social workers and parents regarding children of Ethiopian Origin. It compares and contrasts the perceptions of four groups: parents of Ethiopian origin, both first-­ generation who are in contact with the welfare system as well as one-and-a-half-generation mothers with higher education; as well as Ethiopian and non-Ethiopian social workers–who both work extensively with the Ethiopian communities. Our findings are outlined according to the various contexts affecting children and their families in the Ethiopian community: the Macro level, the neighborhoods, the school system, the home and the family, and child rearing practices. We explore the relevance of these contexts in relation to risk assessment, neglect and abuse, as well as positing the need for prevention, protection and changes in treatment practices.

S. Engdau-Vanda (*) NEVET-Greenhouse, the Paul Baerwald School of Social Work and Social Welfare, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem, Israel e-mail: [email protected] M. Gatenio-Kalush NEVET-Greenhouse, the Paul Baerwald School of Social Work and Social Welfare, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem, Israel School of Social Work, Sapir Academic College, Sderot, Negev, Israel Bar-Ilan University, Ramat Gan, Israel B.-H. Karni The Welfare Department, Municipality of Gedera, Gedera, Israel © Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2020 D. Roer-Strier, Y. Nadan (eds.), Context-Informed Perspectives of Child Risk and Protection in Israel, Child Maltreatment 10, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-44278-1_5

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5.1  Methodology This qualitative research examines perceptions of risk and protection for children of Ethiopian origin (for a detailed discussion of the Ethiopian community in Israel see Chap. 4). A total of 80 in-depth interviews were conducted with parents from the Ethiopian immigrant community (50) and social workers (30) caring for children at risk in the Ethiopian community within the social welfare system (Engdau-Vanda). The sample of social workers included both professionals belonging to the Ethiopian Community (13) and others who were outsiders (17). Social workers were recruited through their agencies and then via snowball sampling. The parents were Ethiopians with at least one child under the age of 18 (only one parent in each family was interviewed). Twenty parents were clients of the social welfare system (Karni) and 30 were young mothers who were not known to the welfare system. The (30) “non-­ welfare” mothers (Gatenio-Kalush) are referred to as “1.5”: One-and-a-half generation Israelis (born in Ethiopia and arrived in Israel as young children). The vast majority of these mothers were educated professionals who worked in the educational system or in the field of therapy. They were recruited through key-informants in their communities who were known to the researchers, followed by snowball sampling. The parents’ and social workers’ data was collected via in-depth, semi-­ structured interviews. All participants were asked the same questions, although some of them expanded the scope of the questions.

5.2  Findings In many of the participants’ accounts we found that themes that emerge as causing risk could be regarded as protective at the same time. These findings suggest that child abuse and neglect should be regarded as a complex phenomenon including both the complexity of the definition of risk and protection and the complexity of the decisions that follow.

5.3  At the Macro Level: The “State” as a Risk Factor While the state serves as the protector of children by providing education, welfare and health services, both parents and social workers regard the “state” to also be a risk factor. From many of the parents and Ethiopian social workers we learned that the state’s involvement in significant decisions in the lives of the immigrants challenged their communal and familial resilience, and placed the Ethiopian immigrants’ communities at risk, even before they faced the typical challenges associated with immigration (language acquisition, education, work etc.). The term used for

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the integration of immigrants in Israel is “to absorb”. The participants noted that the state decided where the immigrants should live, and with whom they would live. One of the main policies was to send families to absorption centers. In the parents’ opinion, this involvement created a rift between the families and their old neighbors from their original villages in Ethiopia—both in immigrant absorption centers, and in permanent housing. A second concern about government policies that was voiced by both parents and social workers was the policy to house Ethiopian immigrants in neglected, impoverished neighborhoods, generally, without asking the adults who lacked information about the neighborhoods beforehand. The third concern voiced was against the policy of schooling children of Ethiopian immigrants in religious boarding schools and religious seminaries for young immigrants. Separating the older children from the rest of the family also prevented them from supporting the parents’ and young siblings’ and gaining  sense of protection. The social worker, Yashitu (born in Ethiopia), describes the process by which she and her relatives settled in the early 1980s: When the immigrants arrived in Israel, they were automatically assigned to absorption centers, without examining what residence would give them stability. People were just assigned on a first come, first served basis. They even separated siblings. One of my uncles was sent to Kiryat Arba, another to Or Akiva, and a third to Ma’alot [names of towns in remote areas]. In other words, based on whatever absorption centers had availability… And we had to move into the absorption center with people we didn’t know at all, not even from our region. If the community members’ original sources of stability had been left in place, I’m certain that their ability to support one another, and to endure, would be much greater than the results we see today. Despite this, there is still reciprocity and support … But that breaking up of families, and housing people in that manner, it was a deep cut. The second thing was removing the children and putting them in boarding schools in the 1980s and early 1990s. In a sweeping manner, those adolescents were removed from their homes. It led to a massive crisis, and we are just now fixing the damage it caused.

Despite this existing criticism of the treatment of Ethiopian immigrants, this tracking continues to occur today. Sagit, a social worker who in recent years has worked on cases of Ethiopian immigrants in permanent housing for the state welfare agencies, observes: What bothers me is that I saw many children who were placed in boarding schools, and I didn’t understand why they were placed there. That’s what I remember clearly. Moving from one country to another is like an earthquake. There is a tendency by absorption center officials to place children in boarding schools, on the assumption that this would make things easier for the children and their parents. I believed it should be exactly the opposite. In one incident, the mother told me that she really misses her daughter that was absent. I seem to recall that it was a divorcée with a daughter. I asked her: “So why did you agree to it?” She responded: “That’s what they told me to do at the absorption center.” So these arrangements hold greater weight than their needs. This is a very grave situation for an immigrant family. What happens is that the children lose their parents’ support. In a foreign land, a foreign culture, a foreign society, it’s horrible. They should be with their parents, even if it is in poverty, even in substandard housing. Even with substandard education—but with their parents. That really bothered me. I don’t know if it was done out of mean-­ spiritedness. But it seems that they wanted things to be quiet, and this was the policy of the absorption centers: To place kids in boarding schools.

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Boarding schools are regarded as a risk-reducing intervention for at-risk children with the aim of protecting them. This may not be the case for many children of Ethiopian origin who were functioning normally and automatically housed in youth boarding schools. Shahar, a non-Ethiopian social worker, perceives boarding schools as a risk factor: There were a lot of cases of youth being sent out to boarding schools. That’s what they suggested, and they thought it was all right. Going out to boarding schools also constitutes some kind of risk factor, because not every place is really successful. Then it leads, this leads to delinquency, this leads to associating with marginal youth, marginal society and criminals.

5.4  Risk and Protection at the Neighborhood Level Most of the interviewees (parents and social workers) mentioned the neighborhoods as the context that mostly puts the children at risk. The neighborhoods in which the immigrants were placed had suffered from problems for two or three generations. In general, these were the same impoverished low-income neighborhoods that in the 1950s housed Jewish immigrants from the Arab and Islamic states, and waves of Jewish immigration from the former Soviet Union. This led to interactions that were not easy for either the Ethiopian immigrants or for the veteran residents, who had to deal with resource scarcity and were unable to absorb more immigrants. These neighborhoods are still characterized by crime, poverty, prostitution and physical neglect. They are culturally diverse, and some places are even dangerous to walk around in the evening and at night. Cassa, an Ethiopian social worker, believes that as long as the policy of sending immigrants to disadvantaged neighborhoods continues, the risk to Ethiopian immigrants is inevitable: As long as the neighborhoods, in which they live, are the impoverished neighborhoods, and the problems of living with Israeli society, it is not simple families that have been in distress for several generations, to avoid these risk situations, it is not simple. We are already finding problems, which are likely to accompany us for generations.

Herut, an Ethiopian social worker who works with adolescent girls at risk, describes the dangers of a neighborhood where girls are sexually exploited for money resulting in a downturn in their studies, leading to drug and alcohol abuse. There was a girl, for example, whose mother did not understand where she was bringing the NIS 200 and NIS 300 from, and that’s how I came to talk to her. She did not go to school so much now but before she used to be a good girl. I told her, listen, your mother is worried.

Havtam, a family social worker, notes the risk that juveniles in the neighborhood face with criminals: Havtam: “It’s a neighborhood that is considered very dangerous. There was a lot of crime there, and still is and stabbings. Public transportation almost never enters the neighborhood in the evening and at night, because there were numerous violent incidences, in which drivers were stabbed.” Interviewer: “Crime by Ethiopian immigrants?” Havtam: “Yes. But those who lead them are the whites … it’s very scary. I myself don’t walk around there in the evening. I try to do my home visits in the morning hours.”

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Some of the interviewed mothers from the one-and-a-half generation managed to make it out of these neighborhoods, but some continue to live there in rental properties. They say that their financial difficulties force them to continue living in these troubled neighborhoods where they depend on help from their extended family. According to Pnina, one of those mothers: In the neighborhood, those walking around can be exposed to many things … dangerous things, like—God forbid—rape, smoking, drinking, lots of that, and that’s the reason that I fear the neighborhood. Kids already know about these things; they see them themselves. Once it was only rumors … But here in the neighborhood, it’s horrific. You are forced into this situation because you have no money. The kids have no security at home, because it’s a rental property and I have financial hardships, and they fear that we will be evicted. My daughter is very fearful of living here … she asks me to accompany her down the stairwell. There is fear here.

The neighborhood in impoverished surroundings is perceived as a risk factor for children, but mainly for youth. The same neighborhood was viewed by some of parents as a protective place for young children that can play without fear, because everyone knows everyone. Nurit, a young Ethiopian mother explains: “I live in a new neighborhood. Here I cannot let my children go down to play alone. I have to go down with them. On the other hand, in my mother’s neighborhood they go off alone to play. Even my 4-year-old son feels safe there.”

5.5  Risk and Protection at the School Level On the one hand, school is perceived by parents and social workers as a place that protects children, keeps them out of trouble and is supposed to open doors for their future. For example, Moshe, an Ethiopian father who was interviewed in the welfare office, noted that “children who do not go to kindergarten or to school are children at risk.” However, the attitudes of the schools toward Ethiopian children are regarded as a source of risk. Dropping out of school is perceived as a risk. Yehuda, a social worker who works with Youth Protection Services explains: Lacking a sense of acceptance and belonging in schools, is the main factor putting children at risk; the way the school relates to them. There were many cases that reached me, where many students were expelled from schools with no alternate educational context provided. The youth felt that they really did not have anyone backing them up. At the beginning of the year, the school would tell them that they will not be continuing here next year … I do not know what the reason is, they may not have invested throughout the year, and maybe they did. I do not know what to tell you, I don’t want to tell you why. But there were children who were really in a terrible rage, and they talked about discrimination.

Forty percent of the parents viewed the school as a cause for risk because their children lacked a sense of belonging in school. David, an Ethiopian father describes the school as a risk factor: If you really have a neglected child, as we say, a school sometimes, instead of helping, can hurt because it comes to parents sometimes and accuses them … The school does not really check what the situation is within the family … what should help them. It really makes parents not trust the school.

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5.6  Risk and Protection in the Home and at the Family Level Both social workers and parents regard the home, the family and the community as the most significant context for the protection of children of Ethiopian descent. For example, Pikado, a father who was interviewed in the welfare service  office, explained the parent’s role as a protector: “Make him happy, speak kindly to him, smile at him, compliment him, speak to him of happy things, explain to him, and take care of his needs.” Eighty percent of the social workers interviewed emphasized that parents of Ethiopian descent are dedicated parents that care for their children. Noya, a social worker, describes the parents as a source of protection for children: “I have never met parents who cause risk. I personally have not. And I have a lot of experience. In general, the parents were very, very dedicated.” Some social workers highlight the mothers’ dedication and sacrifice for their children. Social workers noted the mothers’ extra-ordinary dedication to, and sacrifices made for, their children. Fanta, a social worker of Ethiopian descent explains: They [other professionals] won’t see it, that no Ethiopian mother will leave her child alone. She will sacrifice her life in order to protect and provide for her child. An Ethiopian mother, though she doesn’t speak the language, goes to parents’ meetings, and fights for her child— she fights. Even if they don’t understand her, and maybe she knows that they won’t take her seriously, because she doesn’t really speak the language, and lacks the tools to fight for her child, but she will do her utmost.

According to Yashitu, a social worker of Ethiopian descent, professionals must acknowledge the sacrifice that these mothers are willing to make for their children, so they understand that they have someone to talk to, and not give up on them to begin with, because they supposedly don’t understand anything: I had just started as a community social worker. My responsibility was to develop parental involvement in the schools. I went to those who had already worked for the Joint Distribution Committee (JDC), to learn about their work with parents … They told me that there’s nothing that can be done. Those parents don’t know anything. When I got to the school, they told me that these parents don’t care about their kids, they don’t even come to the parents’ meetings, nothing. But in my experience, from what I saw at home, and in general, in the community, were mothers willing to sacrifice themselves for their children. And in regards to education, even though the parents aren’t educated, they know that education is the key to their children’s development, and they are willing to do anything, and to give everything. However, no one ever came and worked with them on this issue.

From the perspective of the social workers, siblings were also perceived as a source of strength and as a resilience factor for children of Ethiopian origin. The significant siblings are not necessarily the eldest ones, but rather, one or two of the children that the parents trust over all the others, those that they confer with before making decisions. On occasion, they are also involved in making decisions for the children in welfare treatment planning committees. They are described as especially dedicated to their siblings, even in the most difficult circumstances, and their sacrifices for the family elicit surprise, sometimes even shock, from social workers with Western, individualist orientations, unaccustomed to that level of inter-sibling involvement.

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Joseph, a social worker specializing in addiction, describes these situations as ones of resilience for children who face serious trouble. The child experiences this as resilience. He wasn’t abandoned. “I’ve got siblings, and they are willing to pay the price” … A brother will anchor him and if he also needs someone to accompany him, then a sister will go out of her way and accompany him. A sibling will come to help. The importance of the family is still strong, compared with Westerners, who are more individualistic. I love that it’s still like that, yes. Myself, I am more accustomed to Western ways, though it’s not obvious from looking at me. But I often encourage them, that’s how they live, let them live that way, that’s what I tell these parents. Live your way, it’s fine, it’s legitimate. It’s not easy.

According to Dror, a non-Ethiopian social worker, community cohesion is a source of resilience for children. Dror explains the strength he saw at an Ethiopian funeral he participated in. He saw a crowd of people who had come to console them all crowded into the big park, collecting money, serving food; the community and the mutual assistance that had been preserved was a source of strength. The family and community approach that is at the center … It’s the family cohesion… I saw some people crowded in a park and some guy went with a notebook and collected money from people, as if from this pain, I saw the strength, the resilience, the cohesion of the family, the family and the community, in fact, I think that it is, it is causing resilience.

Although the home and parents are perceived by parents as a source of protection, most of social workers believe that a lack of parental authority is a risk factor for children. Inbal, a non-Ethiopian social worker under the Youth Protection Services explains: The inability of the parents to enforce authority is primarily what endangers them [children] and leads them boys, children, going out into the streets, drinking alcohol, staying late outside the house, wandering around at night and deteriorating to delinquency and violence.

Yashitu, an Ethiopian social worker, tells the story of an Ethiopian mother who is religious and cannot be a source of authority for her children. The mother observes Shabbat and her non religious children go out to a night club. The worried mother sits all night in the living room waiting for her children to return safely. Only after she sees that they have returned safely does she go to sleep in her room. Another mother prays to God that her children will return safely and goes to sleep in her room. In the morning she checks that everyone has returned safely, she thanks God and goes back to sleep. The parent has a tool; how to be meaningful for his child so that the child will also share. All right, the story is that most of the families are Sabbath-observant, and their children are not, and how do they make contact, how do they update, how do they share, somehow they have to understand that they are involved.

This example illustrates both the complexity of changes in the family and how differing levels of religiosity contribute to risk.

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5.7  Risk and Protection in Child Rearing Corporal Punishment  Shmuel (2010) argues that in Ethiopia, parent-child relationships were based on authority and respect. Using sanctions as moderate physical punishment was practiced for the purpose of learning and acquiring boundaries and life skills (Weil, 1988). In Israel, this behavior places those parents at risk of arrest, if and when their child turns to the police. The Israeli law prohibits corporal punishment of any kind, and social workers and child protection officers operate within this legal framework. However, our analysis of interviews with Ethiopian parents and social workers shows that corporal punishment is still accepted as an educational tool for children. On one hand, most of the social workers noted that Ethiopian parents are not abusive parents. On the other hand, some of the social workers noted that Ethiopian-Israeli parents were violent towards their children. Inbal, a social worker from Youth Protection Services recounts how Ethiopian immigrants are not aware of the cultural aspect of corporal punishment, but nevertheless, this is perceived as a risk. “Values and different cultural codes, take for example, violence that exists, and it is absolutely forbidden, and yes, educational, educating. So it also comes into our category of children at risk.” Yehuda, an Ethiopian social worker from Youth Protection Services also has a firm position on corporal punishment. His expectation is that parents will understand the law and act according to Israeli law. “It doesn’t matter what state he’s in, he doesn’t have to abuse, and it doesn’t have to be physical. If a child reports it, then we receive it, we respond according to the law.” The prohibition of corporal punishment in Israel on the one hand, and the challenges posed by parenting in the context of immigration on the other, create an experience of fear and helplessness vis-à-vis the behavior of their children in Israel. Mali, a mother of Ethiopian descent shares the following: Why do I say the police? Today, if you hit a child; then here come the police. Once I know this from stories, if a boy stole something, he would be beaten with a stick, so he’ll learn for next time. Here, if the child does something [criminal], the father will refrain: ‘How can I think of touching the boy, knowing that I will get arrested or questioned by police, or something similar.

Another mother of Ethiopian descent, Hila, describes the helplessness of her parents’ generation, who, lacking the traditional code of respect and the possibility of corporal punishment are left without the tools or skills to set boundaries for their children: My mom really worried. Here she cannot control her child. There, if the child does something, she would punish us with a beating, for example. There, a punishment is a punishment. But she couldn’t do here what she had done there, so she lost control … Yes, because here she can’t manage to punish us, and punishments here are nothing compared to punishments there.

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Ethiopian family social workers try to understand the culture and try to provide guidance to parents. From the point of view of Sabina, a social worker, corporal punishment is considered by the parents to be protective of the children: There are values that help them guard and guide their children, even if it is a matter of violence, they see it as something educational, that it can educate their child, to know what he is allowed to do, and what is absolutely forbidden. It’s part of education. Most of the community sees it as educative. It’s a shame not to have it, because then the children have more power and the parents are weaker.

Havtam, an Ethiopian social worker, says that many parents find it difficult to set boundaries for children, but few parents initiate coming to ask for guidance. The fact is that she came to the welfare agency and requested [help], she spoke, and she revealed a story. And I understood that the violence was not serious, so I tried to give her tips, to advise her. I also referred her to all kinds of support groups, for instruction. And that actually helped. If I would have known about serious violence, if she had revealed that to me, then I would have responded differently.

Physical Neglect  The child’s appearance may be seen as a marker for risk, as a sign that his or her basic needs are not being met. Many times if the child is dressed in a way that does not correspond with the weather, does not have shoes or practices poor hygiene this is assessed as a parameter for risk of child neglect. Some of the parents claimed that the assessment is false, while some claimed that it was unfortunate. The same is true for social workers. There were social workers who perceived the child’s appearance as a risk factor and others who did not perceive it as a risk. Tova, a social worker, is one of the later. The parents are not neglectful; there were incidences in which the children were seen neglected, in terms of clothes that were worn out dirty, or seasonally inappropriate. Maybe children who were a little less clean. But it was not severe neglect.

Some social workers find it difficult to explain neglect to parents. Especially to parents who invest in children’s basic needs. Sarah, a social worker, explains: When you tell a parent that he is neglectful, he responds: ‘I don’t know what you want. The child is clothed, the child has food, the child arrives at school—what do you want from me?’ They don’t understand the neglect. ‘Understand’ is not the right word. You don’t see eye to eye with them. There are two completely different perspectives. ‘The child has everything, a computer, an iPad, he’s got it, and so what’s the problem? What are you talking about exactly?’ He has a completely different perspective.

From the perspective of first-generation parents, which is based on expectations from parenthood in Ethiopia, it’s enough that they provide for basic needs such as food, clothing, and an educational framework. They don’t see in their obligations to provide afternoon activities, and they don’t become involved in their child’s social life. Their experience as children wandering safely and interacting with other children in the village was different then the demands and dangers posed in the Israeli street. Tikva, a client in the Department of Welfare and Social Services, confirms the fact that there are differences in hygiene habits between Ethiopia and Israel. She

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notes that families’ efforts to change must be taken into consideration by social workers even if they do not immediately appear to meet Western standards: “Look, we came from Ethiopia … This is something else, it’s different, everything is different—cleanliness, everything—here we have to clean up, go out, dress all the time, change dresses. I can learn from others and do the same for my child … I can make a change.” There are a range of norms within the Ethiopian community regarding cleanliness. In contrast to Tikva, Daniel, a young Ethiopian father, describes a different childhood: “My mother made sure we were well dressed and clean, you would not see an Ethiopian child with a runny nose, and if we forgot to take food to school, my father would bring it to school.” Most social workers of Ethiopian descent describe situations in which a child’s appearance is perceived by social workers who aren’t of Ethiopian descent as neglect—but they themselves realize that it does not constitute neglect in terms of the Ethiopian culture. They know this from their familiarity with the culture, and from their own childhoods. From their perspectives, social workers who aren’t of Ethiopian descent characterize children as “at risk” on the basis of the outward appearance of the children, the parents, and the house—and that these are not appropriate indicators for determining neglect or risk. Drawing on her own experience as a child and as a social worker, Fanta, who is of Ethiopian descent, speaks about these contradictory perspectives regarding neglect, and about a different interpretation of neglect, from a Western point of view: What Israeli society considers neglect is not considered to be neglect by us, okay? In Israeli society, they would characterize a child walking around barefoot as neglected. We do it for the fun of it; we remove our shoes, and play in the mud without footwear. And we had shoes, so we didn’t see it as neglect. They weren’t strict with us about clothes that were new, or ironed, or tucked in—and it was just fine, I don’t see this as neglect. Social workers automatically judge children based on their physical appearance.

Another example is given by Sabina who explains how a fellow social worker, a colleague that visited a child’s house, decided to involve a juvenile case worker, although in her own opinion, it was not necessary. She saw that the children were sleeping in the same bed, without pajamas, sleeping only in their underwear, and she said that this was neglect … and wanted to involve Child Protection Services. I asked what was neglectful in that? … That’s how they sleep …We all used to sleep in one bed. There were no pajamas. Where’s the neglect in that? … Not everything requires Child Protective Services. That needs to be understood.

Sibling Supervision  Sibling supervision is a common practice in many collectivist cultures, especially those characterized by large families, such as the Ethiopian community. Parents who belong to this community tend to view this practice as a normative framework for the protection of children depending on the child’s age, their maturity and their abilities. All Non-Ethiopian social workers perceived this as neglect, while among Ethiopian social workers, some perceived it as an accepted social norm while others felt child supervision was dangerous in the Israeli context.

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Fasika, an Ethiopian social worker, describes a situation in which she argues with parents who expect her to understand this custom. I had two families, because they did not understand the importance of a child being old enough to responsibly care for younger children, they left their babies with very small children. And I came across several situations where the children were found roaming the street. And so, for them it was normative, that it was all right, it was next to the house, in the store, in the road, but it’s okay, it’s next to the house, [laughs] they did not understand the problem … They gave the responsibility to an 8-year-old boy, but he didn’t take good care of the child. They didn’t evaluate further, and ask what his abilities were, what he was or was not capable of. He is a big boy, bigger than the child he cared for so therefore he is responsible for him. So I had a few families where it was hard for me to explain to them that this was a situation that was not okay. [laughs] They told me—where did you grow up? At age 5, where were you? Who did you take care of? As if they were turning it back onto me. It is also hard for them to accept this, a criticism from within their own community, as an Ethiopian social worker, as if I should understand them more.

Fasika thinks that not everything that was a social norm in Ethiopian villages is safe here. She argues that it is important to educate the family. The gap between norms and customs in the Ethiopian community and Western ideals of child welfare can lead to a biased risk assessment and unnecessary intervention. Emotional Neglect  From the perspective of the social workers and the parents, the worst manifestation of neglect is emotional neglect. Tikvah, a mother who was born in Ethiopia and educated in Israel views emotional neglect with great severity. Tikvah says that: “The hardest is emotional risk. Inner emotions a child doesn’t let out. It puts him in a very dangerous place. If he has no friends, he can be helped [to make friends]. But if he is at risk from his inner emotional state, then it is very difficult to help him.” Participating mothers who were educated in Israel have already integrated perceptions, practices, and standards in regard to children’s definitions of risk and protection. They view emotional neglect with the same seriousness that non-Ethiopian social workers ascribe to it. They talked about the importance of a mother’s emotional responsiveness to the child, seeing lack of warmth as emotional risk. They also see a lack of expressed love, a negative attitude, impatience and a lack of listening skills as emotional risk factors. During the interviews with the mothers, they noted how important it is to listen to the child and talk to them as part of their perception of proper care and “good motherhood.” Most of the mothers said they expressed their love for their baby by talking to them. Moreover, when they asked what habits it was important for them to teach children during the early years, some of them noted that it was important to talk to the baby, to read stories and to play with them. According to one of these mothers, Shira: “I give her a lot of love. Her development at this age is very important, she understands a lot at this age. I invest a lot in her. I teach her words of love, I hug her a lot.” Marit explains that her attitude may be different from that of the old generation of Ethiopian parents. She shares her experience as a child and as a mother:

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From the social worker’s perspective neglect occurs when the parents are uncooperative regarding diagnoses, in light of a child’s behavioral problems, emotional troubles, or learning difficulties. Shir, a social worker not of Ethiopian descent, describes the disparity and the disappointment when she encounters denial and parental objections to these reports: Emotional neglect, parents that don’t understand their child’s trouble, parents that strongly object to psychological diagnoses. In kindergarten, a girl was identified as having a learning disability and a speech impediment, and they refused to allow her to be diagnosed. They wouldn’t cooperate with the diagnoses. The rifts increase, and these lead to additional rifts, which magnify the problems.

Social workers view parents’ resistance as neglect, and a risk factor for children. However, parents explain the resistance to psychological assessment as a lack of faith in the system and the cultural bias of the assessments. Parents find it hard to believe reports received by school staff, and find it hard to rely on diagnoses by psychological and psychiatric services. Some social workers support a parent’s refusal to cooperate with the system; in cases where children were misdiagnosed, misplaced and mistreated they were enforced by a court order. Noya, a social worker not of Ethiopian descent, treated Ethiopian immigrants for seven years. She describes the difficulties with these types of situations: I had many conflicts with certain psychologists. Not with all of them. School staff. Especially school staff that said, if a child is problematic; send him to a boarding school. And I was very much against boarding schools. For me, boarding schools are the last resort, when there is no other recourse. And then they [the staff] become hostile to me and hostile towards the child himself. They don’t give the child opportunities; they want to see the child fail in the system, so that I will realize that he needs to be removed from home. It’s horrid. And I had many arguments with many schools, with many school counselors. Annoying school counselors that don’t even care about the child at all, they only care about what’s good for the school.

In cases in which parents notice emotional problems and dysfunctionality at home, the parents become very worried. Some of these parents prefer to treat their children with traditional methods, and they are willing to fly to Ethiopia with the children in order to heal them. These treatments have been described as having partial successes. Tova, a social worker who is not of Ethiopian descent, describes an extreme case in which the child was already hospitalized and classified as suffering from schizophrenia. While in treatment, the child’s mother insisted upon taking him to Ethiopia for traditional treatments, which she claimed were very helpful for his recovery: “She traveled with him to Ethiopia, for, she says that it really helps him … What’s most important is that he’s okay. He’s in some sort of recovery process. He’s a charming boy, a lovely boy, a smart boy, a successful boy.”

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The data suggests that the distrust between the parents and the educational staff and welfare authorities may result in the lack of an appropriate diagnosis or adequate treatment. Some parents and social workers suspect that the well-being of the child may not always be central to what motivates the educational staff. The participants suspect that sometimes the educational system is opting to remove the child from both the school and the home, blaming parents as not able to take care of their children’s emotional and educational needs and putting their children at risk. As a result, the parents have grave doubts and fears regarding this issue. Parents and some social workers voice their worries regarding recommendations for inappropriate medical treatment, or placement in a framework that isn’t appropriate for the child. Our findings show that parents and professionals are both worried, but they are unable to reach understandings and agreements regarding the preferred methods of treatment. The parents also voiced their fear of the state’s criticism of their functioning as parents, and admitted that they would not report certain situations to the welfare authorities. For example, when Israela, a social worker of Ethiopian decent, was asked about neglect, her response related to her personal fears as a mother: I fear they will say about me that I don’t take care of my child, it makes me get there quickly, before others … I know that we are sometimes supervised and examined by others … I am afraid that it will be said of me that I don’t take care of my children or something like that.

Some parents find it difficult to understand the child’s problem. They believe that the child’s problems are just a normal part of childhood, while social workers try to avoid the dangers, but often parents fail to deal with the problems in time. And they tend to finally approach social workers and ask them for help when the condition of their child deteriorates and they see real danger. This usually occurs when it comes to adolescent children or non-functioning adult children. But at that point, the social workers can’t help much, and the parents are left alone to deal with the children, who are dysfunctional, violent and withdrawn, causing problems for them and for their younger siblings. Shira, a social worker, explains: It generally blows up for the parents when the children go through adolescence, and they don’t know how to deal with it … The youth drop out of the educational institutions, and the parents have no tools, no way of helping the child. He’s already acting out, he doesn’t want to learn, he doesn’t want anything, he’s insolent, he drinks, and he gets a police file. Sometimes he even serves time in jail. The parents have no tools to deal with it, because it’s too late.

Access to Alcohol  The home is perceived by all participants as a major protective factor. Pride in the culture and preserving the culture is one of its manifestations. The tradition of welcoming guests is one of the essentials of Ethiopian culture. In the homeland, beer made of the local grain (teff) was served. This beer had less alcohol percentage than the beer bought in Israel and was also consumed by children. In the Israeli reality, while this custom is preserved, alcohol consumption for young people is perceived as a risk factor by both parents and by social workers. Mangosto, an Ethiopian social worker, is very concerned about the situation. He notes that the

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practice of serving alcoholic beverages is central to the hosting practices of the Ethiopian families resulting in exposing children to alcohol: There is a problem. You know there is this custom of welcoming guests. The house is always pretty well equipped with alcohol; I do not know how you are at home [laughs]. Everything … It’s accessible. If the parents give legitimacy to drinking beer, it is very difficult for us to come up with the argument, why. And it’s a short road to drink in pubs. We really have a lot of children, they are cut off from the frameworks, and do not enlist in the army, unfortunately, there are a lot.

Just as it is hard to prevent alcoholism, it is harder to reward boys and girls for limiting alcohol consumption. And in the absence of cooperation boys and girls are sent for rehabilitation outside of their community, far from home and far from their family. Yosef, a social worker who specializes in detoxification, describes the difficulty in treating alcohol addicts: I have been here for 22 years. This community I grew up in. And this is the community that least uses my services … And many times I asked myself, Why? Why isn’t it obvious that they can knock on the door? … Their perception of the subject of addiction may be different … They do not always regard alcohol as a problem, as something, that the family system must organize, and take action to stop drinking. And when I work with a family that has a problem of addiction and addiction to alcohol, I ask the family to create an environment that does not invite use. They laugh. You know what I’m talking about. It’s not that funny, and then they look at me like I’m crazy? When I say this to a non-Ethiopian, it’s hard for them, but they’ll agree with me that the buffet will not have whiskey… and the family should assist in this process. In the Ethiopian community it does not happen, even the opposite … it’s a ceremony, it would be shameful to have guests come and not offer alcohol, so basically we find ourselves in the loop again … and more recently young people arrive. But they do not come on their own initiative, and say - hello, I have a problem. They come when the police open a file on them.

Both emotional neglect and alcoholism are examples of a shared concern of parents and professionals. Yet in the absence of agreement on treating this risk, children who need it most are not reached.

5.8  Discussion The purpose of this chapter was to explore the subjective meanings of “risk,” and “protection” regarding children of Ethiopian origin, from several points of view. The terms were discussed by parents of Ethiopian descent, both first generation parents who are in contact with the welfare system and one-and-a-half generation mothers with high levels of education, as well as social workers of Ethiopian decent and social workers who are not from Ethiopian decent. The analysis is described within a context-informed perspective (Shalhoub-Kevorkian  & RoerStrier, 2016). The themes are reported according to the different contexts that affect children and their families such as the policies, neighborhoods, schools, families and home and child rearing practices. We argue for the relevance of these contexts

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to appraisals of risk, neglect, and abuse, as well as methods of prevention, protection and treatment. In the field of child protection, awareness of the context for professionals and policy-­makers is especially important when working with minority groups like Ethiopian immigrants in Israel, who deal with multiple oppressive forces, both institutional and social. The interviews highlight the fear of parents from assessment of children’s risk by professionals and the possible result of removing children from their homes. Both parents and professionals belonging to the Ethiopian population are often critical of the Western oriented culturally insensitive criteria for risk assessment and treatment. Study participants related risk to cultural aspects, including tradition, opinions, and the world of values that characterize the socio-cultural framework that the child grew up in. For example, the traditional treatment as it relates to risk that stems from children’s emotional problems and differing views on alcohol consumption, sibling supervision, corporal punishment and traditional healing practices. From the perspective of parents and social workers, with the exception of alcohol (for the social workers), risk is something that exists mainly outside the home. The main elements for risk outside the home were the biased policies, assessments and out of home placements and the impoverished neighborhoods. The main elements for protecting the child were the home, the parents, the significant siblings, and the extended family. While much of the risk discourse is focused on the deficit perspective, our studies call for the importance of including the view on protection. Once this element is added, a fuller picture unfolds. This picture suggests that risk and protection are not dichotomous and should be regarded as a multifaceted phenomenon. Our findings show that sometimes a factor can be considered as risk provoking and protective at the same time. For example, sibling supervision appears to be a protective factor for the parents but is a risk factor to some social workers. Alcohol consumption is seen as both a social practice and a source of risk. Parents were perceived to be a source of resilience for their children, however, in the absence of parental authority, the child may be at risk. This understanding holds great importance for both risk assessment and intervention. Interventions such as the removal of children from their home could have been re-considered in light of the resilience perspective. Over-representation of minority population groups at various intersections of the child protection and educational systems is an issue that has been researched worldwide for some years now. This study demonstrates that disadvantaged minority groups are characterized by over-representation in the child protection system that is well over their proportion of the general population (Dettlaff, 2014). The reasons for this are many and they vary from the influence of prejudice during the reporting, investigation, verification and treatment phases, to the influence of higher rates of stressors—especially stressors that are associated with poverty—amongst minority groups (Fluke, Harden, Jenkins, & Ruehrdanz, 2011). In regards to Ethiopian immigrants in Israel, we cannot explain the phenomenon of over-representation without acknowledging the community’s contexts and complexities, as well as significant aspects of government policy, such as streaming children into impoverished neighborhoods, separating and tracking students, sending them to boarding schools, outright racism, and more (Belz, Zusman, & Tzur, 2014).

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Herzog (1998), among the first to research the absorption of Ethiopian immigrants, argued that the bureaucratic system treated the immigrants from Ethiopia as a distinct category requiring special treatment. This attitude, she believed, caused them to become closed off, and established relations characterized by dependency, which prevented their successful absorption, and later on, contributed to their social and economic marginalization (Herzog, 1998). This policy towards immigrants from Ethiopia was maintained well after the 1980s (Engdau-Vanda, 2019; Vanda & Zaudo, 2010). Our study demonstrates that even in 2019, this policy still exists. When they are still in Israeli absorption centers, Ethiopian immigrants are at risk of being collectively tracked into impoverished neighborhoods and boarding schools for immigrant youth. Later on, these children are at risk to be streamed into the special education system and welfare boarding schools. In a study where three to six-year-old children were asked about their perceptions regarding risk and protection (see Chap. 14) children referred to their neighborhoods as a major source of risk. Children commented about limited electricity in their buildings and neighborhoods, making it scary for them to walk in the dark. They filmed and painted open potholes, reported few options for leisure activities and quality education and described frightening street encounters with people involved in criminal activities. Children of parents from Ethiopian decent talked about exposure to exploitation, poverty and exclusion. The police were described as being both protective and putting their big brothers at risk (Wahle, Ponizovsky-Bergelson, Dayan, Erlichman, & Roer-Strier, 2017). The sense of protection that these children reported in this study depends upon their personal resilience, in addition to the level of involvement and support they receive from their parents, the education system, as well as from their friends, siblings and extended families. Garb and Goren (2010), who deal with risk among the Bedouin population in the Negev, suggest that the role of the social worker is to help each side see the other’s point of view, to help the parent understand why their actions may be perceived by the child as harmful while helping the child understand the parent’s intent. In their article, they suggest that social workers consider treating this population as an opportunity for encounter between different cultures. In order to comprehend their proposal, professionals must understand the enormous complexity of the different contexts including power relations. The example of the single mother agreeing to send her daughter to boarding school because “she was told to do so” exemplifies the power social workers and other authority figures have over immigrants and marginalized populations. “Political risk,” including the dismantling of power sources and the use of screening and paving policies are risk factors that have led to many marginal positions. Many scholars claim that there may be a disruption or interruption in the fulfillment of the parental functions after immigration that hinders parenthood and thus puts children at risk (e.g., Ayalon & Lahad, 2000). According to Spector (2007), the shock and confusion experienced by immigrants or immigrant parents affects many functions in their lives, and one of the most important being parenting. Therefore, it is necessary to help them process the shock of culture and restore parental competence. In contrast to this notion, our findings show that both parents and social

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workers noted family and community cohesion, parents and home as protective factors for children. This is similar to the findings of a study dealing with risk perceptions among Bedouin parents living in the unrecognized villages in the Negev. They also manage to overcome many difficulties through strong relationships with the extended family (Marey-Sarwan, Otto, Roer-Strier, & Keller, 2015). It should also be noted that when dealing with immigrants it is important to distinguish between generations. Our studies show that first-generation parents’ subjective perspectives on “risk” and “protection” in the lives of their children are likely to be significantly different from those of professionals. These include disagreements over the significance of central cultural elements, such as: dealing with the mental and developmental health of children, educational paradigms, temporal resources, physical appearance, physical closeness, and corporal punishment as is demonstrated in this study. Nevertheless, there are similarities between one-and-a-half generation parents of Ethiopian descent and social workers, in terms of their attitudes towards concepts of emotional risk. The group of parents from the one-and-a-half generation that was interviewed were educated in Israel and integrated as professionals into the Israeli systems. Some of the mothers who participated in the present study arrived in Israel as children. They are bi-cultural or multicultural in their understanding of the complexity of risk and protection and are able to navigate between the systems. Our findings exemplify the adoption of Western perceptions by the one-and-a-half generation mothers who report that it is important to listen to the child, to give them a platform to speak up and to teach them to stand up for themselves. This is similar to the study carried out in Israel among young fathers of immigrants from Ethiopia and the former Soviet Union, according to which immigration enabled the re-­ examination of paternity definitions in a way that enabled the adoption of new paternity components like emotional bonds with children and open communication (Strier & Roer-Strier, 2005). Definitions of risk and protection depend both upon parenting styles and environmental contexts (Efrat-Gott & Ben-Arieh, 2001; Roer-­ Strier & Sands, 2015). Both groups of mothers and social workers of Ethiopian descent who were educated in Israel claim to have preserved the child rearing practices from Ethiopia they regard as good for children, abandoned other practices carried over from Ethiopia that they regarded as not applicable or causing risk in Israel, and adopted other protective parenting paradigms that they picked up in Israel. This is an especially important point to make when speaking about professionals of Ethiopian descent—mostly parents in their own right—that deal with Ethiopian immigrants. These findings also show that immigration could be an opportunity and parenting is not static and may be dynamic in the case of immigration. Therefore, we call for refraining from generalizing, and maintain that the changes in parenting paradigms amongst Ethiopian immigrants or any group of minority parents must be taken into account. Our findings also point to the importance of the voice of social workers from minority groups. They simultaneously possess two bodies of knowledge: the first was acquired during their early socialization process, as part of their lives in a unique cultural group; the second was acquired later on during their academic and professional socialization process, which relies on the host country’s perspective.

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As such, professionals that are themselves members of a minority group have a rare and unique ability to be a bridge to the immigrant community to whom they belong (Green, 1999). In this context, the social workers of Ethiopian descent manage to understand risk and protective situations in a more nuanced and sensitive way. They view risk on a continuum and hold an insider’s view. These social workers also manage to discern between neglect and abuse within the cultural context, and they demonstrate sensitivity in their treatment of issues related to reporting about violence, and deciding when to involve law enforcement. Social workers of Ethiopian descent find it easier to establish a relationship of trust with some of the parents, and to work with them on phased treatments. On the other hand, parents expect the social workers to understand them, stand in solidarity with them in every situation and perceive the social workers as traitors of a sort if they don’t comply. Similar to their non-Ethiopian counterparts, some of the Ethiopian social workers showed internalization of the “universal perspective” of risk and protection according to which they were trained. Internalization of the majority culture is broadly enforced and may cause judgmental attitudes toward one’s own community.

5.9  Conclusion The findings of the study emphasize the importance of broad observation, understanding of context, complexity, change and dynamics when attempting to discuss the connection between culture, risk, neglect, and child abuse. Focusing merely on “culture” may result in partial and biased answers that are likely to contribute to the stigmatization of an entire group (Nadan, Spilsbury, & Korbin, 2015). The findings of the study also point to the importance of a dialogue between the parents and the welfare and educational system concerning risk and protection. To date, Ethiopian children who are defined to be at risk are referred to various types of intervention programs that are provided universally by the educational and welfare authorities, but not necessarily tailored to the specific needs of the parents and children. Such a dialogue could contribute to a mutual agreement about context sensitive assessment and intervention. We urge social workers to deeply examine the reports they receive from the educational systems. As we learned from some of the social workers participating in our study, we call on more social workers to stand on the side of the families; to become closer to them, to understand them, to acknowledge the injustice done to them, and to actively advocate for them in the face of these systems, as needed (Kromer-Nevo, 2017). These social workers managed to create an alliance with the families, despite the great burden on them and the difficult work conditions that they described. Others noted that they haven’t managed to provide the families with the treatment they need. Pressured, they are forced to only deal with emergency situations as the result of external pressures and social constraints, related to the political, economic and institutional factors of social work (Strier & Feldman, 2017). The findings of the study point us to suggest the training of professionals with the aim of broadening their views on context-informed assessment and

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intervention when evaluating risk and treating children from minority groups in general, and Ethiopian immigrants in particular. We believe that cultural and contextual understandings are likely to make their work easier and more efficient. However, improvement in the work conditions of social workers is essential in order to achieve any real change. These findings also shed light on the need to conduct a dialogue with social workers, as well as with education and mental health professionals together with Ethiopian immigrants to promote change in policies towards the absorption of Ethiopian immigrants.

References Ayalon, O., & Lahad, M. (2000). Life on the edge: Coping with stress of war and peace (Extended 6th ed.). Kiryat Tivon: Nord. Belz, N., Zusman, N., & Tzur S. (2014). Segregation of primary and secondary school students. Bank of Israel Report. Dettlaff, A. J. (2014). The evolving understanding of disproportionality and disparities in child welfare. In J. E. Korbin & R. D. Krugman (Eds.), Handbook of child maltreatment (pp. 149–168). Dordrecht, the Netherlands: Springer. Efrat-Gott, D., & Ben-Arieh, A. (2001). The epidemiology of child abuse. In Y. Zionit & Y. Kadman (Eds.), Children as victims of domestic abuse: An additional look at the phenomenon, its prevalence and characteristics. Jerusalem: National Council for the Child. Engdau-Vanda, S. (2019). Resilience in immigration -The story of Ethiopian Jews in Israel. Tel Aviv, Israel: Resling Press. [Hebrew]. Fluke, J., Harden, B. J., Jenkins, M., & Ruehrdanz, A. (2011). Research synthesis on child welfare: Disproportionality and disparities. Washington, DC: The Center for the Study of Social Policy and the Annie E. Casey Foundation on behalf of The Alliance for Racial Equity in Child Welfare. Garb, Y., & Goren, T. (2010). Cultural and ecological contexts of violent punishment and restraint of Negev Bedouin children: From understandings to interventions. Child Abuse Review, 19(4), 273–290. Green, J. W. (1999). Cultural awareness in the human services (3rd ed.). Boston: Allyn & Bacon. Herzog, Esther (1998). The bureaucracy and Ethiopian immigrants. Tel Aviv, Israel: Tcherikover Press. [Hebrew]. Kromer-Nevo, M. (2017). Poverty-aware social work in the MPH program (SP?). Concepts, pains, and hopes. Beersheba: Ashalim Joint. Marey-Sarwan, I., Otto, H., Roer-Strier, D., & Keller, H. (2015). Parenting among the Arab Bedouins in the Naqab desert in Israel: Children are a gift from god. In G. Nicolas, A. Bejarano, & D. L. Lee (Eds.), Contemporary parenting: A global perspective (pp. 105–123). New York and London: Routledge. Nadan, Y., Spilsbury, J. C., & Korbin, J. E. (2015). Culture and context in understanding child maltreatment: Contributions of intersectionality and neighborhood-based research. Child Abuse & Neglect, 41, 40–48. Roer-Strier, D., & Sands, R. G. (2015). Moving beyond the ‘official story’: When ‘others’ meet in a qualitative interview. Qualitative Research, 15(2), 251–268. Shalhoub-Kevorkian, N., & Roer-Strier, D. (2016). Context-informed, counter-hegemonic qualitative research: Insights from an Israeli/Palestinian research team studying loss. Qualitative Social Work, 15(4), 552–569. Shmuel, N. (2010). The educational traditions of Ethiopian Jews: Dynamics of continuity and change (Unpublished master’s thesis). Hebrew University of Jerusalem. [Hebrew].

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Spector, G. (2007). On the bridge. In I. R. Cohen & D. Hofstetter (Eds.), Family and opinion – The parental guidance. Models and methods (Vol. 3). Jerusalem: Ministry of Education. Strier, R., & Roer-Strier, D. (2005). Fatherhood and immigration: Perceptions of Israeli immigrant fathers from Ethiopia and the former Soviet Union. Families in Society, 86(1), 121–133. Strier, R., & Feldman, G. (2017). Reengineering social work’s political passion: Policy practice and neo-liberalism. The British Journal of Social Work. https://doi.org/10.1093/bjsw/bcx064 Vanda, H. & Zaudo, A. (2010). On the political economy of ‘The science of Ethiopian Judaism’ and on the significant contribution of Ethiopian Jews to the Israeli society and economy. Retrieved March 2016, from https://youngethiopianstudents.wordpress.com Wahle, N., Ponizovsky-Bergelson, Y., Dayan, Y., Erlichman, O., & Roer-Strier, D. (2017). On the margins of racism, immigration and war: Perspectives on risk and protection of young children of Ethiopian origin in Israel. European Early Childhood Education Research Journal, 25(2), 305–320. Weil, S. (1988). The religious beliefs and practices of Ethiopian Jews in Israel. Jerusalem: The Hebrew University Research Institute for Innovation in Education.

Chapter 6

Parental and Professional Perspectives of Child Risk and Protection in Israel’s Ultra-Orthodox Community Rivka Keesing, Netanel Gemara, and Mani Pollak

The Ultra-Orthodox (Haredi) community is a religious sub-group among the Jewish population worldwide. Although this community is divided into many subgroups and streams that differ from one another in many ways, its members share some common characteristics (Friedman, 1991). Most notably, Ultra-Orthodox (UO) Jews are characterized by their faith in G-d, their commitment to Jewish law (halacha), and their obligation to conserve and observe an all-encompassing life system of immutable values, norms, laws, and institutions. They do this by maintaining a unique form of community life and specific rituals, practices, and traditions (Weiss, Shor, & HadasLidor, 2013). Such Jews tend to enforce insularity and safeguard their collective values from external influence by living in self-segregated communities in which they can maintain their distinct way of life. They also operate independent educational systems and share a disdain for secular education and army service. In addition, they isolate themselves from the secular media and try to provide for their own needs within the community using internal social networks and organizations (ColemanBrueckheimer, Spitzer, & Koffman, 2009; Friedman, 1991; Samet, 1988). The UO community in Israel comprises over 1 million people, constituting about 12 percent of Israel’s total population. An average UO family has seven children (Malach & Cahaner, 2018). The proportion of UO households below the poverty line stands at 45 percent, compared with 11 percent of the other Jewish population. Despite the much lower socioeconomic level of this community in Israel, the level of satisfaction with life among the UO was found to be higher than the average of the entire Jewish population (Malach, Hoshen, & Cahaner, 2016). Indeed, Strier’s (2007) study of perceptions of poverty among different populations in Jerusalem R. Keesing (*) · N. Gemara · M. Pollak NEVET-Greenhouse of Context-Informed Research and Training for Children in Need, The Paul Baerwald School of Social Work and Social Welfare, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem, Israel e-mail: [email protected] © Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2020 D. Roer-Strier, Y. Nadan (eds.), Context-Informed Perspectives of Child Risk and Protection in Israel, Child Maltreatment 10, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-44278-1_6

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found that in UO society, the interpretation of poverty is less negative than that of the general population in Israel. A sacred, central value in UO society is the study of the Torah, alongside educating the children in accordance with the Torah and its commandments (Friedman, 1991). Women are often the main breadwinners (usually working within the community), while the men devote their lives to Torah study (Leshem, 2011). Despite their segregationist tendencies, recent years have brought about a growing participation of UO men and women in Israeli social, economic, and cultural spheres. They partake in vocational training and employment and visit public shopping and entertainment centers. In addition, an increased UO presence in the media is consistent with an increasing number of recent attempts to influence and change the UO norms within the public Israeli sphere (Caplan & Stadler, 2012). Some even identify a new stream of UO, the “Modern Ultra-Orthodox,” who maintain Ultra-Orthodox self-­ determination but serve in the army, work, and live the equivalent of a middle-class economic and cultural lifestyle (Zicherman & Cahaner, 2012). This trend is also seen at the leadership level. Studies have identified a relatively new tendency whereby UO rabbis and educators adopt aspects of democratic and psychological discourses (Hakak, 2011). An additional change has been observed in the UO narrative on gender issues, with the incorporation of a discourse of feminism and modern psychology into many UO families’ consciousness and practices, as many men in this sector become active and essential partners in parenting and household work (Wagner, 2015). In accordance with the rise in UO integration into Israeli society, alongside a growing acceptance of modern psychology and the need for therapists within the community, the number of UO individuals undergoing training as professional therapists has risen in recent years. These professionals who come from within have the advantage of being trusted by their community (Miller & Huminer, 2019).

6.1  Childhood in the Ultra-Orthodox Community In the UO community, Jewish traditions play a central role in the perception of childhood. Jewish law abounds with texts emphasizing the importance of having children, which is considered a major objective of marriage. Accordingly, children are considered to be a tremendous blessing. Hence, on average, UO families in Israel are large (Hleihel, 2011; Malach & Cahaner, 2018). A key biblical obligation of children is to honor their parents (Exodus 20:11); thus, education revolves around this notion. UO children receive clear guidance regarding the need to obey their elders and are required to overcome the evil inclination that manifests itself in selfishness and lack of self-restraint (Friedman, 1991). Furthermore, UO children are generally required to demonstrate relative responsibility, maturity, and independence when compared with other children of similar ages (Yafeh, 2007). Finally, UO society assigns great significance and importance to the spiritual realm, which is considered to constitute a substantial reality. Children are

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socialized into the belief that the spiritual realm is more important than the physical one (Friedman, 1991), thus further solidifying their sense of obligation to the community.

6.2  C  hild Risk and Protection in Ultra-Orthodox Communities The distinctive religious and cultural values, worldviews, and norms that prevail in ultra-Orthodox communities impact perspectives regarding child risk and protection (Dorff, 2014; Shor, 1998). Belonging to a close-knit community characterized by social solidarity, close social supervision, and a strong support network presents various risk factors (such as the failure to report maltreatment) as well as protective factors (such as multiple caregiving adults and the provision of spiritual support) (Bunge, 2014; Spilsbury & Korbin, 2013). Driven by a strong aversion to stigma, individuals in Ultra-Orthodox communities are unlikely to discuss their serious problems with people outside their immediate family, which may prevent them from seeking assistance when needed (Margolese, 1998; Stolovy, Levy, Doron, & Melamed, 2013). Moreover, the desire to prevent the modern secular world from imposing on their values and challenging the internal structure of their community results in the underutilization of, and only partial cooperation with, public health and social services (Freund & Band-­ Winterstein, 2013; Popovsky, 2010). This situation is partially due to the community’s perception of a threat posed by the welfare and judicial authorities (Lightman & Shor, 2002; Schmid & Benbenishty, 2011), which leads to low rates of reported maltreatment (Attar-Schwartz, Ben-Arieh, & Khoury-Kassabri, 2011). Recently, however, changes have been discernible in Ultra-Orthodox communities worldwide with regard to the willingness to address issues such as at-risk children and child maltreatment (Eidensohn & Shulem, 2010; Salamon, 2011). This relative openness has enabled professionals to intervene and be more involved. It has also sparked calls for more relevant knowledge regarding at-risk children and risk perceptions in order to facilitate the development and modification of services and intervention programs that are specially adapted to the unique context and culture of the community.

6.2.1  Participants We conducted 85 face-to-face, in-depth, semi-structured interviews with 45 Ultra-­ Orthodox parents (24 mothers and 21 fathers) and with 40 professionals working with the Ultra-Orthodox community (30 men and 10 women). The professionals included both members of the community (N  =  20) and outsiders (N  =  20) and spanned various fields of expertise: 30 social workers, three teachers, four child

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development specialists, and two counselors. The sample was purposive and based on participant referrals (snowballing), which enables access to close-knit and insular communities. Pseudonyms are used for all participants.

6.2.2  Findings The analysis of the interviews with Ultra-Orthodox parents, educators, social workers and health professions yielded four main themes: children caught between child independence and risk; the individual and the community; the spiritual context; and sexual risk and protection.

6.3  Between Child Independence and Risk The large number of children in ultra-Orthodox families creates circumstances in which young children are required to take responsibility for both themselves and for their younger siblings. This section discusses the cultural logic regarding child independence, the parental role, and the implications in encountering outsider professionals who perceive this independence as a risk for children. The Cultural Logic of Child Independence  Most UO children grow up in large families with many siblings, so it seems natural that they are required to pitch in and help. Nevertheless, the findings suggest that UO parents deliberately socialize children to be independent, since they perceive independence as a protective skill and not only as an inescapable necessity in helping them to cope with raising a large family. Shimon is a young teacher at an UO elementary school for boys and a father of a two-year-old boy. Shimon lives in a large UO city and is a member of the community. When asked what protects UO children, he argued that parents, teachers, and the independence that children in the UO community receive all serve to protect children. Shimon noted: The fact that they allow children to get scrapes and bruises instead of “being wrapped in cotton wool” [protects them]. My sister has eight children. Their son is the same age as ours, and even though he is far behind my son in development, he still has thick skin because he has so many siblings… this one smacks him, this one steps on him… now, when he wants something, he knows how to get it. It’s kind of like growing up in the streets—he knows how to take care of himself, he has no choice. So I think it is a positive thing that parents don’t always deal with the child. To some extent this “neglect” [Shimon indicated quotation marks]—if it’s within reasonable boundaries, causes the child to grow up in a good way. He learns a life lesson. I think that this is something that also offers him protection because an UO child, at a very young age, is given a great deal of responsibility, which I think is a great thing. This protects [UO children], they are more mature, more experienced—they know

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better what needs to be done.Interviewer: “When you speak of this independence compared to “neglect”…” Shimon: “Yes, it’s sort of contradictory. But I think that it is all a matter of degree … It’s not just how much independence is given, it’s the approach. [As a parent, I might say,] ‘I will allow my child to take charge of his younger sibling now—not because I have no energy now, but because I think it’s good for him, so he’ll learn to manage on his own.’ I am making a conscious choice to give him this responsibility.”

The independence UO children develop is not just a product of circumstances. It is based on a parental view of independence as a desirable trait and capability. Whereas this kind of independence may be perceived as “neglect” and a risk factor, in ultra-­ Orthodox society, this freedom is considered a protective factor. Independent But Not Alone  Although interviewees described the high level of responsibility amongst young children, a more complex picture emerged, revealing the presence of parental intervention and guidance as well. Parents described the many guidelines and precautions being taken to reduce risk and shared their process of adjusting levels of the independence to particular children’s characteristics. Chavi, a mother of six children between the ages of 4 months and 10 years, and a girls’ pre-school teacher, lives in a large UO community. She points out a few important rules: [You need to make sure that] sockets are covered, windows have bars, children can’t turn on the gas, matches are safely put away in a high place, the furniture doesn’t have sharp edges that little ones will run into … shelves aren’t rickety and they’re attached to the wall, electricity is in working order, there is a main switch that … prevents electric shocks … They aren’t allowed to stick plugs into the outlets, under a certain age; they don’t cross the street on their own … The basic rules that parents instill in their children [are important], so you can have a house that is safe for children; but if there are no clear safety rules set by parents, then [they are at risk].

In essence, although there may be less of a concrete parental presence in UO households, there is parental guidance and supervision. Findings indicate that parents only rely on rules to enable early independence when they identify a child’s individual abilities. Chasi, a mother of five children between the ages of three and ten, notes the individual abilities she looks for in a child, regardless of age, before allowing independence and responsibility. There are some children who understand more, and some understand less. For instance, I have a 5-year old boy who [bli ayin harah1] loves being independent … I can send him by himself to the grocery store in the morning and he’ll go and come back with what I want … That’s his personality. On the other hand, we just started sending his older sister, who is in first grade, to the store. Because her personality is much more laid back, and she’s much calmer and quieter… if she gets embarrassed, I’m not sure she will feel comfortable asking somebody [for help] … There are children who are naturally bolder, and they can get things done. And there are children who you just can’t rely on as much.

1  ‘bli ayin harah’ - means “without the evil eye.” The saying is customarily added after praising another person, thus expressing the wish that the “evil eye” should not affect the individual discussed.

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Parents assess the individual ability of each child for independence and responsibility. Some children, depending on their abilities, will be granted independence, while others will have to wait until they are old enough and more capable. The findings suggest that a crucial function in allowing early responsibility in the context of the UO community is the child’s ability to recognize his/her limits and approach those surrounding him/her to receive the right help when needed. Close parental guidance and support, along with the understanding of every child’s individual abilities, came up in the findings as the key for safety in the UO context. Child Independence and Professionals  Although UO parents and UO professionals consider child independence a positive feature, external professionals working in this community criticize the UO approach towards child independence as one of the major risk factors for children in this society. Maya is an experienced secular physical therapist working at a child developmental center in a UO community. Among her patients is a 10-year-old UO girl with Cerebral palsy. The girl is in therapy due to orthopedic surgery. Maya explains her reservations regarding the UO interpretation of child independence, complaining that a girl in this situation comes to receive care unaccompanied by a parent: I did not even meet her mother in the beginning … That can be problematic. Or sometimes children are sent with their siblings … Often, when parents don’t have time, the child is accompanied by someone else and not by their parents. That can cause difficulties, and it can also cause some tension. This is characteristic of the UO community … I think that first of all, the parents need to be involved in every aspect of the therapy. A 10-year-old child can’t send a message to the parent if they suddenly need them or something during the therapy session … This girl is super independent, she comes on her own, she leaves alone. I can understand that; she also goes to school by herself, riding on the bus. But when this girl comes to me, just when she’s post-surgery, it seems to me that you need to tighten up the proper connection instead of just sending her to me after surgery, with all of the proper documents in hand, and saying—okay, take care of her.

Professionals come across some children and families that have functional difficulties for varying reasons. To an outsider, all independence is perceived as endangering. Although at times that is the case, in many other situations, the difference between protection and risk lies in the ability to attain parental involvement that appropriately meets the level of capability of the specific child. Findings reveal a position of judgmental encouragement among external professionals towards UO parents’ actions. Esther, an experienced non-UO speech therapist working with children from the UO community, further demonstrates this approach. She refers to a recommendation of the Israel Council for the Child that children under the age of 9 years refrain from crossing roads alone (which was advertised in a government-­ funded publicity campaign): It sounds like I’m being judgmental, but … safety norms are at stake. Seven-year-old girls who cross the street with a baby in a carriage … children aged 6, 7, and 8 who ride their bicycles in the street—it just kills me. Their norms are different. I’m sure that this causes greater risk. … You see more Arab and UO children [involved in accidents] than children from other sectors and communities … It’s very scary to drive in UO communities. Their children have no concept of road safety. In many cases, mothers tell about things that

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c­ hildren do that I would never allow a child of mine to do … like the two-year-old who climbs up onto the counter and takes things from the cabinet … To me, that seems really dangerous … maybe I am an over-protective mother, but to me, that sounds unreasonable… Also other things, like letting an eight-year-old pick up a two-year-old from preschool. That doesn’t seem safe to me, it’s not something I would do … But this is accepted in the UO community.

Professionals outside of the UO community compare their own parenting with their Ultra-Orthodox clients’ upbringing and notice large gaps. They feel that the high levels of independence granted to UO children places them at risk of getting hurt and injured.

6.4  The Individual-Community Interaction All interviewees referred to the central role the community plays in the daily life of UO children. Yitzhak, an experienced and educated school counselor, lives in a small UO community and works at an UO boys’ school as a teacher and a counselor. Previously, Yitzhak had worked as a counselor in secular schools. He considers the community to be the main factor that distinguishes between an UO child and all other children, emphasizing the centrality of social interactions in the area of children at risk in the UO community: There are no differences [between the UO community and others] in the dangers involved in a child’s interaction with the physical world surrounding him. However, in human interactions, the sources of danger are different. In other words, the danger facing an UO child [when any interpersonal interaction is involved] is greater than a regular child, because of the way the community is organized.

In a close-knit, collectivist community such as the UO one, the individual is constantly part of a collective. UO self-segregation enables the relationship between the individual and community to provide valued protection for its members, but at the same time creates unique risks. Protective Aspects  UO parents and professionals consider the close community (family, neighbors, community resources etc.) as the most important source of support when a child is at risk of any kind of abuse or neglect. Shimon notes that an UO child feels protected by the community. The child knows that he is part of a society. UO society is a very closed community, but is also very protective of its own. This gives the child a sense of protection, knowing that he is part of a community that will stand up for him and defend him. There is a mutual guarantee that [all members of an UO community] will help and look out for each other. There’s no such thing as a family that has problems and the neighbors won’t help them. Neighbors or the synagogue or the school will organize to help them. And this protects them.

The mere knowledge that every community member can count on communal help in times of need is perceived as protecting children and families. Indeed, the UO community is based on community support systems that many other interviewees

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referred to as well, comprised of voluntary and charity organizations for a wide range of needs—including financial, medical, emotional, and functional aid. Most members of UO society, including teenagers, take on a voluntary role. Risk Aspects  Interviewees noted a lack of family support, deviation from established norm, and silencing as risks that UO children face. Family connections and support are crucial. Since most families are large, substantial time and effort is invested in family connections. Many relatives choose to live close to each other for daily help and support when raising large families. When any challenge arises, the immediate expectation is that the extended family will step in and help. As such, the implications are severe in cases when children that are in need of any help (and their parents) lack a supportive family. Many interviewees shared their personal experiences and referred to the difficulties in these cases. Yael is a mother of three children, with two bachelor degrees. She and her husband grew up secular and became UO later on in life. They live in a town with a large UO community among other populations. Yael turned to welfare services for help, without her husband knowing, in seeking relief for her marital, parental, and financial difficulties. However, turning to state services was a last resort, after several unsatisfactory attempts to attain support within her community. When explaining the factors that could cause child neglect in her experience, Yael described the ordeals of life in a situation with no family support: Emotional distress… parental troubles … let’s say I am drowning in legal problems and debts …. Really with all that’s happening with my husband and keeping the house functioning and a sick father … I have no support… and all the time I have to figure out how to divide my time and set priorities without support from family and friends… the lack of a supportive surrounding [is what puts my kids at risk].

Yael mentions the many familial stress factors she deals with alone, which put her children at risk. Yet ultimately, what affects her children’s wellbeing is her inability to receive support from her surroundings. It seems that the lack of close family support can prevent households in the UO community from accessing the mutual help system—a crucial asset, as discussed above. Inaccessibility to familiar or mutual support increases these children’s risk as compared to other UO children. Beyond the lack of access to community support systems, any deviation in a normative or marginalized family can transform the same collective properties of a close-knit community into harmful and risk the children’s social status in their community. In cases of perceived deviation that threaten the beliefs and norms of society, the close-knit community becomes endangering. Such is the case with Orna. She was raised in a traditional “authentic Yemenite” home and became UO when she studied at a kindergarten teacher’s seminar. She is married and has six children. Orna works as a caregiver in a nursery and her husband studies Torah full-time. The family lives in an UO city and faces many economic and familial challenges. Orna feels that her daughters are not accepted since they don’t follow all of the norms. For example, her daughters use iPhones (which the UO community bans). In her words:

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Some people call them shiksa [a derogatory term for non-Jews) and Tameh (contaminated). It is very hard for them in the community. It’s so hard for them and from my perspective— come on, let them be, live and let live.

For individuals deemed deviant, living in a community with high expectations for conformity can be quite difficult. Indeed, professionals (both UO and non-UO) seem to view the UO community as both protective and endangering. The exact same factors that provide protection can simultaneously be those that place children at risk. All of the professionals interviewed identified the benefits a community provides in times of need, but also noted a major risk resulting from the stigma that is created when a community norm is perceived to have been broken. The stigma leads to silencing in order to protect the family’s status in the traditional matchmaking system.2 Silencing one’s own or sibling’s difficulties is common mainly to allow young adults the best match possible for marriage. Sarah, an experienced secular physical therapist described the process she went through when meeting UO parents of children with genetic illnesses, who preferred not to receive a clear diagnosis for the child so that it wouldn’t harm the marriageability of other family members. In UO society there is a great sense of community, people look around a lot more to see what is happening here, what is happening there, and how things work, and that is something that you have to absorb. For example, if someone tells you that a diagnosis [for the child] will lead to problems with matchmaking, at first glance you say ‘what?’ But when you understand the societies’ norms, then you understand that [such families] will be dealing with things that are very hard in that community. And you have to understand that.

At first, Sarah considered the parents’ conduct irresponsible. However, upon coming to an understanding of the cultural codes these families live under, the judgment gave way to the comprehension that this is a complex matter. The price community members pay when they break the code of silence is a serious consideration. Although the traditional matchmaking system is a major reason given for silencing, interviewees (mainly professionals) note that as a patriarchal society, respect for authority causes silencing, as well as risk. As Yitzhak notes: One of the most significant factors is the education from a young age to respect authority figures and all adults in a general sense … In a situation where an adult causes injury, there is a diminished ability to say—no, or to resist, or even to tell someone else because of this inherent respect and fear that children are taught to have towards adults and authority figures … With a child who has experienced domestic violence then there can be … factors at play that may intensify the issue. For instance [a child might think], ‘this is my father, it’s my uncle, I have to respect them, I have to accept their authority. So if they decide that the way they approach a particular problem is by hitting me, or using force, that must be okay.’ Or something like, ‘they know better than I do what’s right and what’s wrong, and since they do this, obviously I must deserve it.’

2  ‘Shiduchim’ is a system of matchmaking in ultra-Orthodox communities whereby singles are introduced to one another for the purpose of marriage. A shadchan (a matchmaker) usually considers issues such as family status, illness, ethnic background, and siblings’ involvement in ultraOrthodox society.

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The tendency to rely on authority stretches on from infancy to adulthood. Yitzhak describes a situation involving a child and an older relative; but the same principle affects adults’ relationships with all authority figures, teachers, and spiritual leaders (rabbis), even in cases where such figures’ actions cause harm to themselves or their families.

6.5  The Spiritual Context A new construct of risk for children raised by ultra-Orthodox parents is what they called “spiritual risk.” Parents identified this form of risk as the most significant source of risk for their children (Nadan et al., 2018). Three Dimensions of Spiritual Risk  Spiritual risk is a complex construct comprised of three dimensions that overlap somewhat: (1) a decline in observance of religious commandments; (2) the violation of social-cultural norms; and (3) a decline in the spiritual experiential connection with God. UO parents view a decline in any one of these dimensions as dangerous for their child. A Decline in the Observance of the Torah and the Commandments  The strict and total observance of the large number of Jewish religious commandments— some of which are regarded as stemming directly from the Torah and others as having been created by the Jewish sages—is a fundamental value of the UO community. The Shulchan Aruch, a legal code authored in the sixteenth century by Rabbi Yosef Karo, is regarded as the last rabbinical authority detailing these different obligations. Parents tend to regard children who do not fulfill these commandments as being at risk. One major manifestation of this condition is a decline in their observance of the commandments of prayer, which causes parents concern and emotional distress. Nisan, an UO father of six, says: “When I see a child who is not praying as he should, it breaks my heart…it hurts.” Violation of Socio-Cultural Norms and Rules  The UO community is organized around strict sets of norms and rules that aim to assist community members in fulfilling the commandments and preserve the unique socio-cultural heritage of the community. These norms, rules, and restrictions cover almost every aspect of a person’s life including gender roles and separation; dress codes; and the banning of the mass (secular) media, the internet, and smartphones. Children who deviate from these norms are perceived by their parents as being at risk. Zviya, a mother of six children between the ages of 4 months and 12 years, living in an UO city, explains: I won’t allow my children to watch movies, not even those that are considered to be “Ultra-­ Orthodox” … We have a computer at home, but I don’t show them anything. It’s really no good … Today, nothing can be watched. The exposure on the internet, on Facebook, and in movies is truly a risk in my view.

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A Decline in Spiritual Beliefs, Including Their Sense of Connection to G-d  In UO communities, a decline in a child’s spiritual beliefs and his or her sense of connection to G-d is regarded as a sign of risk. Rafael, a father of five who lives in an ultra-Orthodox city outside Jerusalem relates to the spiritual expectations from children and the emotions that he, as a father, faces if a child fails to fulfill them: When you feel a reality that can pull them down, far below the limit you set for yourself, it scares you a bit. It scares you because that’s not how you want to see your child. The goal is to start a family in which the children follow the path of G-d—again, in the way that you understand it. When you see that your child can sometimes reach places that are significantly lower than the bar you have set for yourself, you have a problem with it.

A certain level of spirituality is expected from all UO individuals, including children. The level might differ within the different UO streams and from family to family, but the child knows what’s expected from him or her. Aaron, a father of five, explains how even the seemingly smallest acts of deviant behavior place young people at spiritual risk of falling out of grace with their community and—in his perspective—their creator: Not following Torah and mitzvahs [commandments] according to the Orthodox community would be very at-risk…something that would be at-risk in youth is all of a sudden not showing up for their regular davening [prayer] times… that could be a risky situation, because…without praying they’ll be less closely connected to G-d, and therefore more likely to not be thinking about something watching over them in their lives, even when nobody’s looking. They might be more likely to fall into bad behavior. That's from the point of view of fear … also from the point of view of love, if they don't see their father, their creator—I’m not talking about their parental father but their G-dly father—without him being there, they also may not feel that comfort growing up. And without that comfort, their personality might slowly deteriorate … into negative attributes and negative traits.

This chain of consequences demonstrates the elements of “spiritual risk” as perceived by UO parents: (1) a decline in the observance of the Torah and the commandments (in this case, not praying); (2) the violation of socio-cultural norms and rules (either not showing up for prayers or showing up late); and (3) a spiritual decline, including a decline in the sense of a connection with G-d (being less protected and therefore perhaps even developmentally impaired). A Bull in a China Shop: The Need for an Insider Therapist  Despite the central role that spiritual risk plays in parental management regarding child raising, UO parents feel that professionals engaged in their children’s care (social workers and non-UO therapists) do not recognize spiritual risk as a significant form of risk. Therefore, they do not treat it nor do they take into consideration the spiritual impact of their intervention. Moreover, many UO parents, counselors, and social workers feel that professionals who are not part of the UO community themselves comprise a form of spiritual risk for children in their community because of their secular appearance, opinions, and a lack of awareness of how these might affect children. For this reason, in most Israeli UO educational systems, most therapists who work directly with the children are required to be UO themselves. Malka is an UO teacher with a BA in education and over 20 years of experience working with UO boys and

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girls with learning disabilities and behavioral issues. Currently, she works with children with special needs who are integrated into a regular all-girls’ elementary school in a large UO community. It is much easier to connect with someone who thinks like you in a certain way … They can connect to the thinking of an UO person and explains things to them in a different way … That’s also why I think it’s not good to send children to a non-UO therapist … He won’t understand. He just won’t get it, because his way of thinking is different … But when we come from within our society, we all keep mitzvot [commandments], it’s more convincing. It’s more believable because he [the therapist] basically comes from within; we’re in the same place. It would be hard for me to believe in someone who doesn’t observe Torah and mitzvot … He has to be a spiritual person so I can trust him, and know that he is authentic, and that he will speak the truth.

Malka, like most UO interviewees, believes that only a person from inside her community is capable of providing the right treatment. When asked how someone from the outside could interact with UO children, the answers given imply that cultural competence along with context-informed training can be crucial for social services and health. Shimon emphasizes that a therapist’s goal shouldn’t be to change the UO norms. He suggests these are fragile matters that need to be handled carefully and that in some cases, only an insider can gain trust and provide the appropriate help: Let them try to understand, not change … It isn’t easy to understand all the small nuances of the UO community. But yes, they do try, there are those who are great at it, and who study the community from up close and understand the subtleties. They don’t arbitrarily plough in like a bull in a china shop; they become ba’alei teshuvah [repenting, newly religious Jews], they go a month with a kippa [skullcap] and a hat and suit.

The spiritual context is most important for UO parents and insider professionals. They define spiritual risk as a situation that requires intervention, whereas the official risk factors do not address this matter at all. According to UO professionals, acquired cultural competence is a basic essentiality but not sufficient in order to provide proper and appropriate treatment solutions when the spiritual dimension is at play.

6.6  Prevention of Sexual Abuse Parents and professionals alike view sexual abuse of children as offensive and unacceptable in the UO community. Nevertheless, unique aspects regarding sexuality in the UO realm emerged from our interviews. No Language: Taboo and Silencing  UO norms set a social taboo around sexuality. Any preoccupation with sexuality is perceived as “immodest” and therefore not discussed (despite the fact that the Torah and other Jewish sources address sexuality in detail). The fact that the topic of sexuality is taboo was a salient finding. Most parents completely avoided any talk of this issue and responded uncomfortably

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when the interviewer raised the subject of sexuality. Yisrael, a father of two from a city with a large UO community who studies Torah full-time applied biblical terms to clarify his deliberate avoidance of the subject: Interviewer: What do you see as abuse towards children? Yisrael: Forgive me for asking, do you mean sexual? Interviewer: Sure, if you will … Yisrael: I prefer not to talk about it. I don't know. But I am not familiar with this area at all, and I don't know “distance yourself from the hideous”.

The Talmudic quote “distance yourself from the hideous” describes a man who passes by the river where women are doing their laundry as a wicked man. Even though that man does not look at these women (who are immodestly dressed), he violates the norm that one should “distance oneself from the hideous.” This teaching is related to the tendency of Ultra-Orthodox people to distance themselves from discussing sexuality. Even if no “transgression” takes place by merely talking, the issue should be avoided. Professionals working in the UO community are aware of the lack of language describing and preference not to speak about sexuality. They are challenged in finding ways to overcome this tendency in providing sexual protection for children. Yitzhak, an UO counselor, raises that dilemma: On one hand, we want to teach them to talk about it. On the other hand, we don’t want to teach them the words, to explain what happened … This is the dilemma that every UO social system has to deal with. It depends on the age, and it depends on the environment. Certain things will be done in smaller forums, not in a class of 25 students. But yes, we have to teach the language to a certain extent … the first thing is to teach them [teachers] how to speak about this, how to talk about protection. They simply don’t know … There are teachers who know how to teach, but they don’t know how to talk about protection.

Yitzhak, like most UO professionals and parents, uses the term “protection” when referring to the prevention of sexual abuse. Over the past few years, usage of the term “protection” in UO society has become exclusively associated with the discourse of protecting children from sexual risk. UO professionals (all trained by official Israeli programs) embrace the general knowledge but generally adapt strictly “sex free” language without reducing the professionalism of the treatment. Meira, an UO education counselor, occasionally works with secular children and families but mainly with UO teenagers in shelters and children in extreme UO sects. Meira often mediates between the child, family, education system, welfare system, and the legal authorities. She also appears in court with children who were sexually abused. Meira has attended many official courses regarding sexual abuse and applies her broad knowledge in schools. When asked whether she addresses UO children differently than secular ones, she responded: “In terms of language, even when I speak to a secular child, I speak the same language. I speak clearly. I try to speak in a more modest language.” Meira stresses that clearness is the most important factor in the language used when addressing sensitive matters with a child. She claims that usage of direct sexual discourse is unnecessary, not only with UO children.

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As in every close-knit society (religious or not), harassment and abuse is silenced in order to protect community norms. In the UO community, the taboo regarding sexuality contributes to silencing in part because children have no way to formulate their experience. Yitzhak, the counselor we quoted earlier, discusses a case regarding a child who was sexually assaulted by his teacher, the Rabbi. You have to grasp the nuances. You have to know the language—I don’t mean Yiddish or Hebrew, but the way they speak. In my last continuing education program, they told us a story of a Hassidic [an UO sect] boy who was assaulted by his rabbi. He came home angry and said that his rabbi was mechutzaf [rude/disrespectful/insolent]. And his mother said, ‘how can you talk that way about your rabbi, shh’ … and every time he would come home upset and say that his rabbi was mechutzaf. Only after a couple of months … his mother thought to ask him, ‘why is your rabbi “mechutzaf”?’ Now this is a question that is not asked … It turns out to be that was the worst word he knew. I mean, he could not describe anything worse. It was simply the worst word he knew.

The child sensed that something very wrong was happening. He turned to his mother but had no way to formulate his experience, so he used the worst word he knew to describe his teacher. The mother was shocked that her child dared to name his teacher “rude” since she also respects any authority figure. The lack of language caused silencing, and it took a sensitive inside counselor, with an in-depth understanding of the nuances, to identify what the mother revealed as sexual abuse. Another element that strengthens the silencing of sexual abuse cases is the collectivistic nature of UO society. Collectivism contributes to the tendency to conceal and hide issues that are perceived as problematic. In recent years, the segregation of UO communities is not absolute. The need to cooperate with authorities is becoming spoken of (albeit, it’s still only partially accepted). Hence, silence is giving way to awareness. The findings suggest that many parents and professionals see a change in their own society, as efforts are made to protect children, enable families to receive help from authorities, and protect victims of assault. Daniel, an UO social worker from a city with a large UO population, works with victims of sexual abuse and shares his experience addressing this issue with the community and its leaders. He discusses people’s concern when exposing sexual abuse but mainly notes the growing understanding that revealing sexual abuse can prevent future assaults: The fear that accepting help requires one to expose too much [is a challenge]. But in general, I think we are now in a time when there is a drastic change in the area. I think many more rabbis are more open to reporting [child abuse] to authorities or the police. They have come to understand that predators must be stopped, that we must put an end to what is happening.

Indeed, those working within the community note a change towards a greater acceptance of revealing sexual abuse and working with authorities in order to prevent it and help victims, while also preserving the community’s values of modesty and submission to authority. Availability of Offensive Zones  In most Western settings, a child has a relatively clear distinction between public and private zones. In contrast, the UO child’s daily schedule revolves mainly around the public zone, surrounded by people from within

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the community who the child is socialized to trust, since they are members of his or her own community. Hence, the distinction between stranger and acquaintance is blurred. We find that the existence of many religious and community activities, a lack of awareness of children’s vulnerability to risks from community members, and the education of obedience to authority and to any adult jointly create a unique vulnerability among UO youth, which sexual offenders exploit. Meira notes: There are many risk factors that are related to the cultural context. These include synagogues, Torah lessons, activities for children, the mikvah [ritual baths] and celebrations. All kinds of communal activities that are carried out within the community … create many areas of risk in the UO sector … While the child is at the synagogue, a parent may not be diligent. That’s when there can be sexual vulnerability, and there are sexual assaults. Abusers specifically target synagogues, places of learning, and the mikvah, because these are places you can hide in. There are many niches in those places, many side rooms.

The UO realm is full of public zones. Most community members spend most of their days in these zones. This situation heightens risks of sexual exploitation, since public zones have many niches and corners but provide an illusion of a safe communal sphere. No Internet  UO cultural norms forbid exposure to mainstream media. Therefore, most UO children lack access to the internet. The findings suggest that due to low media exposure, UO community members and some secular professionals consider the UO sphere a unique protective space and conceptualize it as resilient to cyber harassment. Shalom, an UO social worker who works with juvenile delinquents says: They are less exposed to the media, so naturally they are less exposed to many of the dangers of internet use. I recently read that 30 percent of sexual abusers of children did so through the internet, so the percentage of UO children will probably be negligible. There are also some people who are victims of internet violence or online social harassment, but the UO sector is almost completely exempt from these things, because even people who have internet keep their children off of it. So … beyond a doubt, this distancing causes them to be protected.

The assumption is that many children are located and assaulted online. The lack of exposure to media and sexual clues is perceived as protective and is a source of pride for the UO community, when compared to societies that expose their children to these types of content.

6.7  D  iscussion: Risk Factors and Treatment of Ultra-Orthodox Children This chapter found four main themes involving the vulnerability of UO children to risk and means for their protection. The first theme looks into children’s independence; the way UO parents construct independence versus risk enables them to assess the ways in which young children function in a threatening surrounding.

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Parental abilities in this regard seem to be clear to professionals from within the UO community, whereas external professionals do not always differentiate between their personal experience and values that influence the way they perceive children’s independence as a risk. The second theme revolves around the delicate but crucial relationship between the individual and community and the specific forces involved in this interaction. Indeed, the UO individual relies on family and community support. UO society puts great efforts into charity and other communal assistance systems. Parents and professionals (UO and external) consider these networks to provide protection for children. Nevertheless, the community does not guarantee equal access for all its members to these services; the access of some households and individuals seems to be hindered. Additionally, given that expression of individualism is frowned upon, when deviation from communal norms occurs, the community systems themselves can become a risk. Moreover, fear of stigma based on the arranged marriage system and the need to marry into the right family within the UO social hierarchy causes the silencing of abuse and neglect. The third theme, the spiritual context, delves deep into the essence of UO society. In many ways, this issue affects all the findings, as it has major influence on training, prevention, and intervention efforts. “Spiritual risk”, from the perspective of UO parents, is a complex construct comprising the following three interrelated dimensions: (1) a decline in observance of the Torah and the Commandments; (2) the violation of socio-cultural norms and rules; and (3) a decline in spiritual beliefs, including the sense of one’s connection with G-d. From the parental perspective, a decline in these three dimensions constitutes “Spiritual risk” to the child. Such decline may lead to severe implications for the individual as well as the individual’s social status and sometimes also that of his or her parents and members of the extended family (for example, by adversely impacting siblings’ marriage opportunities). Spiritual risk can result in children and adolescents moving away from the UO religious world and leaving their community and their spiritual connection with G-d. The last theme is the prevention of sexual abuse. The findings suggest that UO society is systematically raising public awareness of sexual abuse, as well as its prevention, treatment and implications. Many professional organizations have been dealing extensively with this matter in the UO community. However, this issue is mainly spoken of by professionals and less so by parents. Educators and social workers engaged with children in the UO community are extremely devoted to reducing the risk of sexual abuse and to providing children and parents with useful protective tools that may prevent sexual risk. “Protection” lectures, as lectures on sexual risk prevention are called within the OU community, are in great demand and well attended. The official “Sexual Protection” plans adapted to the UO society address the issues that arose in the present study: the need for modest but clear language; an awareness of dangers in public space; and the prevention of sexual abuse by an adult that children trust, in a society that requires full compliance with, and respect for, adult figures. The professional interviewees are aware of the fact this is quite a new topic that is being addressed in UO society, and relates to important contemporary progress, changes, and challenges.

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These four themes relate to internal and external spheres along two dimensions: the first is literal—in the physical home and outside of it. The second dimension relates to a conceptual space that includes a world of content, activity, and information related to the UO space. Anything differing from the UO norm is referred to as “outside.” This dimension is reflected through community norms and religious boundaries. The content of the first theme, between child independence and risk, focuses mainly on the literal, physical realm. The second and third themes—the interaction between individual and community and the spiritual context—both mainly focus on the conceptual dimension. The fourth theme, sexual abuse prevention, relates equally to both literal and conceptual dimensions in regard to the physical spaces risk that might lie both inside and outside the person’s close surroundings, and can also relate to community norms; language regarding sexuality; and above all, appropriate treatment. Universal theories (such as attachment theory) comprise the main source from which professionals in Israel derive their definition of risk for children (Nadan & Ganz, 2018). These theories are based on empirical studies and clinical experience primarily conducted in Western countries. Therefore, they do not always fit when applied to other cultures and settings (Henrich, Heine, & Norenzayan, 2010; Korbin, 1981). Context-informed research (Roer-Strier & Sands, 2015) looks into the meaning of findings through different contexts (e.g. cultural, religious and socio-economic) involved in the constructions and perspectives of the research subjects. Here, we apply context-informed analysis to issues of child risk, well-being, and protection as espoused by UO parents and professionals working with them. In Israel, to date, no formally accepted definition of risk exists. The Israeli Social Affairs and Social Services Report, known as the Scmid’s Report (Schmid, 2006), attempted to address this challenge by adapting definitions of the Convention of the Rights of the Child, the professional literature, and policy makers. The report defines children at risk as those who live under conditions that endanger them within their families and surroundings. These conditions hinder their physical survival, health, development, belonging to a family, learning and acquiring skills, physical and emotional well-being, social belonging, social participation, and protection from others and from their own risky behaviors. In the UO context, determining whether a child is or is not at risk according to “risk factors” alone can lead to mistaken conclusions. Indeed, a child living in poverty might be at risk; but having a family living according to values of simplicity and modesty, thereby properly managing poverty, could actually be perceived as a protective factor. A highly respected way of coping in the UO world is based on the traditional saying that everything, good or bad, happens for a good reason (hakol l’tova). So when illness or harsh events occur and are managed correctly, the experience might be considered a protective factor. However, underlying our findings here is a less unambiguous reality. For example, in cases of deviation from the UO norms, acting according to the saying “everything happens for a good reason” is usually not perceived as an appropriate solution.

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We argue that when seeking to identify the causes of risk in the life of an UO child, one must be cognizant of the fact that risk is placed in different locations than we might assume. Therefore, we must note the following issues from the physical and conceptual internal and external dimensions: (1) unique risk situations in the communal zone; (2) risk lies where support ends; and (3) the treatment response can be intervention or invasion.

6.8  Unique Risk Situations in the Communal Zone The findings point to the fact that current study participants’ definition of risk usually contains an implicit assumption of the existence of an unequivocal difference between risks in the private to public zones surrounding the child. From an ecological perspective, this is a shift from what is perceived as the immediate surroundings of the child to broader circles (Bronfenbrenner, 2005). Neighborhood studies also relate to both the home and physical outdoor environments and their impact on the child’s maltreatment. Professionals, and therefore parents too, aim to bring the child’s awareness to the different precautions required for each zone. The Israeli Ministry of Education published a program aimed towards educating children in order to prevent injuries. The program, backed up with statistics regarding child injuries according to age groups, is divided according to dangers found in the home zone and outside. In addition, parents are instructed about precautions needed for each zone and ways on how to socialize the child to act carefully and to be aware of various risks in each zone. Most programs refer to physical risks since those are spoken about most openly. The discourse of sexual abuse is also divided according to risks from family members (inside) and strangers (outsiders). It is important to note that all the Israeli instructions for precaution in the public zone, relay on the escort of an adult. It is largely assumed that adult supervision is necessary for preventing risk. In close-knit community settings however, these assumptions are challenged. Our findings point  to the fact that professionals working in the UO community relate to the confusion children, parents and themselves show since the borders between private and public zones are blurred. Children attend parts of the public zones regularly and from young ages - independently. For them, the close public zone seems a continuance of the private zone. Parents and professionals seem to be confused and in constant struggle to find the exact formula to allow the independence that the community life requires while preserving the child’s safety. This struggle leads to the understanding that in the UO community setting there are actually three zones: (1) Private; (2) Public; and (3) Community. The community zone is identified by the zone in which children make their way around independently, without adult supervision, even though it is not a private zone. For example: play grounds, charity fairs, shows for children, afternoon study groups in synagogues etc. By identifying and referring specifically to the risks children face in the community zone, we achieve two major clarifications: (1) The findings point to the fact that the community is perceived as both protective and risky and therefore, confusing. If

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community is regarded as a zone, rather than a factor, we should examine it like any of the other spaces: public and private. Just like any space, due to different situations, sometimes this space can be a risky zone while at other times it can be protective; (2) The attempt to apply protection principles from the private or public zones to the community zone seems to cause confusion in the understanding of how to keep a child safe in the community zone. This space requires a unique approach so that one will be able to apply appropriate prevention plans and treatment. A lot of the knowledge exists and is waiting to be constructed into specific coping methods in order to help parents feel safe in guiding their children. This could provide clear tools for children in coping with challenges in the community space. What spaces are parents and professionals referring to as risky in the community zone? This study brings awareness to the existence of unique risks in the community zone. Synagogues, mikvah, streets close to home, play areas, etc. have in them potential risks for injury, bulling and most mentioned- sexual abuse. Even though many professionals (also UO ones) pointed out that they recommended that parents avoid sending children into the community zone without adult supervision, the activities in this zone are a strong part of the UO community and seem to be here to stay. Along with that, early independence is perceived as a desirable trait and an important skill. In this case, awareness by all parties to the potential risks and adequate programs, can lead to maximum protection without losing the strength the community structure provides.

6.9  Risk Lies Where Support Ends The context in which the child lives in is crucial when determining whether or not he or she is at risk. Schmid’s report (2006), points out that the definition was based upon, among other things, risk factors such as: poverty, large families or an unemployed parent. This definition mislabels many UO children as being at risk due to the norms they adhere to. However, the findings in this study point to the understanding that in the UO community these factors alone are not a sufficient indicators to whether a child is or isn’t at risk. Garbarino (1998) related to all risk aspects and presented “social toxicity” as an analogy to existing concepts of physically toxic environments. He claimed that the accumulation of risk factors leads to the increased vulnerability of children. Strier (2007) studied poverty perceptions of people living in situations of social stress in Jerusalem. His findings point to the fact that the UO participants do not perceive poverty alone as stressful. They turn to local organizations for help, and see it as a normative, acceptable solution. These organizations act as a detoxifying factor. The inner organizations also serve to help reduce the large expenses involved in funding large families, thereby allowing men to devote time to the study of Torah with less worry regarding economic issues. For example, low cost supermarkets are located in all UO neighborhoods and cities. This system, as an example, shifts the risk from a large number of families in which the children, according to the raw data, live under the poverty line and therefore,

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should be included in the risk group. In addition, parents mention major issues that are addressed by the mutual help/care system within the UO society. Care systems’ availability serves the needs of every day conditions that could be stressful and risky without support (Green, 1999). The Ultra-Orthodox community developed an independent network of organizations that serve as a partial alternative to external welfare services (Shapiro, 1997). These local intervention programs give treatment to members in need or distress. These solutions are generally cheap or free of charge and, even more important, are carried out by therapists or agents that are usually UO members or well versed in the UO norms and needs. When relating to the location of risk in the life of an UO child, it seems that risk lies where help is not available. As detailed above, thanks to the community’s internal mutual support system, many conditions that endanger children in the dominant society don’t cause distress for UO children and therefore, do not meet Schmid’s (2006) definition of children at risk. However, when an UO child is exposed to community norms, (i.e. large families, poverty, spiritual risk etc.) without the ability to reach out for help, he or she might be at greater risk than a non-UO child since he or she is in a situation that is perceived as normative in his or her surrounding, but without the minimal acceptable help to handle the situation. For example, take a family of eight siblings, whose mother just gave birth to her ninth child is hospitalized for the week. Most UO communities have a system in place that is automatically activated in such cases. Voluntary babysitting services are offered, meals are cooked by neighbors for at least a couple of weeks, etc. Poverty, illness, large families and other situations all receive built-in attention that shifts the risk beyond the young child. On the contrary, when a child or family members don’t meet the social norms (mainly in cases of spiritual risk, mental issues or sexual abuse), help options are quite limited (even though in recent years, attempts are made to find solutions that will also make the community support system accessible to these populations). For that reason, focusing on the issue itself would not be the correct indicator as to whether the UO child is or isn’t at risk. By placing risk in a position of accessibility to the community help system, professional services can distinguish whether the child is facing a situation that is perceived as endangering by the dominant culture but is acceptable within the UO community, or whether, in the UO context, he or she is at risk and needs extra help.

6.10  Solutions: Intervention or Invasion? Driven by a strong aversion to stigma, individuals in ultra-Orthodox communities are unlikely to discuss their serious problems with people outside of their immediate family, and this may prevent them from seeking assistance when needed (Stolovy et al., 2013). Moreover, the fear of allowing the secular world to impose their values and challenge the internal structure of their community, leads to only partial cooperation and an underutilization of the state’s public health and social services

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(Freund & Band-Winterstein, 2013), resulting in lower rates of reported maltreatment (Attar-Schwartz et al., 2011). During the past decade, trends of change have been discernible in Ultra-Orthodox communities with regard to their willingness to cooperate with official institutions when dealing with issues such as at-risk children and child maltreatment (Eidensohn, 2011). UO interviewers in the current study point out that this relative openness, which has enabled professionals to intervene and be more involved in the community, requires a higher level of relevant knowledge regarding at-risk children and risk perceptions, in order to facilitate the development and modification of services and intervention programs that are specially adapted to the unique context and culture of the community. For this matter, most professionals (Ultra-Orthodox and others) place importance on acquiring knowledge since it is perceived as a basic requirement in order to develop cultural competence. Yet, workers who perceived themselves as aware and knowledgeable about multiculturalism still felt less confident about their ability to apply knowledge to practice (Williams, Nichols, & Williams, 2013). Sawrikar (2013) discusses this matter and suggests that an option for improving services may be to match workers and clients by race and/or ethnicity. His study reflects the complexity and strategies involved in ethnic matching and calls for aspiring towards “goodness of fit” in order to enable improved treatments. Our findings support the need for ethnic matching, since all UO participants indicated that the best treatment would be from a UO therapist and that it is extremely difficult or even impossible for a non-UO therapist to intervene in a way that will solve the problem in a good way. For many years very few UO members in Israel attended academic institutions and therefore, there were very few professionals (who are not educators) from the UO community. In the past few years, academic programs were adapted to UO values (such as separate programs for men and women) and as a result, allowed access to receiving a diploma for many UO members (Malach & Cahaner, 2018). Even though higher rates of community members are professionally trained, there are still not enough to cover the needs of the community. This leaves us with a situation where, in reality, the only option for many UO children is to turn to an outsider (non-UO) for treatment. For that reason we would like to ask: Is ethnic matching really the only option available? Can we offer treatment that is good enough when a “good enough match” isn’t available? Ben-Ari and Strier (2010) challenge cultural competence by arguing, much like our UO participants, that knowledge is not enough for understanding the other, and that under certain conditions, it can even be harmful. Our findings support this claim as on the one hand, UO participants emphasize that knowledge is necessary to enter their world, but on the other hand, they beg not to be harmed. They feel that on a certain level, professionals who believe they know enough about UO society don’t pay attention to nuances and are missing important points. Therefore, their intervention could become an invasion and they could become a “spiritual risk” for the child. Ben-Ari and Strier (2010) explain that when we think we know and understand the “Other,” based on our “knowledge,” there is a risk

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that we are totalizing or reducing the “Other” according to the partiality of our subjective understandings. Some of the UO participants (parents and professionals) mentioned having met non-UO therapists that were able to provide good treatment. Those professionals did not attempt to change the parents or their children and tried to listen closely to their needs. Ben-Ari and Strier (2010) specify three principles for therapists who work with diverse communities. These seem very relevant for a good enough intervention within the UO community: (1) It is necessary for the therapist to adopt a complete openness by understanding that the client’s values may be completely different from the therapist’s values and therefore, the outside professional must truly learn from the patient; (2) A humble attitude, with the ability to admit his or her limitations, is essential on the part of the professional; and (3) The values and practices of the profession that the therapist comes with must be critically reflected by him or her to assure that the professional does not support oppressive institutional practices.

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Chapter 7

Many Children, Many Risks? Listening to the Voices of Families with Many Children from the Ultra-Orthodox (Haredi) Community in Israel Hannah Bartl, Heidi Keller, Natali Zohar, and Nira Wahle

7.1  Families with Many Children In Western societies, if a couple has three or more children, they are considered to be a large family. Large families capture researchers’ interest (mostly Western researchers) mainly with respect to children’s emotional and behavioral development and in particular with problems related to the family’s structure and its interpersonal relationships. The perception of large families as potentially harmful to children’s development is biased by the prevailing Western educational philosophy that children are best cared for in dyadic relationships with adults. This possibility is restricted in families with many children. In this chapter we concentrate on the subjective perception of family relationships and dynamics in Ultra-Orthodox Jewish families living in Israel who follow the divine commandment of having many children. The conclusion that a large family is a risk factor for a child’s development is mainly based on studies comparing large and small families that were conducted in the United States during the 1980s. In his literature review, Fischer (1984) summarizes that a large family size is typically associated with undesirable family H. Bartl (*) Department of Psychology, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem, Israel e-mail: [email protected] H. Keller NEVET-Greenhouse of Context-Informed Research and Training for Children in Need, The Paul Baerwald School of Social Work and Social Welfare, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem, Israel University of Osnabrück, Osnabrück, Germany N. Zohar Clinical Social Worker for Youth Law, Jerusalem, Israel N. Wahle Head of Early Childhood Department, Kibbutzim College of Education, Tel Aviv, Israel © Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2020 D. Roer-Strier, Y. Nadan (eds.), Context-Informed Perspectives of Child Risk and Protection in Israel, Child Maltreatment 10, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-44278-1_7

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circumstances and involves poor role models, poor child-rearing practices and the competition among the siblings for physical and psychological resources. Wagner, Schubert, and Schubert (1985) come to the drastic conclusion that: Larger families are more frequent with early marriage and rapid birth of the first child. In larger families, child rearing becomes more rule ridden, less individualized, with corporal punishment and less investment of resources. Smaller families tend to result in higher IQ, academic achievement, and occupational performance. Large families produce more delinquents and alcoholics. Perinatal morbidity and mortality rates are higher in large families as birth weights decrease. Mothers of large families are at higher risk of several physical diseases. (Wagner et al., 1985, p. 65)

Accordingly, negative effects of sibship size on schooling and educational attainment were also reported by Hauser and Sewell (1985). In a more recent study, Kanazawa (2012) analyzed data from intelligence tests at ages seven, 11 and 16 from more than 17,000 British children. He concluded that children from larger families tend to be less intelligent than children from smaller ones, regardless of their birth order. Generally, newer studies mention large families/many siblings as a risk factor mainly in the context of maltreatment, neglect and abuse. They often look at reported maltreatment cases in Western societies, calculate socio-demographic data, and thereby identify potential risk factors. For example, in an American sample of reported child maltreatment cases, Zhou, Hallisey, and Freymann (2006) found that three or more children are a risk factor for child maltreatment. Likewise, Wu et al. (2004) identified “more than two siblings” as a potential risk factor, amongst other risk factors, such as poverty, the mother’s young age during pregnancy, or the mother’s limited schooling. Besides social scientists, economists are also interested in families with many children with respect to different questions, often assigned by governmental organizations. One of the most frequently discussed topics is the child-quantity/child-­ quality trade-off, in other words, how family size affects economic circumstances. For example, the economists Juhn, Rubinstein, and Zuppann (2015) on behalf of the US National Bureau of Economic Research looked at 26 years of data from The National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1979 (NLSY). Their sample consisted of 4925 mothers and 11,464 children. They found that children of bigger families tend to have a lower education, lower earnings, higher rates of delinquency, and more teenage pregnancies. In addition, they investigated four different levels of “parental investment”: time spent with each child, financial resources afforded per child, the amount of affection shown to each child, and safety of the home environment. The researchers concluded that “time spent which each child” seemed to change the most, the larger the family gets and might therefore be influencing the above-­ mentioned outcomes the most. Angrist, Lavy, and Schlosser (2010) investigated the causal link between sibship size to family structure, human capital, and economic well-being. They used data from population registers and census data in Israel in 1983 and 1995. Their results did not show evidence of a quantity-quality trade-off in Israel. Guo and VanWey (1999) also conducted a study with a large sample and found no negative

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relationship between sibship size and intellectual development in various ethnic groups in the United States. Likewise, Ghilagaber and Wänström (2015) systematically showed that children’s cognitive performance is not likely to be related to family size. They explained that substantial between-family heterogeneity and selection bias had led to an overestimation of the negative effects of sibship size on cognitive performance in many other studies. Simultaneously, there are studies highlighting positive outcomes of sibship size. For example, children with siblings gain more social skills between kindergarten and fifth grade than singletons (Downey, Condron, & Yucel, 2013). Moreover, older children who engage in caregiving activities with their younger siblings tend to have a greater ability to balance their self-concern with those of others (Zukow-Goldring, 1995), while younger children who were nurtured by older siblings display a greater sensitivity towards other’s beliefs and feelings (Dunn, 1988). These studies highlight the benefits of having siblings for the development of social skills. Other studies looking into the quality of sibling relationships found that it was a potential protective or buffering factor for stressful life events (e.g., accidents, illnesses, death) for children between the ages of 7 and 17 (Gass, Jenkins, & Dunn, 2007). Sibling affection moderated the relationship between stressful life events and internalizing symptomology. The protective effect of sibling relationships was evident regardless of the quality of the mother-child relationship. Moreover, Jenkins and Smith (1990) identified three protective factors for children’s behavior and emotional regulation (from the ages of 9–12) in homes where marital conflict was high: (1) a meaningful adult friend outside the family; (2) a hobby, where they received positive recognition; and (3) a good sibling relationship. However, altogether these studies do not differentiate according to sibship size. Nevertheless, these results are consistent with the assumption that siblings always matter and influence each other’s developmental outcomes (Weisner, 2014). Despite the unclear picture that current research illustrates, Western governmental online sources about child well-being state that large families are generally a risk factor for child development. For example, the Australian Government Department of Health (2004) stated that a large family size is linked to negative outcomes of mental health and crime/delinquency (but not to drug abuse). In the same vein, the Department of Public Safety of the National Crime Prevention Center, Canada’s (2008) website, also lists the number of children in the family being a risk factor for delinquency. The National Survey of America’s Families (Moore, Vandicere, & Ehrle, 2000) is widely cited with its result of four or more children living in a child’s household being a socio-demographic risk factor for the child’s well-being. The Handbook of Child Endangerment from the German Youth Institute presents links between the risk for child neglect and child abuse and the single-parent status and the number of children proportional to the number of adults per household (Kindler, Lillig, Blüml, Maysen, & Werner, 2006).

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7.2  Large Families in Israel Israel’s society is made up of many different ethnic groups and religious communities where families with many children are more prevalent. Children are highly valued in the society and large families are supported by governmental regulations, e.g. tax deductions, health care, and a birth allowance for women. When compared with other industrialized countries, Israelis desire more children (Steier, Oren, Elias, & Levin-Epstein, 1998). Nevertheless, there is also a mainstream tendency to evaluate families with many children as potentially problematic. For example, in a study on attachment styles assessed using children’s family drawings, Goldner and Scharf (2017), found that Ultra-Orthodox children depict their families with a high level of division, e.g. dividing the family into men and women, and show many cases of isolation, e.g., isolating individual people like the father or the mother. These visualizations are, according to the classical interpretation of attachment, sub-optimal ways of a child’s family representation. The researchers explained this phenomenon post-hoc with the hierarchical structure of Ultra-Orthodox families and their children’s struggle to find their place within a large family. Pirutinsky, Schechter, Kor, and Rosmarin (2015) explore the link between family size and psychological functioning in a sample of 789 Israeli couples (N = 1578), of whom more than 50% were Ultra-Orthodox. The authors were surprised that they did not find any link between family size and greater stress, anxiety, depression, global functioning, family communication, family satisfaction, or parenting stress. They assumed that the strong religious values placed on family life, as well as structural adaptions in families act as a buffer against potential family-related stressors. Within Israeli society, families with many children are a topic of controversial political discussion that is also carried out in the press. While religious Zionists encourage families to have many children as a contribution to the country’s well-­ being and success, left-wing forces warn against population growth, mainly due to economic reasons (cf. Ha’aretz newspaper article: Stop encouraging big families: Israel is full, demography expert warns (Schuster, 2016)).

7.3  A Study of Family Relations and Risks Summarizing the literature review, a family with many children is often considered, explicitly or implicitly, to be a risk factor in a child’s development, although scientific evidence is unclear. The argument relies on the underlying assumption that the central relationship in a child’s life is the relationship between one parent, usually the mother, and the child. The majority of studies have been conducted with the underlying assumption that the dyadic mother-child relationship can be dissected from the network bundle of family relations, while its quality can be objectively measured (c.f. Strange Situation Test in classical attachment theory). This perception is deeply rooted in Western educated middle-class child care philosophy, where

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families with many children are an exception. Research takes the nuclear family model as the norm and neglects other types of relations within children’s realities, as well as more complex non-dyadic relations, e.g. sibling relations or multiple caregiving contexts in the extended family. Moreover, most studies portray an outside perspective on large families. The view of family members themselves about their own family is largely neglected in the literature. An exception is the book: Life in Large Families: Views of Mormon Women where interview data from 41 Mormon women with at least seven children are presented (Bahr, Condie, & Goodman, 1982). In the study, religious reasons are primarily given for having a large family. It also reports the women’s perceptions of themselves, their husbands, their marriage and the family organization. Another study investigates “the ideal family size” from Nigerian women’s perspectives (Olaleye, 1993). In focus groups, women’s reasons for having or planning to have a large family were investigated. The reason most often given was not specific, but the statement “it is up to G-d” which the authors analyze in detail. This was the starting point for our study. We wanted to learn about the relational network of large families, i.e., families with five or more children, and how family members view disadvantages, vulnerabilities, risks or resources in their family constellation from their own perspectives. We decided to study Ultra-Orthodox Jewish families in Israel and aimed to include the perspective of all family members who were old enough to communicate with the researchers. Moreover, we chose to employ a qualitative research methodology that would allow us to obtain the views of individual family members about their family and the family’s view regarding the individual (Ganong & Coleman, 2014). Our study did not intend to describe the cultural community of Ultra-Orthodox Haredi families in general, nor identify specific risk factors for children, but to learn about the relational network and perceived risks from the within perspective of a particular group of families with many children.

7.4  Ultra-Orthodox Families in Israel About 75% of Israel’s population belongs to the Jewish majority. Of Israeli Jews, 44% self-identify as secular, 11% as religious and 9% as Ultra-Orthodox (The Knesset Research and Information Center, 2018). The Ultra-Orthodox community is the largest growing population in Israel with an average fertility rate of 6.9 per woman. Early marriages are common with 82% of young Ultra-Orthodox women and men get married before they turn 20. With only 52% of Ultra-Orthodox men and 73% of women being employed (part time or full time), 52% of Ultra-Orthodox families live below the national poverty line (Malach, Cahaner, & Choshen, 2016). The Ultra-Orthodox usually live in closed communities. Everyday family life is characterized by a strict adherence to Jewish law, while influences from the secular world (e.g. television, secular newspapers, the internet) are strictly avoided. Bringing children into the world is considered one of the most important commandments

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(Mitzvot) among the 613 commandments of Jewish law. It is attributed to the Five Books of Moses (Torah) and based on G-d’s command to humankind after having created the world; “and G-d said unto them, be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth” (Genesis, 1:28). Maintaining a physical relationship within a marriage in order to have children is considered a mandatory commandment for men and voluntary for women. Birth control is generally restricted, and men are obligated to have at least one son and one daughter but are encouraged to have as many children as they can. Children grow up in communities characterized by a tight net of internal social support between families (Heilman & Friedman, 1991). (for more details see Chap. 6) Our study had three objectives: (1) Understanding the conception of the family as a resource from its members’ perspectives; (2) Understanding the families’ relationship network from the perspectives of both parents and children; (3) Understanding perceptions of challenges, vulnerabilities and risks in a large family by its members.

7.5  Method The study applied a context-informed approach (Roer-Strier & Sands, 2015). We chose to apply qualitative methodology, which aims to achieve knowledge and an understanding of phenomena by examining perceptions, worldviews and individual meaning systems that are embedded in cultural meaning systems, i.e. that follow a certain cultural logic (Braun & Clarke, 2006; Keller, 2007). The qualitative approach allows the rich descriptions of participating adults and children to “provide a window into family life and the meaning that family members attribute to their experiences” (Gibson, 2012; p. 148).

7.6  Participants Participants in the study were Sephardic Ultra-Orthodox families from the southern part of Israel. The families were selected based on the following inclusion criteria: ethnic origin, religious alignment and families with five or more children. In total, the sample included five sets of parents, and 25 boys and 13 girls between the ages of 6 months and 23 years. The overview about the families’ composition and their sociodemographic characteristics are shown in Table 7.1.

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Table 7.1  Participating Ultra-Orthodox families, displaying children’s gender (♀ for girl; ♂ for boy) and age (in years) Family W Parent (age) Mother (36) Homemaker and main occupation Father (39) Yeshiva student 1st child 2nd child 3rd child 4th child 5th child 6th child 7th child 8th child 9th child

♀ (18) ♂ (16) ♀ (15) ♂ (13) ♂ (9) ♂ (7) ♂ (3) ♂ (2) ♀ (6 months)

Family B Mother (35) Homemaker

Family M Mother (38) Homemaker

Father (37) Yeshiva student ♂ (13) ♂ (11) ♀ (9) ♂ (8) ♀ (7) ♀ (6) ♂ (4) ♂ (2) ♂ (6 months)

Father (40) Teacher ♀ ♂ ♀ ♂ ♂ ♂ ♀ ♀ ♀

(18) (16) (15) (13) (11) (9) (8) (6) (2)

Family R Mother (42) School counselor Father (44) Yeshiva student ♂ (23) ♂ (21) ♀ (18) ♂ (15) ♂ (10) ♂ (8)

Family A Mother (34) Teacher Father (36) Teacher ♂ ♂ ♂ ♀ ♂

(13) (12) (9) (7) (3)

7.7  Data Collection Data collection took place between November 2016 and March 2017 and was carried out by a graduate student (third author) during her MA studies. The student and all additional authors are members of NEVET—Greenhouse of Context-Informed Research and Training for Children in Need, which is part of The Hebrew University’s School of Social Work. The student was trained in interviewing and closely supervised throughout all steps of data collection. Participating families were recruited by the student, who herself is a member of the respective cultural groups and a native Hebrew speaker. For a sampling technique, she used personal acquaintances, followed by snowball sampling. Data collection took place in the families’ homes and lasted about 2 hours. The methodology comprised of a semi-structured individual interview including an “ice-breaker” drawing task and 15 open-ended questions about family and family relationships, and a demographic questionnaire filled out by one of the parents describing the family, including family circumstances, employment, nationality and religion. The interviews were carried out with all family members, who were able and willing to be interviewed in Hebrew, the family’s native language. Each family member spent time individually with the researcher, except for the older boys, who had their mother in the room at the same time, due to modesty restrictions. The interview guide was jointly developed during group meetings of supervisors and students. Much thought was given regarding how to interview children, and how to build trust and facilitate understanding. We decided to use a “draw your

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family task” to facilitate the relationship between the interviewer and the interviewee (Gibson, 2012), followed by open questions about the drawing (e.g., Can you explain to me what you drew?; What or who does your picture show?; What were you thinking while drawing?). We used the drawing task for both children and parents. They received a blank DIN A4 paper and a pencil and were asked to draw their families without further specification. In this chapter, some of the drawings are depicted to illustrate the participants’ responses. The interview questions targeted family life (e.g., How would you describe your family?; Tell me about special occasions in your family?), the family network (e.g., How’s your relationship with each of your family members?), family interaction and activities (e.g., With whom do you do things? And what things are you doing together?), the reference person within the family (e.g., Who do you turn to when you’re sad and why? Who would you not turn to and why?), and the impact of family size (e.g., How do you feel being part of a family with many children?). In addition, parents were asked why they chose to have a family with many children and children were asked whether they planned to have a family with many children.

7.8  Analysis All interviews were audio-recorded, preceding the participants’ permission, and later transcribed verbatim into Hebrew. The transcribed data was analyzed using thematic analysis (Braun & Clarke, 2006): First, in the immersion stage, by reading and listening to the interviews several times the researcher attained familiarity. Second, in the open coding stage, basic units of meaning (codes) were identified (Corbin & Strauss, 2015). In the last stage, links and hierarchies between and within the codes (sub-codes) were defined using axial coding. Codes were grouped into categories and emerging themes were identified.

7.9  Ethical Considerations All procedures and measures were approved by the Ethics Committee of the Paul Baerwald School of Social Work of the Hebrew University, Jerusalem. Participating parents gave written informed consent for themselves and their children, older children gave their own written consent, while younger children under the age of full literacy gave oral informed consent. Confidentiality was ensured throughout all stages of the study, by using pseudonyms and by omitting all details in manuscripts and final reports that could directly or indirectly reveal the participant’s identity.

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7.10  Findings 7.10.1  Perception of the Family as a Resource The participants, Ultra-Orthodox families with many children perceive themselves as a cooperative brotherhood, and a cohesive unit, which supplies the appropriate resources necessary for children’s healthy development. Parents especially see the size of the family as being directly connected to a family’s health. They mention two reasons for having many children: the biblical commandment “be fruitful and multiply” and the continuity of the Jewish people. A mother (34 years; 1♀, 4♂; 3 to 13 years—read as: 34-year-old mother of one girl and four boys between the ages of 3 and 13 years): “Mutual companionship, brotherhood is important. […] If a child lives in a good home, he/she will also establish a good home, with G-d’s help.” She continued: “Children will also learn to raise a family-in-unity, where everyone helps each other.” Another mother (42 years; 1♀, 5♂; 8 to 23 years) explained: “I have a beautiful family, a good family, and good children. […] A very kind family that is giving and helps each other, who are partners—it’s a pleasure.” Eight of the ten parents explicitly made a positive connection between growing up in large family and family health and well-being. For example, a father (36 years; 1♀, 4♂; 3 to 13 years) said: “A large family is healthier and unified, in my opinion. Whether it is a Shabbat meal, or shared experiences. This is good for both physical and spiritual health.” Families with fewer children are perceived as a negative trend in society. A mother (36 years; 3♀, 6♂; 0 to 18 years) said: “Unfortunately, today one can see small families with two children and a dog—assimilation of the Jewish people. […] We are slowly, slowly losing ourselves.” In line with his wife’s opinion, her husband (39 years; 3♀, 6♂; 0 to 18 years) also explained that a small family would pose a risk for the children’s development, whereas a bigger family is a healthy resource for their desired socialization: “Children growing up alone have depression. Children growing up together, with each other, which is how we grew up […], learn to get along in society. Each person has his/her role and duty. That’s the healthy way.” In the same vein, another father (40 years; 5♀, 4♂; 2 to 18 years) expressed the following: “Those without children are like ‘The Walking Dead.’ It is for my health and my family’s health.” Ultra-Orthodox families all have strict plans for household responsibilities for their children. The need of the individual seems secondary to the communal needs. In a very detailed way, one father explained the household organization where each of his children has their place. According to the father (39 years; 3♀, 6♂; 0 to 18 years): “Each has his/her duty: washing floors, clothes, ironing. Each has his/her chore. We teach them that everyone has an obligation. This is not a hotel. Everyone has to lend a hand. It is not right to burden the parents; we too have our own burdens to carry.” Another mother (35 years; 3♀, 6♂; 0 to 13 years) reported that in her family:

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H. Bartl et al. Every child has his/her own task. Once a week, the three boys, M., Y. and S. split the chore of cleaning the floors between themselves, each for one week. This week it’s S.’s turn. M. cleans the shoes and arranges them on the shelves. In the morning, each child makes his/ her bed and arranges the blankets beneath the pillows. Once a week on Fridays, the boys change the sheets and clean the rooms. Each time it’s a different child’s turn, in the girls’ room as well. If a child is nagging me to clean a room while it is not his/her turn, I will assign him/her my room to clean. They enjoy it very much, it's fun for them. And they wait for Friday, so they can enjoy cleaning. They also clean the staircase, because it’s so much fun for them. They love making sandwiches for themselves, preparing dinner. One child makes an omelet, another prepares the cheese. Every child has his/her own task. The oldest loves making blintzes.

In a similar manner, the children usually share their parents’ views. A 10-yearold son (fifth of 6; 1♀, 5♂—read as: fifth child of six in a family with one girl and five boys) described his family: “The family is happy and content, each person helps the other. Even if someone can’t [do something], and someone asks for help, someone will stand up and help.” A 13-year-old boy (fourth of 9; 5♀, 4♂) stated briefly: “We are always together and laughing a lot together.” A 15-year-old girl (third of 9; 3♀, 6♂) mentioned: “The special thing about my family is the sharing. Everyone shares with the others everything that’s going on.” Her 18-year-old sister (first of 9; 3♀, 6♂) said: “I have a lively, happy, and very united family. I love my brothers very much and I have a close connection with them.” Parents’ reasoning for establishing a large family in all Ultra-Orthodox families is strongly connected to religious values. All parents mentioned at least one of two reasons: the religious commandment “be fruitful and multiply” or Jewish continuity. For example, a father (44 years; 1♀, 5♂; 8 to 23 years) said: “A person is obligated to fulfill the commandment of being fruitful and multiplying and replenishing the earth; having children. This is what G-d commanded us to do.” Another father (37 years; 3♀, 6♂; 0 to 13 years) stated: “I think the more children the better. First of all, it’s our future, the Jewish future and the personal future. It is part of the continuity of our nation that each generation creates the next.” Another mother (36 years; 3♀, 6♂; 0 to 18 years) stated: “As soon as we establish a large family with many children, we will be able to maintain the continued existence of the Jewish people, and in my eyes, this is my contribution to the world.” She continued to explain how these values are passed on by both the family of origin and educational institutions: “I was raised in an Ultra-Orthodox institution, and there, we were brought up and taught about procreation: having children is the way. My ambition as a student, what I prayed for, was a studious Yeshiva man and 20 children.” In conclusion, parents and children describe their family as a healthy unit of brotherhood, providing a resourceful environment for children’s optimal socialization. Having a family with many children is a desired goal in life for the interviewed parents who give religiously-motivated reasons for their aspirations. Moreover, children and parents have specific responsibilities in everyday life, where the success of the family rests on the shoulders of everyone. Sharing responsibilities strengthens the family as a whole.

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7.10.2  Families’ Relationship Networks We distinguish various subsystems in the complex network of family relations: the parent entity and their relationship as a couple, the parent-child relationship described from both the parents’ and children’s perspectives and the sibling relationships. Subsystems are perceived as self-contained, as well as being linked to other subsystems. 7.10.2.1  Parent Entity and their Relationship as a Couple All families clearly differentiate between the parents and the children, viewing them as two separate groups with distinct family agendas. From among the interviewed children, two older children explicitly talk about the parent entity. Moreover, in about half of the children’s drawings this distinction is visible. Parents describe a strong and intimate couple bond. A father (39 years; 3♀, 6♂; 0 to 18 years) shared: “If I feel a sense of sadness or fear, I feel most comfortable with my wife, not with the children. Since when does one rely on children? Also, when I need advice, I consult with my wife.” Similarly, another father (37 years; 3♀, 6♂; 0 to 13 years) explained: “I don’t share things with the children […]. On some subjects I consult with my Rabbi [a Jewish religious teacher and leader], but mostly with my wife. It is important to have similar views regarding education.” Another mother (42 years; 1♀, 5♂; 8 to 23 years) said: “There are things that I am comfortable speaking about only with my husband, much less with the children, like personal things between us.” A different mother (38 years; 5♀, 4♂; 2 to 18 years) stated: “Basically, I am more comfortable sharing my feelings with my husband. My husband is the person I turn to at difficult moments as well as in happiness. I will share happy things with my children as well, but I’d share with my husband first.” Her 18-year-old daughter (first of 9; 5♀, 4♂; 2 to 18 years) reflected from the children’s perspective: “I drew my father and mother as a tree-trunk, the strength of the family—like a young couple that brings forth fruit that grows and pleases them.” (s. Fig. 7.1) While, the mother and father are seen as a distinct entity within the family relational network, at the same time, they fulfill specific complementary roles. A mother (38 years; 5♀, 4♂; 2 to 18 years) described her husband: “My husband has a very, very neat personality. He is clean, and neat. He likes very much to behave like a teacher. He is a man, who manages everyone like soldiers. He has a very, very good personality. As a father for the children, he is loving but sometimes he needs to be very, very strong. I know that one doesn’t always see this, but it’s good for them [the children].” She continued talking about her own role: “I am a very, very caring mother, endless, limitless. I love giving, hugging, listening, and giving them whatever they need. I like to surprise them before they need to ask, to give them things, lots and lots of surprises and encouragement, hugs and kisses, giving to each child according to their age.” Another mother (35 years; 3♀, 6♂; 0 to 13 years) explained briefly: “I am the caressing hand, while my husband takes care of the discipline and

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Fig. 7.1  Family drawing of an 18-year-old girl (first of 9; 5♀, 4♂; 2 to 18 years)

boundaries, he is firmer.” Her husband (37 years; 3♀, 6♂; 0 to 13 years) expressed his view: “We have a good relationship. I try to listen to them, but they also must have boundaries. As they say, ‘the right hand caresses, while the left hand educates.’ My wife is softer, I am tougher, but it must be like this.” Parents and children circumscribe the parent entity as a subsystem within the family’s relational network, while at the same time it assigns the father and the mother specific complementary roles. Parents themselves describe another layer of their entity, the close couple bond that is carefully considered and described by both mothers and father. 7.10.2.2  The Parent-Children Relationship from the Parents’ Perspective When parents are asked about their relationship with their children, most parents emphasize that they try to see and treat their children equally, e.g., by giving every child regularly individual attention. One mother (38 years; 5♀, 4♂; 2 to 18 years) said: “I usually dedicate some personal time each day to each child. Today I went with B. to buy presents.” Another mother (35 years; 3♀, 6♂; 0 to 13 years) pointed out: “My relationship with the children is very good. I maintain a very good connection with them, I spend 10 minutes with each child every day, listening to them, talking to them, and playing with them. I endeavor to maintain a very healthy relationship, thank G-d. I try eating one meal together with them every day, to listen to their stories and to their experiences. Thank G-d, they are good, easy kids. They talk, they listen, and share with one another.” Her husband (37 years; 3♀, 6♂; 0 to 13 years) expressed a similar attitude: “My relationship with everyone is great, and I try to hug everyone, to love everyone. […] Each person and his/her role. Sometimes

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you need to provide more warmth, while at other times you need a tougher hand. But I try to be there for all the children, for the whole family, from the oldest to the youngest.” Another father (40 years; 5♀, 4♂; 2 to 18 years) addressed the different needs of the children: “B. began learning how to read, because next year she will be in first grade, therefore it’s important that she knows how to read, so she won’t be having reading and writing problems later. Slowly, gradually. You see, it’s not only with B., each child has his or her needs. The older girls like joining me, when I go shopping, that’s when we talk. With the younger ones, I play games. Each child and his or her own specific needs, just like with B.” 7.10.2.3  T  he Parent-Children Relationship from the children’s Perspective Children describe the relationships with their parents, while differentiating between their father and mother. The 13-years old son (fourth of 9.; 3♀, 6♂) explained his drawing: “When I drew this, I thought about today when I was kicked out of the Yeshiva for not attending classes, and my father was angry with me. So, I thought about my father being angry with me for not attending classes in the Yeshiva. So, when I drew dad, I felt his anger, and when I drew mom—it calmed me down, as she always calms me down.” (s. Fig. 7.2) Another 13-year-old firstborn son (first of 5; 1♀, 4♂) described his relationship with his parents while focusing on his parents’ personalities: “Dad—introverted, very smart, and sometimes strict. By ‘strict’ I mean that we must get up in the morning, tidy things, get good grades, prayers, studies. Mom—she listens to us as much as we wish, she understands us, and I have fun with her.” The 18-year-old firstborn daughter (first of 9; 5♀, 4♂) shares the same impression: “Well, mom is just like a friend. I love dad as well, but I don’t feel as comfortable speaking to him, or shopping with him.” A 15-year-old daughter (third of 9; 5♀, 4♂) differentiated between the relationships with her mother and father as follows: “My relationship with my father is better, my mom’s okay, I mean not too good and not too bad. I am not

Fig. 7.2  Family drawing of a 13-year old boy (fourth of 9; 3♀, 6♂)

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attached to her that much. If I have to go somewhere, I would prefer to go with my father. Because when I go out with my mother, she asks ‘What happened today?’ and I like that my father drives quietly.” 7.10.2.4  Sibling Relationships In the participating Ultra-Orthodox families, parents and children reported distinct ideas of individual sibling’s roles in the family network. The 18-year-old daughter (first of 9; 3♀, 6♂) explained differentiated relationships with her siblings, differing in bond and affection: “I love him [my brother], but I do not feel as connected with him. I have been very attached to B. from infancy, a strong brotherly relationship. M. also loves me very much, as well. I take him every day to day care. And I also love S., she’s cute.” The siblings also talk about giving and receiving support, about the role of the oldest sibling and inner sibship conflicts. In the Ultra-Orthodox families, siblings have group and individual relationships. Group relationships are mainly described between the older and the younger siblings in one family. This kind of organization can also be seen in the drawings, for example in Fig. 7.3. The 13-year-old boy (fourth of 9; 5♀, 4♂) told the interviewer to mark particular groups in his family. Likewise, his mother (38 years; 5♀, 4♂; 2 to 18 years) grouped the children according to gender, age and birth rank. She explained her drawing: “I drew my husband and myself, the girls, the boys together and the little girls together. I drew them the way I like: the two older girls, who are always together, and the boys who are the center of things. I have three boys that were born one after the other. And my son, between the two girls, is studying in a Yeshiva, and the little girls who are always at my side.” (s. Fig. 7.4) One father (39 years; 3♀, 6♂; 0 to 18 years) gave his generalized perspective on cohesion and conflicts within the sibship of his children: “They fight but they stick

Fig. 7.3  Family drawing of a 13-year old boy (fourth of 9; 5♀, 4♂)

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Fig. 7.4  Family drawing of a mother (38 years; 5♀, 4♂; 2 to 18 years)

together. There are many kids and we teach them about sticking together, about friendship. The special thing is that there’s no hatred between them. Even if they fight, there is no [hatred], we teach them that it’s only a fight, we try to educate them about virtues and courteous behavior, which precedes the Torah.” Younger siblings especially view their older siblings as a major source of support. Older siblings feel a great responsibility towards their younger brothers and sisters. While all younger children talked about their older siblings being a source of support and security, parents did not address the topic in their interviews. When asked who they would turn to for support, a 13-year-old boy (fourth of 9; 5♀, 4♂) replied: “[I turn] to D. He loves me […] I feel safe when he is with me, he is my big brother.” When asked who he does things with, his 9-year-old brother replied (sixth of 9; 5♀, 4♂): “With B. and sometimes when I have difficult things, I go to the big brothers.” Firstborn children have a special role that was addressed by most of the participants, especially in the three families with nine children. The parental role of the firstborn was addressed, for example by an 18-year-old eldest daughter (first of 9; 3♀, 6♂): “My brothers and sisters—we have a close relationship, as if they were my own children. […] My brothers and sisters mostly listen to what I say.” Her 7-year-­ old brother (sixth of 9; 3♀, 6♂) explained: “When mom is not there, then I go to my older sister, who is like mom.” The 9-year-old brother (fifth of 9; 3♀, 6♂) also talked about her: “She always helps around the house, washes the dishes, and puts everyone to sleep, in short—she is like mom.” The mother (36 years; 3♀, 6♂; 0 to 18 years) of that family counts on her first-born: “She is special; she is very much my right hand. She fills in for me. Because of her, I can go out for a while and get some air. I can take the little ones out for some quality time. Without her, I could not have left the house. She does everything and anything. An admirable little woman.” Another special position is taken by the older boys who are attending a Yeshiva (i.e., a Jewish educational institution for studying religious texts). In the Ultra-­ Orthodox community boys finish elementary school at the age of 13 and continue education at small Yeshivas. They have a very intensive schedule. Students study from the early morning until ten o’clock in the evening with only two breaks; one at lunch and the second in the evening. In all of the interviewed families there are boys attending Yeshiva, which means that they are absent during most of the day. This seems to

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greatly influence the relationship with their siblings. For example, when asked about his relationship with his siblings, a 16-year-old brother (second of 9; 3♀, 6♂) said: “I have no contact with them. I am always in the Yeshiva, so I only speak with them when I get home. I am mostly with friends, so I speak about personal things with them, and spend most of my time with them.” Other siblings mentioned that there was not sufficient contact, or enough time spent together to develop a deep and close bond with their siblings in the Yeshivas. In line with her siblings, the 18-year-old daughter (first of 9; 5♀, 4♂) expressed the following: “Y. studies in a Yeshiva, and we hardly spend time with him, so I don’t know what to say about him. He returns late each night and goes straight to bed. We get to know him during Shabbat [Shabbat is Saturday, is the day of abstention/rest from work and studying], but many times he also spends Shabbat in the Yeshiva. We barely know him, but when we’re with him, we enjoy it very much.” The 16-year-old son (second of 9; 5♀, 4♂), who goes to the same Yeshiva confirmed this view: “I don’t have much time, I only come home at six, I eat, shower, and go back to the Yeshiva until ten o’clock, and then I go to sleep. I don’t have much time to do things with anyone.” We found that siblings describe specific close relationships and differentiate distinct roles amongst the sibship. Birth order, age and gender play a role in the formation of these roles. Two specific roles that were described in-depth are the parent-like role of the eldest sibling and the role of the boys who attend Yeshiva and as a result, are absent most of the day. In conclusion, the family’s relationship networks are described as complex multi-layered systems, with a variety of subsystems that we have just started to unravel. Parents and children understand themselves to be part of the family as a whole, as well as being part of various subsystems. Subsystems are often described in relation to other subsystems in the family, e.g., as a daughter to parents, as an older sister to younger siblings, as the girls in the family. Parents differentiate between their role within the parent subsystem (i.e., father and mother) and their role within in the couple subsystem (i.e., husband and wife). Parent-child relationships are described differently from the parent’s perspective than from the children’s perspective. Parents focus on their way of giving individual and collective attention to the children, while paying attention to their individual and collective needs. In contrast, children assign different qualities to their relationship with their mother and their father. Sibling relationships have a wide-range of qualities, while children are assigned, and assign themselves to different roles according to their age, gender and personality.

7.10.3  Challenges, Vulnerabilities and Risks Parents and children also describe challenges within the relational network of their families. Challenges were perceived as making the family or an individual vulnerable or as posing a risk to them. They are either described as challenging relationships within the family relation network (i.e., a parent’s favorite child or a

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complicated/challenging child) or as a challenging circumstance the whole family is in (i.e., financial constraints or the lack of personal space). 7.10.3.1  Special Relationships Two types of special relationships are described only by fathers and mothers. The first is an especially affectionate bond between a parent and one child, while the second is a child’s challenging personality for either a parent or the whole family. In three of the five families, parents mentioned a relationship to one child as being especially close for different reasons. Parents started talking about this issue on their own initiative, while at the same time, they evidently felt uncomfortable talking about this special relationship, as reported by the interviewer. For example, a father (39 years; 3♀, 6♂; 0 to 18 years) explained: “I have a good relationship with everyone, but I’m a bit closer to B. I slowly, slowly even it out, so that I can have an equal relationship with all of them. I don’t know why, but I bonded with B. the most. Maybe because he came after M., but I don’t really know why.” His wife (36 years; 3♀, 6♂; 0 to 18 years) also has a special bond with the same child: “B. is our seventh child, and all seventh children [sic] are cute. He was born after my brother died, and I have a special connection to him. B. is a neat, diligent child, who gets annoyed easily.” In a different family, a mother (35 years; 3♀, 6♂; 0 to 13 years) who also experienced a special bond with one particular child stated: “I really like him. I wanted to name my eldest the same name, but it didn’t work out. Thank G-d, when he was born, it finally happened, and we named him Y. He is also a bit different—his skin is darker, and he has a more handsome face. I don’t know why, I’m just more attached to him.” In a different family a father (36 years; 1♀, 4♂; 3 to 13 years) described the following: “M is a ‘daddy’s girl.’ She’s cute, very smart, good-hearted, gives us a lot of pleasure. I am very attached to her, but they are all equal.” This father was reported to having felt especially uncomfortable with his previous statement and continued talking about every single one of his other children: “I try hard to treat everyone equally, each according to his or her age. With S., I study together, and with Y. it’s riding his bicycle. I sometimes go with them to the pool. There are things I only do with the older ones, like riding bicycles. And, of course, there are things I do with the little ones, like board games. I mostly study with the older ones, as I said; it is not for the young ones yet. With the daughter—she likes it when I read her stories. Each child and what suits him/her.” The interviewer reported parents struggling and feeling uncomfortable when talking about this issue. Mainly after the interview, parents reported feelings of guilt when thinking about the affectionate preference for one child over the others. Parents perceived this condition as: 1) posing risks for the other children due to lack of attention; and 2) also posing risks for the “favorite child” themself due to over-­ attention. There seem to be culturally normative demands for parents to treat children equally, according to their needs (and not according to their parent’s affection) and to distribute attention evenly. Therefore, the circumstance of a specifically affectionate bond to one child is perceived as being a dilemma and a challenge.

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Fig. 7.5  Family drawing of a mother (42 years; 1♀, 5♂; 8 to 23 years)

While there seem to be some children to whom their parents feel particularly attached to and affectionate of, parents also talked in depth about individual children posing challenges for them. Out of the five parent couples, four talked about a problematic relationship with one child. They talked about problems that are connected to the child’s personality—often aggressive and sometimes dreamy. A mother (42 years; 1♀, 5♂; 8 to 23 years) described the situation: “The beginning of the difficulty with H., the eldest, was an emotional difficulty. Later on it became a spiritual difficulty. He is different from everyone else—he is less religious. The conflicts, however, don’t have much to do with religion; we do accept him, as he is. But he has his difficulties. He becomes angry about all sorts of things, things that aren’t true. For example, he says that there is no food to eat—sometimes the things he says are awkward. Our house has everything, but he always finds something missing. This is painful and sad.” When explaining her family drawing (Fig. 7.5), she pointed out that she drew her eldest son next to her despite their conflict. She drew him, however, in a soldier’s uniform to also depict the core of their conflict. Most Ultra-Orthodox families in Israel are against military service in the Israeli army and strongly oppose their children serving, while, in general, it is obligatory for boys and girls to join once they reach the age of 18 years. In a different family, a father (39 years; 3♀, 6♂; 0 to 18 years) described another type of difficulty with a one child: “There are always quarrels and conflicts that are annoying. But with A. it happens most, and she can really be maddening. But it’s okay; I know how to deal with it. For example, I tell her ‘Do some ironing!’, and then she might simply leave the iron on and goes someplace else. This can be dangerous, it can fall, and it also wastes electricity. I teach her and try to teach her to be tactful, because sometimes she is just tactless. It’s okay, but sometimes this causes conflicts. Let’s say, they can all be annoying, every child can be annoying in his/her own way. With her it’s a little more; we need to be a little bit more patient with her.” Another source of problems with one specific child is described by a mother (35 years; 3♀, 6♂; 0 to 13 years), while she also mentions her strategy in dealing with

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him: “S. is very lively, and he ‘livens up’ the whole house. He fights with one, annoys another, but I don’t do anything. He doesn’t notice that he’s doing something wrong. So, you can see one child crying in his room, and then another crying, and then you understand that he is annoying them, so immediately I ask him to come and help me. He really loves it when he can lend a hand, and he does what he is asked, right away. He simply always needs to be engaged in some activity.” Both types of special bonds between one parent and a specific child, whether particularly affectionate or rather challenging, were described as uncomfortable for the parents, as well as challenging, possibly even risky, for other siblings and the family as a whole. 7.10.3.2  Financial Constraints In two of the three families with nine children, parents talked about their financial situation being challenging. Both families live in three-room apartments of about one hundred square meters, consisting of a parents’ room, a boys’ room and a girls’ room. Nevertheless, they seem to deal with these circumstances with humbleness. A father (40 years; 5♀, 4♂; 2 to 18 years) said, for example: “Parenting a big family is a complex task […] without a salary. Working 24 hours a day, while always being concerned about what they are missing—materialistically and socially […]. There are difficulties, but, thank G-d, these ought to be ours.” Another father described the situation in their apartment (39 years; 3♀, 6♂; 0 to 18 years): “The house has crowded rooms. […] We bought bunk beds. We open them up at night and fold them up in the morning. In the closets, everything is squeezed in.” He continued: “We have one hundred square meters in total, it’s very crowded but we don’t complain. Thank G-d, we have somewhere to be and live.” A mother (38 years; 5♀, 4♂; 2 to 18 years) from a different family puts it in similar words: “Everything is squeezed in, is crowded. In the mornings, we must fold up everything, so that there’s space, and open up things at night. But thank G-d, this is what there is, and we are thankful for its existence.” Her husband (40 years; 5♀, 4♂; 2 to 18 years) added: “I would be happy [if] I could move to a spacious house, perhaps with a garden, the children love animals, but unfortunately, it’s not possible at the moment.” While parents mention the difficulty of the financial situation, children address a different side of what seems to be part of a similar challenge: over-crowdedness of their home and the lack of personal space. 7.10.3.3  The Lack of Personal Space Mainly older children mentioned crowdedness being challenging for them and explained the impact it has on their everyday life. This challenge was found in the three families with nine children. A firstborn 18-year-old daughter (1th of 9; 5♀, 4♂) said: “I love it [the apartment], but sometimes I want silence and peace. I don’t have a corner that I can escape to. Even though, it is hard for me, I have learned to live with it. It has been tough all my life, but now that I am older, I understand that this

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is reality, and that there will only be more children on the way and the space will not get any bigger. I understand that nothing can be done. It’s even more difficult for me, because I have tests and I need silence in order to study, and I don’t have it. That’s why I always go to friends. It’s not pleasant, because they [my friends] don’t want to come over to my house, because they know how it is. That’s not pleasant, but I don’t show that I am embarrassed.” Another firstborn 18-year-old daughter (first of 9; 3♀, 6♂) described her way of dealing with a similar situation: “I have no privacy and that is the most difficult [thing] for me. I come home from school, go to my room, lock the door, and I don’t want to come out. I eat and go back to the room.” An 11-year-old boy (fifth of 9; 5♀, 4♂) stated: “It’s crowded to live in a big family. When I grow up, I prefer having a smaller family, let’s say up to five children, so that it won’t be crowded and there’s more space for everyone.” Four different challenges were addressed by parents and children. Parents talked about their particularly affectionate bond with one child and their particularly difficult bond with another child. While some parents also addressed financial limitations of a big household, the difficulty that some older children from bigger families articulated is the lack of personal space and over-crowdedness.

7.11  Discussion Our study primarily focused on investigating the multi-layered relation networks of large families from a within-family perspective. Therefore, we concentrated exclusively on the perceptions of the family members themselves. We used drawings to help interviewees access their internal construction of the relational family network and to facilitate their talking about it. We heard various ways of describing the family as a whole, i.e., as its own entity. Families are often perceived as a communal system, with its own ascriptions, characteristics and identity. The formation of group-identities was visible not only at the family level, but also at a sibship or a sibship sub-group level (e.g. “the younger brothers”). The sibship entity is mostly perceived as complementary to the parent entity and vice versa. Mothers and fathers show awareness for making a clear distinction between the parent entity (the role as a parent, an educator, or a caretaker) and the couple entity (the role as a partner, a husband/wife, or an adult listener). Compared to the wealth of parent-child relationship studies, sibling relationships are paid little attention in research, even though they are usually the longest lasting relationships in one’s life. If sibling bonds are addressed, they are almost always seen as an emotional bond between two individual children (c.f. Howe & Recchia, 2014). In our data, we found two aspects concerning sibling relationships that should be analyzed more in future research: (1) a communal sibship bond and a communal bond of sibling sub-groups (as discussed above); and (2) a dyadic sibling bond that is described as an instrumental, task-oriented bond (e.g., “I take her to daycare”), rather than an emotional bond. Most research defines a large family as having three or more children. Three or more children may constitute a large family in an environment where one or two

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children per family are more prevalent. In the Ultra-Orthodox community families self-identify the cut-off point between smaller and bigger families as five children. We noticed clear differences in family identity between families with five or maybe six children and families with nine children. Therefore, we would suggest defining the construct large family as being context dependent. This distinct view may have implications for defining resources and risks. The presented data reveals that we have to look at developmental risks from a multi-perspective point of view. If we look at risk as a potential threat to children’s development from the perspective of a family consisting of parents and one or two children, and consider adult child interactions as crucial for development, large families appear as a deficient system of partitioned and confined resources that need to be split and divided. Risk in this case means that a child is receiving too little adult attention. By framing it this way, researchers ignore the complex structure of resilience and systemic functioning in families and amongst siblings, as well as the contextual background in which the family lives. Family size and especially the number of children in a family have been associated with educational outcomes in Western literature. The dilution model (Blake, 1981), for example, claims that because parents’ resources (e.g. money, time, energy) are finite, the “quality of children’s wellbeing” declines as the quantity increases. Looking at parents’ resources like a pie that can be equally or fairly divided among all of the offspring, doesn’t seem applicable to the families we interviewed. In the multi-layered network of relationships of families with many children, which we started to unravel, parent’s resources are not viewed as a finite resource. Correspondingly, children are not seen as competitors for parental resources who passively receive parental investment, while themselves being incapable of contributing to one another’s developmental outcomes (as described by e.g. Downey et al., 2013). On the contrary, based on our interviews, we get the impression that every single person invests in the development of the whole system and receives more or less the parts that he/she needs. The direction, however, is not merely parent toward child, but is more complex and multi-layered. This line of thinking extends to poverty. As viewed in Western-based research, poverty is generally considered a risk factor for child development, since from a deficiency perspective it is seen as lacking resources. In our study, not many of the interviewees addressed it and if they did, it was only the parents from families with nine children. They described it as a natural challenge that is not perceived as threat to family functioning or for child development. Walker et al. (2007), in her frequently cited paper on developmental risk factors for children in developing countries, divided risk factors into biological and poverty-­ related risks (i.e., malnutrition, diseases, environmental exposures) and prosocial risks (i.e., the lack of cognitive stimulation and caregiver sensitivity, maternal depression and exposure to violence). The definition of prosocial risks, especially where family related concepts are summarized, that have mainly been studied in WEIRD (white, educated, industrialized, rich and democratic) contexts, are transferred to different cultural settings, and is seemingly problematic. Children’s social environments vary extensively across contexts, and so far, we only have extensive knowledge about a very specific slice of 5% of the world’s population (Henrich, Heine, &

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Norenzayan, 2010). At the same time, we have very little knowledge about contextual factors and perceptions of the within-family perspective of the other 95 percent of the world’s population. Families with many children, especially in non-WEIRD contexts, like the population presented in our study, are one of those in the underrepresented research population. They show perceptions of risk and protection factors that contribute to a novel perspective on the topic and raise new research questions. (For example: Is there a need for risk definition on a group-­level? What qualities of network relations are protective for an individual or a group?) Walker et al. (2011), moreover, state that even though risk and protection factors are conceptually distinct, most protective factors are the inverse of risk factors. For example, an insecure mother-child attachment is a developmental risk factor and a secure attachment is a protective factor. The universality of attachment qualities across cultural contexts, as well as the generally applied methodologies to qualify this relationship bond, are highly questionable (c.f. e.g., Keller, 2018; Ziv & Hotam, 2015). Along the same line of thinking, generalizing protective and risk factors for children’s developmental pathways without contextualizing them promotes a limited and incomplete understanding of children’s life reality. Findings from WEIRD contexts cannot be applied to other contexts without proving their validity from a within cultural perspective (Morelli et al., 2018). From our study design we found that open qualitative methodology offers good tools to approximate various forms of relationship bonds in a child’s life, which include family members’ conceptualizations as representatives and experts of their life reality. The findings will eventually help with the formation of integrative and context-rooted constructs and theories. In order to define potentially harmful, risky and protective aspects of children’s life reality, we first need to understand context-­ related plurality and variations of relationship bonds. The main goal of the study was to approximate context-informed conceptions of relational network in families with many children, in light of the risk and protective factors for child development. Our study supports the basic assumption from cognitive psychology: “The whole is bigger than the sum of its parts.” Applied to the functioning of family relation networks, it implies that the focus needs to be extended from dyadic or triadic relationships, to more complex structures. These structures need thorough investigation and may require new methodologies to fully understand family functioning.

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Chapter 8

Perceptions of Risk and Protection among French Immigrant Mothers in Israel Noémie Bloomberg, Yan Serdtse, and Dorit Roer-Strier

In recent years, there has been a large wave of immigration of French Jews to Israel. The immigrants arrive in Israel, a new country, and raise a family there, while their beliefs about parenting were formed in a different country, with a different culture and character. This encounter brings change and interest along with it. The study described in this chapter examines the cultural differences among immigrant mothers from France and their parenting beliefs regarding risk and protection of children. This chapter will begin by providing background on both Israel and France and their different cultures, as well as background on the Jews who emigrate from France to Israel. This will be followed by an explanation of how the study was conducted, the topics that were raised by the mothers in the study and the conflicts that arose within the findings. Finally, there will be a discussion of the study’s findings and a policy recommendation for addressing the implications of the findings.

8.1  Jews in France The French-Jewish community is one of the oldest, largest and most prominent Jewish communities in Europe. Its history includes many fluctuations in the relationship between the government and the Jewish community. The French Jewish community is one of the largest Jewish communities in the world, with

N. Bloomberg · Y. Serdtse (*) · D. Roer-Strier NEVET-Greenhouse of Context-Informed Research and Training for Children in Need, The Paul Baerwald School of Social Work and Social Welfare, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem, Israel e-mail: [email protected] © Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2020 D. Roer-Strier, Y. Nadan (eds.), Context-Informed Perspectives of Child Risk and Protection in Israel, Child Maltreatment 10, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-44278-1_8

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approximately 700,000 eligible for the Law of Return (Della Pergola, 2014). The Jewish community is well connected to society and the economy; in 2013, 13 Jewish members were elected into the 925-member French Parliament. Despite this, the community still faces two main issues: assimilation on the one hand, and a new wave of anti-Semitism on the other; a wave that is more extreme in France than in other Western countries (Ben-Moshe, 2015). Many in the community feel a strong connection to Judaism and Israel and therefore, it is considered to be the most traditional and Zionistic community in the Diaspora. A study conducted by the Ministry of Immigration and Absorption revealed that approximately 200,000 French Jews have a strong affinity to Israel and Judaism, and approximately 300,000 feel connected to Jewish culture without having any affiliation with any local community (Hildesheimer, 2014). A study about parental perceptions found that among French Jews, the responsibility of relaying Jewish values to the next generation falls mainly on the mother, and that parents feel that academic success is important for their children (Benbassa, 2001).

8.2  Mothers in France The French nation is diverse and comprised of citizens who uphold values based on individuality and focus on children’s needs, as well as citizens who support collectivism and family (Bréchon, 2000). However, developmental studies have attempted to identify common characteristics among French mothers. Although the authors of this chapter challenge views that attempt to characterize cultural uniformities, we found that the research was reflected in participating mothers’ ethno-theories. For example, researchers claimed that French mothers attempt to provide their children with coping mechanisms that promote internalism as opposed to externalism; they respect informal education because of its social value, but do not consider children’s leisure activities to be of primary importance (Stranger, Fombone, & Achenbach, 1994). They maintain regulated schedules based on family meals, bedtimes and controlled screen time (Schleyer-Lindenmann, 1997). A comparative study based on reports from adolescents showed that French parents are perceived as less willing to let their children make their own choices in general and are less emotionally affectionate, however, their relationships with their children are characterized having little conflict (Claes, Lacourse, Bouchard, & Perucchini, 2003). Parents’ perceptions, beliefs and behaviors are indirectly affected by the contexts in which they are raised and in which they raise their children. Thus, in Druckerman’s study (2012) with mothers of mid-to high socioeconomic status living in central cities, the term “Caprice,” which represents a child’s request or desire, usually accompanied by crying or wailing, is considered to be negative. These French mothers believe that responding to a “Caprice” can cause the child harm or turn them into a child with no self-control; into a child who is not content with what they have (Druckerman, 2012). A similar study found that mothers believe that setting boundaries is the most effective way to solve and manage problems with their

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children. Additionally, they believe in education that places great emphasis on “Discipline”—strict discipline, and it appears that their type of mothering is authoritarian, believing in the importance of a hierarchy (Bornstein et  al., 1996). In an additional study, whose sample included French mothers from a variety of religions ranging from mid-to high socioeconomic status, it was found that these mothers believed more in the importance of providing stimuli that encourages learning and development for their children than in responding to their child’s immediate needs (Suizzo, 2002, 2004).

8.3  Immigration Immigration is the movement of a population from one country to another. Immigration can be voluntary, by choice or based on ideology, or can be caused by necessity or by a lack of choice, such as war or disaster. Immigration brings great change to the immigrant’s way of life (Berry, Phinney, Sam, & Vedder, 2006). Immigrants find themselves adopting a new identity, as their perceptions and previous way of life can be a source of potential conflict with the country to which they immigrated (Benet-Martinez & Haritatos, 2005). Context-informed studies have studied the coping mechanisms of women in general, and mothers in particular, post-immigration (Fung-Ling, 2003; Jew, 2004; Munscher, 1984). Women were found to learn language faster than men and therefore often find themselves responsible for attending meetings with various establishments in the new country, which enables them to become better acquainted with the new culture and with the difficulties in the intercultural encounter (Munscher, 1984). Consequently, conservation processes (Fung-Ling, 2003; Jew, 2004) and change (Roer-Strier & Rosenthal, 2006) regarding parental perceptions and practices can occur.

8.4  The French in Israel The French population in Israel makes up approximately 1.8% of the total population, with hundreds of additional immigrants arriving from France on a monthly basis (Israel Central Bureau of Statistics, 2014). The French population in Israel has barely been studied. In general, French immigrants in Israel are Jews who voluntarily come to Israel to belong to the Jewish State, after feeling like a minority in France. They immigrate for ideological, Zionistic and historical reasons (Abitbol, 2010; Cohen, 2000), out of the desire “to return home” (Noga, 2013), and more recently as a response to terrorism and anti-Semitism. The French language is a central component in French culture, a culture that desires to preserve and pass down the language to the next generation. French immigrants maintain a connection with France and French culture. Many French people in Israel belong to French-­speaking communities or French-speaking organizations (Amit & Bar-Lev, 2015).

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8.5  Mothers in Israel Similar to our former reservations about homogeneous views on cultural parenting, the term “Israeli mothers” serves here as a mirror to the perceptions of immigrants. Studies suggest that Israeli discourse often surrounds and praises the concepts of fertility and birth, and it has been found that Israeli mothers believe that children should be raised with the help of their extended family, as well as the community. Additionally, they expect their children to develop independence from a young age (Bornstein et al., 1998). In contrast to mothers from France, who place great emphasis on hierarchy and parents’ higher standing (Druckerman, 2012), educated and middle class prospective Jewish mothers in Israel reported that they would prefer to be seen as “Authoritative” parents (Dor & Cohen-Fridel, 2010). Authoritative parenting is characterized by a combination of give and take, warmth, love and empathy for the child (Baumrind, 1966). Levitzki’s study (Levitzki, 2009) showed that Jewish parents of adolescents are aware of the emotional needs of their children and place an emphasis on feeling close to their children and having a good relationship with them. On the one hand, they want to allow their child to grow up and develop their own identity, while on the other hand they want their child to remain connected to the family. Parents spoke about the desired balance between the parents’ needs and the child’s needs, and their belief that parenthood is an interactive system that they develop together with their children.

8.6  Perceptions of Risk and Protection Recent studies show the extent to which definitions of risk and protection varies among professionals in the fields of education and therapy; they are often broad and general, and often depend on personal attitudes, values and beliefs that professionals hold when assessing a child’s situation (Benvenisti & Schmidt, 2010; Roer-­ Strier, 2007). Additionally, the system’s and professionals’ response to parents’ perceptions of risk and protection are inadequate. The study described in this chapter is based on the assumption that cultural context shapes the beliefs, strategies, motivations and child-rearing practices that are expressed through parenting practices (Cohen, 2009; Roer-Strier & Sands, 2015). The definitions of risk and protection are dependent on parenting styles and environmental contexts (Efrat-Gut & Ben Aryeh, 2001). This is an exploratory study that adopts a context-informed perspective and asks the question: What are the perceptions of risk and protection among French immigrant mothers raising a child in Israel?

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8.7  Methodology Fifteen French Jewish immigrant mothers participated in this study. All of the mothers who participated were either traditional or religious Jews. For many French Jews, the expression of their Judaism is their connection to Israel and Jewish tradition (Cohen, 2000), and immigration to the State of Israel strengthens their Jewish identity (Noga, 2013). The study sample was a purposive sample, using the snowball technique in which each participant recruits additional participants. In addition, a search for participants was conducted among Israeli online forums for mothers. The 15 mothers in the study met the following criteria: Jewish women born in France, married to men of French nationality, mothers of one-year-old children, and who immigrated to Israel from France after the age of 17. The mothers’ ages were relatively young (M = 28, SD = 4). The mothers were of mid- to high-­socioeconomic status. The mothers lived in central cities in Israel and had at least 14 years of education. The participants immigrated to Israel as adolescents, and all had at least completed high school. Additionally, most of the participants had lived in Israel for a few years prior to this study and therefore lived and experienced the receiving culture (Berry et al., 2006).

8.8  Research Tools and Data Collection Methods The first author of this chapter is an immigrant from France, and she recruited the interviewees through online immigrant forums in Israel. After establishing initial contact, she called the potential participants in the study to ensure that they met the criteria. Then, she arranged to meet with most of the interviewees in their homes where she conducted semi-structured interviews. The interview guide was originally in Hebrew, and was translated into French for the purpose of this study. Two separate translations were made by two people whose native language is French. The translations were cross-evaluated and discrepancies were discussed between the translators. When there was an unresolved discrepancy, a third student, whose mother tongue is French, was brought in to help determine the appropriate translation. Back translation was done as well, in which the interview guide was translated back into Hebrew from French. This method of translation is used with the intent to preserve the original meaning in the translation, and is especially important in qualitative research (Van Nes, Abma, Jonsson, & Deeg, 2010). The interviews were conducted in French at the interviewees’ houses and lasted approximately 1 hour. The interviews were recorded and transcribed in French, followed by a preliminary categorical and mapping analysis (Shakedi, 2003). The analysis was done using the computer software MAXQDA 12—version 12. In order to ensure reflectivity and increase the reliability of the study, an additional researcher analyzed the

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collected data. Thus, a peer review process was conducted in order to strengthen the results examination process and compare them to the researchers’ findings, thereby strengthening or disproving the original findings (Creswell, 1998; Shakedi, 2003).

8.9  Findings The present study examined perceptions of risk and protection among immigrant mothers from France raising a child in Israel. The categories, which make up the themes of this study, are arranged by decreasing frequency from top to bottom. Throughout the chapter, the findings for each theme are presented, as well as their categories. The mothers’ direct quotes are presented in their entirety in order to maintain maximum transparency and accuracy.

8.10  Perceptions of Risk The participants raised various issues concerning childrearing. They spoke about the risks of a lenient education system and the importance of setting boundaries for children. They also talked about parenting practices that set boundaries, among them, corporal punishment. Additionally, they raised issues regarding risks presented by the street. Finally, they brought up the mother-child conflicts that could develop from these cultural gaps. Lack of Boundaries  Most mothers related to the fact that Israeli education norms allow for greater flexibility and is less concerned with setting boundaries than French education norms. They had a negative outlook on Israeli lenience and expressed their belief in children’s need for clear boundaries. Several examples were given by mothers, illustrating the differences in the rules set for the children. Lauren explained the emphasis that parents in France place on rules and boundaries and then told us about a recent situation she had with her four-year-old and her friend. I invited a friend of my daughter’s over last week. The boy was throwing pasta everywhere, on the floor, in his hair. I said ‘no,’ but he did not listen to me. Then, his mother came and I expected her to say something … but no, she did not say anything!

Another mother, Ella, who works in the education system in Israel, spoke about children’s freedom of speech. In her eyes, as well as in the eyes of other mothers, not everything a child says is legitimate and should be expressed, and children’s freedom of speech must be limited. Here, children have to express themselves, and they always have things to say, even if they are two or three years old. And the teachers and parents justify that by saying, ‘Oh, no, no, no, he has to express himself! He needs to say what he feels!’

The mothers spoke of boundaries in various areas, such as behavior, freedom of expression, eating and security. It is clear that the gap between the Israeli and French

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approaches to education leaves mothers in a position where they need to examine and choose the patterns of motherhood that suit them personally. Even though most of the participants spoke negatively about Israeli education norms and the behavior of Israeli children, there were also mothers who held the opposite view, and embraced the choice to give their children more freedom. Forbidden Corporal Punishment  During the interviews, most of the mothers talked about corporal punishment as a way of educating children and setting clear boundaries for them. They explained that this form of punishment is tolerated in French culture, as opposed to Israeli culture where spanking is prohibited by state law. Mothers Justifying Moderate Corporal Punishment  The mothers that grew up in France were asked to describe a child at risk. Most of them thought that mistreating a child by beating them was hurting their welfare, and in the same breath would justify a more moderate way of beating the child that would not be considered maltreatment, but an educational act. Michelle explained: An abused child—I mean a child who is really beaten—if we spank him for example on his buttock, it’s ok. It’s meant to correct his behavior; it’s not called ‘beating.’ But if you really hurt a child and leave marks, then it’s horrible.

Michelle justified corporal punishment and distinguished it from maltreatment in two ways: The first is the purpose given to the act, whether the spanking’s aim is to correct a certain behavior or not. The second is the severity of the spanking, whether it is a mild spanking or a severe spanking that leaves marks and is painful for the child. Actual use of Spanking in Parenting, a Changing Practice  Most of the mothers who participated in our research tolerate corporal punishment. However, in their parenting practices, we distinguished three kinds of motivations. First, most of the mothers, such as Michelle, reported they use corporal punishment in their parenting practices as a way of teaching certain behaviors. Second, some of them admitted to sometimes spanking their children without strongly believing in this practice; they explained that they spank their children when they are irritated or in a stressful situation. For example, Nadine reacted to a hypothetical situation of a mother spanking her three-year-old child in a mall: I would be surprised. But after all, it’s her way of parenting. Poor kid, I do not do that […] but it could also happen to me. If something scary or startling happens, it’s very likely that I would spank my kid on his buttocks. I cannot judge her.

From Nadine’s reaction, it seems that she doesn’t believe in spanking as a parenting method although when she experiences strong emotions such as fear, she might hit her child. Third, a minority of mothers explained that they do not use spanking even though they were spanked themselves throughout their childhood. In fact, they described

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the changes in their beliefs about parenting. Lorene spoke about the change she went through when she became a mother: I was never shocked by parents hitting their kids, but now that I’m a mother I will never touch them like that. Before I would say, ‘What’s the big deal?’ but nowadays I don’t understand the benefit of hitting. In reality, this practice bothers me.

Lorene used past tense to speak about the way she felt toward corporal punishment, but spoke in the present tense about the way it bothers her and how she doesn’t understand it. Becoming a mother made her undergo a big change. In summation, it is understood that immigrant mothers from France tolerate corporal punishment, though punishing practices vary among them and a minority have gone through a radical change and stopped this practice when they became mothers. Perception of Risks of the Street  Throughout the interviews, mothers raised the fact that Israeli children go out often, to parks, with friends, with their youth movement, etc. The mothers explained that they don’t want their children to spend time outside of the house like Israeli children do because it may be dangerous for them and might put them at risk. They talked about four different kinds of risks that exist outside: social risk, psychological risk, sexual risk, and spiritual risk. Social Risk  The mothers expressed a concern that their children would make friends who would negatively influence them. Charlotte explained: I’m afraid they’ll go out with bad kids and be influenced by them. They might want to go out a lot, start smoking, drinking, and doing silly things, by following friends who have a lower moral code, people with fewer values.

In Charlotte’s opinion, children may know the wrong people and be dragged into bad and even forbidden acts, such as smoking and drinking alcohol, through social pressure. Psychological Risk  When mothers tried to explain the dangers of the street, they talked about how children look for ways to engage themselves in something, and that they may find themselves in negative situations that may involve violence, vandalism and delinquency. Shani explained: A child must be busy. Do something, something meaningful. It can be home, playing with brothers, with a friend, or doing homework. He can also go to activities in the youth movement. But a boy who just hangs out with friends does not really have anything to do. So, he will look for something to do and it will not always be good. Israeli-born parents trust that their children will be fine, but then many children roam the streets looking for something to do. They begin to draw on the walls, to be drawn into vandalism or to delinquency. Children of any age should be watched.

Shani’s statement suggests that parents must supervise the actions of their children, at any age. In her opinion, a child should always be under the supervision of a responsible adult, so that they do not seek meaning in doing harm to themself and their environment.

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Sexual Risk  Some mothers talked about the sexual danger that occurs outside. The danger was mostly attributed to girls. Emma explained: I do not like when young people, girls and boys, go out together late. You do not know what can happen. I also do not like when girls go out as a group of only girls. You do not know what can happen to them. There are perverts everywhere, there are attacks, and you have to really be careful. Things happen in Israel as well! It bothers me that boys go outside, but that’s for other reasons. For girls, it’s more frightening.

Emma referred to two sexual dangers: on the one hand, extreme cases of sexual assault; while on the other hand, the fear that girls would voluntarily create sexual contact with boys, which in her eyes is inappropriate and unacceptable until adulthood. Spiritual Risk  Some mothers also raised concerns regarding the spiritual risk that exists outside of the house. Elise spoke about a spiritual fear, the fear of kids abandoning their commitment to Jewish teachings by going out, away from their families. She said: Children who come from religious families go out on the street with their friends all the time, even on Shabbat, and suddenly they can desecrate Shabbat.

In her opinion, when a child leaves the shelter of the home, they may forsake their family customs. The very fact of leaving the house for many hours is an obstacle in religious education, and a child who is not with their parents on Shabbat is liable to desecrate the Shabbat. Other mothers raised the idea of sexual risk, but defined it as a religious issue, explaining that religion praises distance between boys and girls. In summary, the participants suggested that letting children have independence and allowing them to go out with friends may be dangerous in regards to various aspects. They believed that by having more control over their children, by keeping them at home or under the watchful eye of an adult, they lower various risks and help their children be safer and happier. Risks of the Intercultural Context  As mentioned above, immigration to Israel involves many perceived cultural differences between the home culture and the host culture. One of them is the importance of scholarly achievements. Scholarly Achievement  The interviewees described a gap in educational achievement between the education in France and Israel. In their opinion, immigrant mothers from France expect more of their children and place a greater emphasis on scholastic success than Israeli mothers. Sophie illustrated this difference in her personal life: We were educated with an elitist approach; we had to achieve the best [in our studies]. Our parents would say: ‘You got 99, why not 100?’ I also demand a lot from my children in terms of learning, comprehension, and getting good grades. But I hope I’m not putting the same pressure on them, I feel that I had more pressure when I grew up, but that’s the French attitude, you know…

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Sophie’s remarks indicate that she thinks French education focuses on achievements and that emotional pressure is exerted on children to succeed in their studies. Her words indicate that here in Israel she continues to raise her children to strive for high academic achievement, but she tries to find a balanced way to do so while putting less pressure on them. Concerns About Future Conflicts Arising from the Cultural Gap  Some mothers brought up the following concern: a child from a French immigrant family may see their friends being raised differently from themself and as a result may struggle with the education they receive at home. A few mothers talked about fears of risk related to future conflicts with their children regarding the encounter between the two cultures. They spoke about how their child would bring home things from Israeli culture, and that their expectations and desires would clash with those of their parents who were following their home culture’s parenting practices. Elise spoke about the struggle regarding corporal punishment, an approach she uses while raising her children. In his kindergarten, her son learned that corporal punishment is forbidden by law. She explained: The school teaches that no one can touch them. It’s not easy to live with this […] I do not think this is right to do so. The children are taught this way, but they play with it, and this creates a bad relationship between parent and child. I want to punish him and he opposes me saying that I’m breaking the law.

It seems that Elise has experienced great difficulties with her son. What her child is being taught in kindergarten is undermining her parental authority. As far as the mother is concerned, this is the way to educate children, but from the point of view of the child, his mother is doing something that is prohibited. Shani talked about another kind of conflict: When the children see the other permissive parents, it will be difficult. For example, I will never let my child roam outside with his youth movement. Here kids are outside; they collect money for a summer camp. For me, this won’t even happen in my worst nightmares! Keep him at home; your child is not a beggar. It will be hard for him to see that his friends are being educated in a permissive way and to see that we are tough.

Shani sharply defines Israeli-born parents as “permissive.” This word has a negative connotation in French. She forcefully  states that she will preserve the French approach, even if it creates conflicts and difficulties with her son in the future. The example she brings up is interesting, because in every large city in Israel, it is a common, accepted and even appreciated practice to see young people collect donations for their youth movements. Shani’s perception is totally different from Israeli beliefs. In summary, the mothers brought up gaps between their home culture and their host culture, such as ways to set boundaries, the importance of children staying at home and the elitist view of scholarly achievements. All of these cultural differences may create conflict between children who were raised in Israel, and their parents who were raised in France.

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8.11  Perceptions of Protection This theme will address what mothers think about protection in childhood, and how they deal with the feeling of protection in childhood, the ways to insure children’s protection at a larger level and the way the idea of resilience is strong in Israeli childhood. Feeling Safe Due to the Presence of an Adult  The mothers were asked to describe where their children feel safe and protected. Nelly said: Children are safe at home, while their parents are there to give them what they need, on an emotional level as well as on a physical level. In general, with a responsible adult watching them, children feel safe; it may be at school, at home or even at the park.

Like Nelly, most mothers answered three main locations: home, nursery school and the park, while they specified the most important factor in feeling safe was the presence of an adult they trust, such as a parent or a teacher. Preventing Child Risk  The mothers were asked to think of ways to prevent abuse and neglect in early childhood and improve children’s safety in Israel in general, and in the French immigrant population, in particular. The mothers raised ways to prevent risk, as well as ways to help immigrant parents from France with their struggles in Israel, including workshops, follow-up parenting sessions and French-speaking contacts in the educational system and in the well-baby clinics (Tipat Chalav). Responsibility of the Education System  Several mothers talked about the responsibility of the education system in identifying abuse and maltreatment. Elise explained: You never know who does this kind of thing [abuse and neglect], often it happens near you and no one knows about it. The person who is in the best position to report it is the teacher, in the morning she sees that the kid comes in with the same underwear every day, or with blue marks. In my opinion, the teachers know first and they are also the best people to help the family.

Responsibility of the Health Care System  Some mothers spoke about Tipat Chalav, the well-baby clinics every child goes to several times during early childhood for follow-ups, developmental screenings and vaccinations. Gaelle described the following: Each parent has a follow-up at the Tipat Chalav. If there is a problem they should see it, and keep following the family closely!

Shani goes further with the idea of having Tipat Chalav involved, she proposed: They should force parents to go to counseling at Tipat Chalav, the same way parents have to vaccinate their children; they should have to go to counseling. At the hospital at birth also, they should talk to every parent. Handing out a flyer about dangers is not enough. It’s like a driving license. It needs to be talked about more. The hospital and Tipat Chalav are the only places that we can be sure parents will come.

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Family Responsibility  It is interesting to note that only one mother talked about the responsibility of a family member in a case of child abuse. Laurie explained: The first people who will notice this kind of issue will be the close family. It’s their responsibility, the parents, the grandparents, and they need to prevent it, to talk to the parents or to report them!

The Importance of Reporting  Like Laurie, several mothers stated that if a sign of abuse or neglect is clear, the parent has to be reported. For example, Nelly said: There should be someone to talk to everywhere about this kind of case, at the school, at the Kupat Cholim [healthcare center], so that these families will be reported.

It is interesting to note that many mothers talked about “reporting” without specifying to whom. When they were asked to imagine that they know of an abused child, most of them said they should report it. When they were asked to specify to whom, the majority of the mothers said to the education system, some said they would call the police and only one mother talked about involving a social worker. Israel as a Place to Raise Resilient Children  Half of the mothers spoke about the fact that their children were “flourishing” here in Israel. In their eyes, Israel is a great place to raise children. Nadine, who arrived in Israel a few months ago at the age of 34, described: It is very social country where it is common to invite over, ‘Come to me, I come to you.’ I still find it difficult to let my child go, but they tell me five thousand times: ‘Please, let us take him to play with us!’ [Laughs] […] Here, it ‘will feel like home.’ The little neighbors knock on the door and ask, ‘Hey, is Ari [five years old] at home?’ [Smiling] It’s just like that here. […] In France we did not have it; my oldest is seven years old and was always in a Jewish school. In seven years, he may have gone to a friend twice, and it was planned a week in advance.

Nadine explained that as opposed to France, in Israel, even at young ages, children often meet in the afternoon. Nadine happily described the atmosphere among the children in her neighborhood. However, one can see her reservations; she still has difficulty letting her child go. While she appreciates the new culture, it takes time to get used to it. Sophie explained that Israeli education emphasizes children feeling good. Her family immigrated to Israel 6 months ago, and until then, she had raised her children in the French capital. Here there is an attitude that a child should feel good, and I see the difference. Mostly my elder son sees the difference; he’s the one who spent the most time in school in France. He tells me that his class is completely different. In France, there was a bit of a depressing attitude, it was forbidden to talk, forbidden to do many things. Here they are given a lot of space to be and express themselves. To my son, it was very significant. The teacher at the Ulpan would ask him every day: ‘How do you feel today?’ And he says: ‘They never asked me that in France [in school]!’

Sophie says that in France children’s feelings are not vocalized, and that children do not express their feelings to their teachers. In contrast, children in Israel are given the opportunity to speak, and their feelings are important to teachers. This example

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emphasizes the experience of a child who immigrated recently, and already favors the education system in Israel. His mother describes him as flourishing here in Israel. In conclusion, the interviews gave an overview of cultural differences that the immigrant mothers from France felt in Israel. They discussed their beliefs about risk and protection in early childhood, explaining that in their eyes, boundaries are necessary when raising a child. Corporal punishment is not seen as a risk and is even used as a way to set boundaries. They also raised the issue of the risks present in the streets and the importance of parents having control over their children’s outings. Another difference was the tremendous importance placed on their children’s academic success in order to have a better life and future in Israel. Some mothers expressed a fear of being so different from native-born Israelis, thinking of the conflicts they might face when their children confront them with a desire for a different, more lenient education. In the end, they talked about children’s safety, including ways to provide a feeling of protection and how to avoid risks in childhood. They concluded that even though there are many differences between their home culture and their host culture, and that motherhood may be difficult because of these differences, at the same time, their children are flourishing in Israel and will grow up to be more resilient adults.

8.12  Discussion The study described in this chapter was derived from the context-informed theory, in which cultural context shapes the beliefs, strategies, motivations and child- rearing practices that are expressed through parenting practices (Cohen, 2009). The concepts of risk and protection are dependent on parenting styles and environmental contexts (Efrat-Gut & Ben Aryeh, 2001; Roer-Strier & Sands, 2015). The findings of this exploratory study, which examined the perceptions of French immigrant mothers raising a child in Israel regarding the concepts of risk and protection, raised two central themes. Within the first theme, regarding the concept of risk, three main risks emerged from the analysis of the findings: (1) the importance of setting boundaries and the risk of their absence; (2) the risk of the street; and (3) the risk of intercultural encounters. The second theme, regarding the concept of protection, described factors thought of as protective factors: (1) mothers described the feeling of protection that occurs in the presence of an adult who is responsible for the child’s wellbeing; (2) risk prevention systems were presented; and (3) the perception that Israel is thought of as a place to raise resilient children emerged. The discussion will focus on the connection between the two themes and categories; within the French context, the French-Israeli context, and in comparison of the study’s findings to the existing literature. Additionally, this chapter will discuss the implications for theory, practice, training and policy, the study limitations and recommendations for further research.

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8.13  T  he Perception of Risk and Protection in Different Contexts A context-informed perspective regarding the findings show that, just like the previous context-informed studies that have examined these perceptions, the participants’ perceptions of risk and protection for children are influenced by different life contexts and exposure to different cultures throughout their lives (Roer-Strier & Sands, 2015). The intersectionality of contexts creates life experiences that are influenced by different cultures and contexts, which simultaneously shape the multi-­ dimensional identity and world view of the participants (Nadan, Spilsbury, & Korbin, 2015). Each context is categorized by a special way of speaking, a unique discourse. An analysis of the findings showed the hybridity of three strains of discourse: “French,” “French-Jewish” and “Israeli”; all of which construct their own perceptions of risk and protection for children. Apart from nationality and religion, additional parameters are included in intersectionality, such as culture, language, socioeconomic status, religiosity, education, gender and more. The French Discourse  An example of the prevalence of the perception of the participants regarding the “French discourse” or parenting can be seen in the participants’ statements regarding the importance of parents setting boundaries and the risks when boundaries are not set. Furthermore, it can be seen in the way the mothers’ described the feelings of protection that arise when an adult responsible for a child’s environment is present, and in the statements regarding sexual risks in the streets when there is no adult supervision. Their statements align with the literature that describes French mothers as setting boundaries and keeping to schedules that create routine at home (Claes et al., 2003; Druckerman, 2012; Schleyer-Lindenmann, 1997). When discussing the use of corporal punishment, the mothers perceptions mirror “French parenting” as categorized by the literature. It supports this method as the typical punishment used by mothers of mid-to high socioeconomic status living in central cities who believe in strict discipline and the importance of hierarchy (Bornstein et al., 1996; Suizzo, 2004). Additionally, their remarks regarding the social and psychological risks of the street are indicative of the typical discourse used by French mothers in particular, and French discourse in general, which expresses the view that idleness is harmful for children (Stranger et al., 1994). This finding is in line with the literature that suggests that generally, French parents allow their children less freedom of choice (Claes et al., 2003). The importance the mothers placed on scholastic achievements also resonates with the French discourse that suggests that mothers from a middle to upper class socioeconomic background feel that the importance of providing stimuli that provides development and learning takes precedence over a child’s immediate needs (Suizzo, 2002, 2004). The use of French discourse indicated the process of conserving the mothers’ original culture (Fung-Ling, 2003; Jew, 2004).

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The French-Jewish Discourse  The use of this discourse can be seen in the way the participants spoke of spiritual risk and academic risk, aligning with the finding that instilling Jewish values into the next generation is usually the mother’s responsibility, and that parents aspire for academic success for their children (Benbassa, 2001). Additionally, their remarks stating that Israel is the place to raise resilient children can be attributed to the type of Zionism that characterizes French Jewry (Hildesheimer, 2014). The use of French-Jewish discourse is an additional way of preserving their culture of origin (Fung-Ling, 2003; Jew, 2004). The Israeli Discourse  The Israeli discourse can be recognized in the study in the way the mothers spoke of systems for risk prevention, similar way to the way the literature describes the way Israeli mothers speak of them, by stating the importance of receiving help from both extended family and the community when raising children (Bornstein et al., 1998). Similarly, the participants’ belief that Israel is the place to raise resilient children falls in line with the Israeli discourse. This aligns with the existing literature that describes that prospective middle class, educated, Jewish mothers of mid-to high socioeconomic status prefer to be “authoritative” mothers (Dor & Cohen-Fridel, 2010), based on a combination of give and take, warmth, love and empathy for the child (Baumrind, 1966). Parents from a similar sampling explained that while on the one hand they want their children to develop their own identity, on the other hand, they want their children to remain connected to their family. The use of Israeli discourse points to the process of change in parental perceptions (Roer-Strier & Rosenthal, 2006); perceptions the participants adopted in order to promote protection and resilience. The Fluidity Between the Discourses  The participants in this study experience the intersection of contexts that shape their perceptions. The findings show that they make use of the French, French-Jewish and Israeli discourses. Occasionally each discourse is used on its own, but every once in a while the conflict and gap between the discourses can be seen and the impact of the intercultural transition that forces change in parental perceptions can be identified (Benet-Martinez & Haritatos, 2005; Crippen & Brew, 2007; Roer-Strier, Strier, Este, Shimoni, & Clark, 2005). The participants emphasized the hybridity and integration of the discourses in their comments about the use of corporal punishment and their comments regarding the State of Israel as the place to raise resilient children. Thus, they created a new and unique discourse characterized by the processes of preservation and change in their parental perceptions based on their unique intersectionality. In conclusion, analyzing the findings by looking at intersectionality combined with a multi-cultural and context-informed approach enables the identification of the way the concepts of risk and protection are built and influenced by various “discourses”; discourses that are a result of the intersectionality of different contexts and cultures. This differs from the one-dimensional uniform binary and stable cultural approach, in which culture shapes people’s perceptions and can lead to over-­generalization (Corin Langer & Nadan, 2012).

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Another aspect that should be considered is that parents realize that risk and protection are not dichotomous and could co-exist. An example is the social group and reported unsupervised mutual social visits that can result in a negative social influence but also help children thrive socially.

8.14  Contributions and Implications This study contributes to the field of knowledge about risk and protection for children through a cultural and context-informed perspective based on the perceptions of French immigrant mothers. The findings of this study show the unique child-­ rearing practices of French Jews in Israel. The data showed that the French immigrant mothers view Israel as a welfare state and believe Israel has both a responsibility and an obligation to be involved in raising children. This perception of state involvement can lead to tensions and a misunderstanding of the system, as well as to conflicts with Israel’s state institutions that have undergone many welfare policy changes in recent decades (Alimi, 2012; Haber, 2017). The participants themselves offered a way to bridge these differences and cope with these tensions. Policymakers must recognize these immigrants as part of a society undergoing cultural change and therefore, develop unique services for them based on the concept of reaching out (Shintoch, 2013) in order to make the state institutions and systems accessible to French immigrants in Israel.

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Noga, R. (2013). “Juifs” en France et “Français” en Israël: La construction identitaire au miroir de l’autre. Revue Interrogation. Retrieved July 10, 2016, from http://www.revue-interrogations. org/Juifs-en-France-et-Francais-en Roer-Strier, D. (2007). Reducing risk for children in changing cultural contexts. In Family and knowledge (Vol. 3). Israel: Ministry of Education. Roer-Strier, D., & Rosenthal, M. K. (2006). What sort of an adult would you like your child to be?– mothers’ developmental goals in different cultural communities in Israel. International Journal of Behavioral Development, 30(6), 517–528. https://doi.org/10.1177/0165025406072897 Roer-Strier, D., & Sands, R.  G. (2015). Moving beyond the ‘official story’: When ‘others’ meet in a qualitative interview. Qualitative Research, 15(2), 251–268. https://doi. org/10.1177/1468794114548944 Roer-Strier, D., Strier, R., Este, D., Shimoni, R., & Clark, D. (2005). Fatherhood and immigration: Challenging the deficit theory. Child & Family Social Work, 10(4), 315–329. https://doi. org/10.1111/j.1365-2206.2005.00374.x Schleyer-Lindenmann, A. (1997). Influence du contexte culturel et familial sur les tâches de développement et l’investissement de l’espace urbain à l’adolescence. Étude sur les jeunes d’origine nationale ou étrangère à Marseille et à Francfort sur le Main Thèse de doctoral Université de Provence Aix Marseille [Influence of cultural and familial context on developmental task and investment of urban areas at adolescence. Study with foreign and national adolescents at Marseille and Frankfurt am Mein]. Unpublished doctoral thesis, Université de Provence, Aix Marseille, France. Shakedi, A. (2003). A research paradigm. Words that try to touch: Qualitative research–theory and application. Tel Aviv: Ramot. [Hebrew]. Shintoch, S. (2013). Workers in the Field: Street work and the integration of social workers and others. Jerusalem: Ministry of Welfare and Social Services. [Hebrew]. Stranger, C., Fombone, E., & Achenbach, T. (1994). Epidemiological comparisons of American and French children: Parent reports of problems and competencies for ages 6–11. European Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 3, 16–28. https://doi.org/10.1007/bf01977608 Suizzo, M. A. (2002). French parents’ cultural models and childrearing beliefs. International Journal of Behavioral Development, 26(4), 297–307. https://doi.org/10.1080/01650250143000175 Suizzo, M. A. (2004). French and American mothers’ childrearing beliefs: Stimulating, responding, and long-term goals. Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology, 36(6), 606–626. https://doi. org/10.1177/0022022104268391 Van Nes, F., Abma, T., Jonsson, H., & Deeg, D. (2010). Language differences in qualitative research: Is meaning lost in translation? European Journal of Ageing, 7(4), 313–316. https:// doi.org/10.1007/s10433-010-0168

Chapter 9

Parental and Professional Perspectives of Child Risk and Protection in Unrecognized Bedouin Villages in the Naqab: An Intersectionality-­ Informed Approach Ibtisam Marey-Sarwan and Galit Meir

9.1  Conceptual Framework There is a risk that the manifestations of culture can unjustly be perceived as an expression of maltreatment due to the judgment of behavior according to standards set by another culture considered to be superior (Korbin, 2008). This is exemplified in the following quote: In order to deeply understand the reasons for physical risks for children, a distinction must be made between what is related to general neglect, to a lack of knowledge and awareness, or to poverty conditions that make it seem like a lack of awareness or neglect. For example, a child who comes with leg burns, from an unrecognized village (UV), without electricity connection, in mid-winter with an open fire at home or wherever it is needed, he could have gotten burned not due to mother’s neglect but due to the working conditions of the house; the fire was done specifically to provide normal conditions. Sometimes it's clear that specific knowledge can make the difference. However, in most cases it’s very difficult to make these distinctions. (Gilad, a social worker who works with Bedouin families in UVs in the Naqab)

Gilad’s argument is simple but powerful. It illustrates the dilemmas faced by professionals who assess risk in cross-cultural encounters. The disparity between perceived risk perceptions among parents as service recipients, and the social workers (SW) as service providers, may create gaps and frustration on both sides. These I. Marey-Sarwan (*) The Arab Academic College for Education, Haifa, Israel NEVET-Greenhouse of Context-Informed Research and Training for Children in Need, The Paul Baerwald School of Social Work and Social Welfare, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem, Israel e-mail: [email protected] G. Meir NEVET-Greenhouse The Paul Baerwald School of Social Work and Social Welfare, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem, Israel © Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2020 D. Roer-Strier, Y. Nadan (eds.), Context-Informed Perspectives of Child Risk and Protection in Israel, Child Maltreatment 10, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-44278-1_9

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gaps may lead to a situation whereby professionals recommend treatment based on an incorrect diagnosis of the risk level (Roer-Strier, 2007). The current chapter is based on two studies that examine a context-informed perspective of children at-risk and methods for coping with risk. The first study was conducted with 33 Bedouin mothers from UVs, while the second was conducted with 15 SWs who work with Bedouins in UVs. This chapter aims to emphasize the importance of learning from study participants and seeks to bridge the gap between culture and practice of SWs and Bedouin families from UVs in the Naqab.

In this chapter, we provide information about Bedouins from UVs and present the characteristics and challenges facing provision of social services in this context. The Methods section details the two studies. Subsequently, the findings section presents similarities and differences regarding risk perceptions and methods for coping with the risks outlined in the two studies. Further conclusions and implications are discussed.

9.1.1  Naqab Bedouin from UVs The Arab-Bedouin of the Naqab (Negev desert area in the southern part of Israel) are an indigenous group that dwells in the State of Israel—a country with a Western orientation (Abu-Rabia-Queder, 2006). They are a semi-nomadic and traditional population with a unique lifestyle based on their historical, social, and political context (Nasasra, 2012). The Bedouins are undergoing a rapid and forced cultural transition within the context of ongoing political conflict which effects and shapes their daily lives (Marey-Sarwan, Otto, Roer-Strier, & Keller, 2015). After the establishment of the State of Israel in 1948, 80–85% of the Bedouin population was uprooted from their historic lands and became refugees in neighboring countries (Noach, 2009). The state relocated most of the remaining Bedouins to a clearly defined geographic area called the “Sayag/Siyaj.” There, they joined tribes that lived in this region before the establishment of the state and this formed the basis of the so-called “unrecognized villages” (Yiftachel, Roded, & Kedar, 2016). The UVs are considered “illegal” by the state of Israel (Fargeon & Rotem, 2016). State policy and legislation throughout the years have allowed for expropriation of Bedouin lands in order to establish Jewish settlements and security installations while registering all Naqab lands as state lands. Simultaneously, the state rejected the legitimacy of Bedouin land entitlement claims based on their continued historical presence in these territories while exposing the villages to political violence in the form of home demolitions (Yiftachel et al., 2016). These villages do not appear on any governmental planning documents due to structural and political factors. They lack basic services and infrastructure such as running water, electricity, sewage and access roads connecting them to public transportation (Abu-Bader & Gottlieb, 2009; Human Rights Watch, 2008, 2017). Since the late 1960s, Israel has attempted to urbanize Bedouin tribes by pressuring them to reside in seven planned urban localities (Yiftachel et  al., 2016). The government’s relocation plans may have held the promise of access to services and

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adequate housing, but, in fact, they caused Arab-Bedouins in the Naqab to experience rapid and dramatic urbanization. This had crucial implications for Bedouin society including the loss of income sources and an increase in socio-political tensions within the Bedouin community (Ben Israel & Meir, 2013; Nasasra, 2012). The Bedouin are determined to stay on their land to prevent its expropriation and to express their opposition to aggressive relocation plans (Meir, 2005). Currently, approximately 100,000 out of the 230,000 Bedouin citizens in Israel are living in 36 UVs in the Naqab. The Bedouin population in the UVs is considered to be one of the most marginalized and discriminated against populations in Israel. They are also the poorest and most deprived group of Israeli citizens educationally, socially and economically (Meir, 2005; Negev Coexistence Forum for Civil Equality, 2014; Yiftachel et al., 2016) with approximately 80% of households living below the poverty line (Abu-Bader & Gottlieb, 2009). Despite the extensive need, specialized care services such as parent-child centers, healthcare, welfare and educational institutions are almost non-existent in Bedouin villages (Ben-Rabbi, Amiel, Nijam, & Dolev, 2009). Only one-third of the villages have pre-schools and schools (Abu-Rabia-Queder, 2013; Fargeon & Rotem, 2016). In light of the harsh living conditions outlined above, it is argued that Bedouin children face many risk factors which negatively affect their development and well-­ being. Due to poor living conditions, high infant mortality rates are common in UVs (Central Bureau of Statistics, 2013) as well as low birth weight, slow-growth indicators, and other health problems (Bilenko, Fraser, Vardy, & Belmaker, 2014). Therefore, it is necessary to examine the significance of the data presented so far regarding children’s welfare and development in the UVs, and their implications for the children’s emotional, social and physical conditions.

9.1.2  Parenting Among Naqab Bedouins in UVs Arab-Bedouin society is conservative, traditional, patriarchal and structured hierarchically according to gender and age (Moghadam, 2004). The Bedouin family is characterized by early and polygamous marriages (Abu-El-Assal, 2010; Ben-Rabbi et  al., 2009). They consider children a status symbol and, therefore, have a high fertility rate of about 6.7 children per woman (Central Bureau of Statistics, 2013). Bedouins in the UVs are relatively young, with about 60% being under the age of 18 (Abu-Rabia-Queder, 2006). They live as extended families and share collective responsibility for infant care (Abu-Bader & Gottlieb, 2009). Men are dominant in the nuclear family; they hold all power and official authority and are considered to be the main protectors (Ben-David & Gonen, 2001). They work and are responsible for supporting the family financially (Gueron-Sela, Atzaba-Poria, Meiri, & Marks, 2013), while also engaging in  local politics (Al-Krenawi & Lightman, 2000). In parallel, women’s social status is closely tied to their roles as housewives, mothers and housekeepers. They are considered to be the primary caregivers for their children (Gueron-Sela et  al., 2013; Marey-Sarwan, Keller, & Otto, 2016). Women are responsible for the children’s informal education

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and for the transfer of social, cultural, and religious traditions (Hijab, 2001). Generally, they are not permitted to travel alone outside the village; therefore, for the most part, their mobility is dependent on the men. However, recent cultural changes have not bypassed Bedouin women. Their access to education and technology has opened a window into the wider world, and as a result requires them to navigate between different realities. Indeed, exposure to the Western world around them has created aspirations that are often difficult to fulfill (Marey-Sarwan et al., 2015).

9.1.3  Social Services in UVs: Characteristics and Challenges As defined by the International Federation of Social Workers (IFSW, 2014), “principles of social justice, human rights, collective responsibility and respect for diversities are central to social work.” Globalization has influenced the theory and training of SWs; today they are socialized to apply strength-based and culturally sensitive interventions. These interventions are oriented toward stimulating change at the individual, communal and social levels, while recognizing the perspectives and rights of indigenous cultures (Staniforth, Fouché, & O’Brien, 2011). Since SWs closely witness the impact of social policies on their clients, they are well-­positioned to deal with situations of oppression and exclusion through policy advocacy and other means (Gal & Weiss-Gal, 2014). Nevertheless, social work training in Israel still places great emphasis on individual intervention (Shapiro, 2010). Accordingly, SW’s practice is characterized mainly by individual work rather than interventions at the community and social levels (Weiss-Gal, 2006). Furthermore, social workers  are trained in Western-­ oriented theories, approaches, and treatment methods, which are often not effective for service receivers from developing societies. The absence of culturally sensitive theoretical and practical tools in encounters with service receivers from different cultural backgrounds poses many dilemmas and challenges for professionals and clients (Freund & Band-Winterstein, 2017). As noted above, SWs operating in UVs provide services to one of the most marginalized population groups in Israel. Social services are provided to residents through two welfare departments located in the city of Be’er Sheva. They belong to the Al-Qasim Regional Council and the Neveh Midbar Regional Council. The composition of the workers is varied and includes Bedouin employees who live in recognized villages and UVs, Arab SWs from northern Israel and SWs from the Jewish sector (Ministry of Social Affairs and Social Services, 2005). Welfare services in UVs are very limited and SWs function in the context of resource and manpower shortages (Ben-Rabbi et  al., 2009). These resource constraints are compounded by difficulties in physically accessing UVs, communication difficulties due to cultural gaps and mistrust between clients in the Bedouin community and SWs who represent the state. The meeting between the two is

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charged in light of the ongoing conflict in the Middle East (Al-Krenawi & Graham, 2006). This chapter explores similarities and differences between the perspectives of service providers (SWs) and service users (mothers). These perspectives provide a platform for exploring the complexity inherent in negotiating risk in the unique context of the UVs. Our chapter, therefore, addresses the following research questions: (1) What are the perspectives of risk for children among mothers and SWs from the UVs in the Naqab and how do they characterize them? and (2) What are the perspectives of protection for children among mothers and SWs from the UVs in the Naqab and their methods of coping with risks?

9.2  Methods This chapter is based on two studies; one targeting Bedouin mothers and the second targeting SWs working with Bedouins; both of which examined perspectives of risk and protection for child development. In both studies, data was collected through in-depth semi-structured interviews and a socio-demographic questionnaire. The Ethics Committee of the Paul Baerwald School of Social Work and Social Welfare at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem gave its approval for the studies. Participants signed informed consent documents and were promised anonymity and confidentiality.

9.2.1  Research with Bedouin Mothers 9.2.1.1  The Interviewees Data was collected between 2011 and 2013 from 33 Arab-Bedouin mothers of young infants who live in six UVs in the Naqab. The mothers’ ages ranged from 17–43 years, and family size ranged from 3–17 members, with an average of 3.7 persons per family. The average woman married at 17.5 and completed 11 years of formal education. At the time of the study, most of the women were unemployed. All of the interviews with mothers took place in the participants’ natural environments. The interviews generally lasted for about 2 hours and were held in Arabic, which is the participants’ and the first author’s native language. The interviews were audiotaped, transcribed, and anonymized. Participants were not paid for their participation in the research; however, each of them received a magnet photo of the baby with his/her family with a thank-you note written on it at the end of the study. The mother also received a modest gift.

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9.2.1.2  The Researcher The researcher is a Palestinian Arab mother and professional from Haifa in the north of Israel. She familiarized herself with Bedouin culture by spending 3 years collecting data, visiting villages, and reading extensively about the Bedouin in general, and the Bedouin in the Naqab specifically. The researcher formed trusting relationships with Bedouin participants and informants including educators and SWs who worked with the community. She had access to participants and shared a common religion and language, thus managing to establish a rapport and reduce the participants’ fear of stigma and misunderstanding (Shkedi, 2011). Even today, she maintains on-­ going contact with study participants. Simultaneously, she maintained enough distance to allow reflective and critical scrutiny of the researched reality.

9.2.2  Research with SWs 9.2.2.1  The Interviewees Data was collected between 2014 and 2015 from 15 social workers who work in UVs with young Bedouin children aged 0–6 and/or their families. The social workers’ ages ranged from 26–64 years; they were either Jewish or Muslim and represented various ethnicities including Arab-Bedouin SWs from the Naqab, Arab SWs from Jerusalem and Northern Israel and Jewish SWs. Out of the total sample, nine participants work in an office mainly intended to serve UV residents, five target a wider population also comprising residents of UVs and one serves one of the Bedouin cities in the Naqab and has previous experience in early childhood interventions in the UVs. The interviewed SWs are involved in the fields of social welfare, education, health, rehabilitation, out-of-home care and policy practice. Participants were initially recruited through targeted sampling and by directly approaching social services and SWs that matched the study’s criteria. Subsequently, the sample was expanded through snowball sampling. All interviews were held in Hebrew and took place at a location that was suitable for the interviewee. Interviews lasted between one to two and half hours. The interviews were audiotaped, transcribed, and anonymized. 9.2.2.2  The Researcher The researcher is a Jewish social worker from Central Israel, who specializes in early childhood interventions. It can be assumed that the professional background of the researcher contributed to forming a common language and understanding of the study’s topic. The cultural differences between the researcher and some of the

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interviewees had both pros and cons. On the one hand, the gaps seemed to serve the purpose of the study because both sides were engaged in expanding the discourse and understanding issues that were uncommon or unclear. On the other hand, these gaps inherently challenged the researcher’s ability to achieve a thorough and precise understanding of the Arab social workers’ perceptions, also risking their sense of comfort and openness. Therefore, the researcher familiarized herself with Bedouin culture and politics by interacting with residents and professionals from UVs, forming trusting relationships and by conducting a thorough literature review. In addition, she maintained a reflective stance regarding her own, and the participant’s, perceptions and behavior, taking field notes and engaging in dialogue with colleagues. The researcher introduced participants to the aim of the study and its possible contribution and limitations and acted with sensitivity and responsibility regarding their requests and needs.

9.3  Findings The findings section describes the main two themes that emerged from analysis of the interviews in both studies.

9.3.1  Risk to Child Well-being The analysis of the two-researcher’s data yielded four categories of mother and SW risk perceptions: the immediate physical environment, parental competence, socio-­ cultural risks, and socio-political risks. These are outlined in more detail below. The Immediate Physical Environment: “No matter where the child walks around the village, he would probably be in danger.” Participants from both groups pointed to the implications of living conditions on child development, including the physical risks at home and in the immediate surroundings. For example, they mentioned the high voltage power lines, garbage dispersed everywhere, lack of safe places to play, vehicular traffic, sewage shafts and stray dogs and snakes. One parent, Samera, a mother of three young children, mentioned a typical concern of a physical risk next to her home such as the burning of garbage. Usually, the State does not take care of waste removal in the villages. Therefore, residents have to burn the garbage on their own. This creates air pollution and health risks. Samera said: “People are digging and burning the garbage or throw it away in the wadi [valley]. A lot of kids become sick because of the smoke and strong smell. The children also go to the valley to play with it.” Another environmental risk is related to exposure to high voltage power lines. As mentioned above, the UVs are not connected to electricity. Paradoxically, the main transformer for the area is located in one village and a high-voltage line passes over the residences of three other villages, in order to bring power to Jewish cities. Many

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mothers expressed a concern that the high voltage power lines are a source of serious risk, such as electric shock. Many others believe there is a risk of serious illnesses due to the high voltage lines. Sana, a mother of four children said: “The high voltage power lines are dangerous and cause many serious illnesses. There is no other explanation for diseases like cancer here.” Among the risks in the home environment, SWs referred to temporary housing that does not protect against weather hazards and lacks basic infrastructure and safety features (such as windows and stairs). The harsh living conditions described pose an even greater risk for children who demonstrate specific personal or developmental traits, as emphasized by both mothers and SWs. While mothers tended to view the child’s playfulness and curiosity as an inevitable risk factor, SWs tended to focus more on risks related to lack of basic conditions for children with medical and developmental problems. Efaf, a mother of seven children, shared: “The child is curious and wants to play. Risks surround us so that the child has no other place to play and explore. All the options are closed to him.” Similarly, SWs described the absence of safe places to play. Some of them defined all the children in the UVs at risk due to these physical conditions. Gilad’s words reflect other SWs: The fact that a child lives in the UVs. […] For me, he is at risk until proven otherwise. […] What actually makes the risk so sweeping is the living conditions, it’s not just living in the house itself but what is around it. For example, […] there is a stream flowing in the middle of the village, one of the dirtiest in the country. Without any fence, you do not have to do much to fall in.

They also described how living conditions do not meet the needs of children, especially those with medical problems and developmental disabilities. As Reut explained: There were cases of children with special needs and health problems that were removed from their home because the family lives in UVs and there is no electricity, and the girl must be connected to the electricity, but they cannot, or she needs medications that need cooling, but they have nowhere to keep them.

It is clear that both studies point to the absence of safe places to play and the lack of proper living conditions as a source of many of the dangers facing children in the UVs. Parental competence: “The negligence here is not intentional but, rather, is due to a lack of awareness.” Participants in both studies mentioned risks to children due to lack of parental supervision. In addition, the SWs referred to existing risk as a result of the lack of parental responsibility, their difficulty in meeting the children’s developmental needs and pointed to cases of violence and maltreatment. Amal, a mother of five, highlighted the importance of adult supervision and the risks involved in leaving a child unattended: Sometimes it happens that mothers have to travel outside of the village. They leave the baby under the supervision of a siblings and it is really dangerous because they do not know how to handle it if something happens.

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Similarly, SWs described many cases of young children who were not under the supervision of an adult. In addition, they have defined situations of risk as instances where parents do not appropriately address their children’s physical, cognitive and emotional needs. Several SWs also discussed cases of violence and physical, sexual and emotional abuse by parents against their children as a risk factor. Some SWs perceived this as a universal phenomenon that exists in UVs and is in line with the wider population. However, other SWs highlighted specific factors which might increase risk for children from UVs, such as the perception of violence as a legitimate educational strategy and the implications of meager social services, as described by Abed: If the parent perceives that the only way to educate is by using violence, they have full control and the child has no source of protection. […] Welfare laws protect children where there's a school, educators, counselors, welfare departments. But these children don't have this shield, it does not exist. Where can the child complain if they’re being abused? Nowhere, they don’t have anyone.

Many workers referred to the parent’s roles, and the lack of parental awareness and knowledge regarding children’s needs as a possible explanation for not providing adequate childcare. Ibrahim described a case that illustrates the issue: A mother was waiting for me next to the shop and we went to her house. We enter the house and I hear screams of a ten-month-old baby that was left alone. I ask her why she left the baby alone and she answers: “because I wanted to meet you. “In terms of the law, there is real neglect here […]. But is it justified that I remove the baby from the home? If so, then I have to do it to all the children in the UVs. This is because negligence doesn't derive from a deliberate intention to harm, but from a lack of awareness.

It appears that when SWs emphasize knowledge and parental awareness, this reflects their perception of themselves as experts and knowledgeable, compared to parents who lack this. Perhaps the importance attributed to parental knowledge in order to support child development reflects a modern approach that views education as a supreme value. Another explanation might be the attempt of SWs to comprehend the severe distress they encounter, by focusing on external factors that can be acquired (i.e. knowledge), thereby reducing blame towards the parents who aren’t perceived as having the intent to harm. Sociocultural Risks: “These customs are rooted in our culture.” Participants in both studies referred to various cultural phenomena, such as polygamy and the large number of children in the family, as possible factors that endanger children’s well-being in the Bedouin community. Mothers referred to the adoption of technology as negative in that it changes cultural values and priorities while SWs referred to the patriarchal family structure as a threat to children and their families. Respondents from both groups mentioned the phenomenon of polygamy as a factor that endangers the well-being of Bedouin children emotionally, economically, and socially. Fahema, a mother of four children and a second wife said: “It is difficult for children that their father brings another woman. Sometimes the children sleep without dinner because their father married and forgot he had children.”

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Similarly, SWs also describe situations in which fathers are not in contact with their children, and how a father’s abandonment leaves a void in the family. The children lose emotional contact with a significant figure and sense the shame and the betrayal experienced by their mother, who was also abandoned. Economically, the SWs described how the family loses a source of income when the father marries another wife. This increases economic distress and sometimes requires the mother to work, while the children remain at home without appropriate supervision. Participants from both groups referred to the large number of children within the family, a phenomenon that was perceived as an important component of faith in Bedouin families. Most mothers saw it as a blessing but Ilham, a mother of eight, described the effect of a large number of children on mothers: “A mother can get upset when she sees her sons in front of her face all day. Sometimes she wants to rest, to escape to a friend, to talk to her and to have a cup of coffee.” SWs also emphasized that the large number of children poses a risk to these children because of difficulties in meeting their many needs. Children from UVs are bussed to schools in nearby recognized villages where they are exposed to various forms of technology (such as televisions, computers, and phones). In addition, the use of mobile phones is a necessary means of communication with the world outside the village, which is disconnected from other services. Technology as a possible risk was raised only among the mothers. They were fearful regarding the entry of technology in that it may change cultural values and priorities. They identified this as a source of stress and conflict within the family. Sohad, a mother of five children, described her concern: “Nowadays all young people can connect to the internet from phones, and even at school. They can see things that they are not allowed to see, parents do not understand what the young people are exposed to.” It seems that technology brings the outer world to the villages and is rapidly introducing children to Western values. As these values clash with the traditional Bedouin way of life, they may pose a threat to their cultural values. Only SWs referred to the patriarchal family structure (whereby the man holds all the authority) as a risk to the family and the children. Gilad demonstrated this as follows: A mother came to me with her child who has severe developmental deficiencies. Somehow, she managed to reach me. She said: “My husband doesn't understand that the child has problems, he doesn't know he should be treated and he doesn't let me go out for evaluations.” […] The mother is given appointments, but he forbids her to go. And he doesn't even have to forbid her, her house is an hour walk away from the road so if he doesn't take her there that’s enough.

SWs noted that the father has the right to make decisions regarding the family’s place of residence, the mother’s relationships, family planning and more. They also emphasized the risk of isolating the Bedouin woman and her children from society and their limited access to resources. Finally, they mentioned that according to Bedouin law, in the case of divorce, the man can prohibit the mother from having contact with her children. Due to the risk of separation from their children, many mothers avoid confronting the father or reporting child abuse.

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Socio-Political Risks: “The state is pushing us to leave our villages.” Participants from both groups related to socio-political risks, which include: lack of services and low socioeconomic status (e.g. health, education, and transportation), home demolitions, and ongoing discrimination as risk factors in UVs. In contrast to the mothers, SWs only referred to the difficult economic situation and poverty in these villages as risk factors. A Great Shortage of Services and Poverty Mothers reported a huge shortage of services, mostly health services that should be provided to all citizens by virtue of The National Health Law. Emergency services are only provided at Soroka Hospital in Be’er Sheva, which is located far from most of the villages. They described cases in which sick infants died on the way to the hospital due to the lack of access. Ahlam, a young mother of one child said: “If a baby is seriously injured or a disaster occurs, it is impossible to get to the hospital in time to save his life. The hospital is very far away, and we do not have public transportation. He might die before we reach the hospital.” Mothers also addressed the tremendous shortage of pre-school services and access to public transportation which prevented them from joining the labor market or making necessary arrangements outside the village. Siham explained: I have five children, the eldest is six years old and the youngest is five months old. The eldest is the only one who goes to pre-school in the nearby village, and the rest stay with me at home. Even if I want to work, who would be willing to take care of my four children, and how can I even go to work when there is no transportation from the village?

Similar concerns were echoed by the SWs. They also referred to the health, developmental and emotional risks to which children in the UVs are exposed due to the lack of accessible social services. Amal emphasized the experience of isolation among the Bedouins, and the rough road standing between them and public solutions. She said: Many children at risk need medical follow-up at the Child Development Center and they do not come because they cannot get there. There is no public transportation and once a week the woman has to get to the main road. It takes her about an hour and a half until she reaches the main road. […] We encounter many reports that there are children at risk who disappear from treatment. […] We had several cases of children who fell and were not taken to hospitals because there is no transportation.

In addition to the factors mentioned so far, SWs described the poverty and widespread unemployment in this population as additional risk factors. This means that parents cannot provide children with minimal conditions for proper development, including food, clothing and shelter. Several SWs also addressed the psycho-social impact of economic conditions as a risk factor, as Basem said: A man has no source of income and the family has daily demands that he is unable to meet. So, there is energy here that turns into something negative […] He will begin to blame himself and start to hurt his closest relatives: the woman and the children.

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Home demolitions were a salient concern for mothers living in the UVs. They referred to this phenomenon as especially risky and that has concrete impacts on children. Badreya, a mother of five said: “There is no situation more difficult than home demolitions. We are not allowed to build a normal house. The judge is the executioner.” Some SWs also defined home demolitions as a risk factor. Ahmed described the trauma experienced by children following the demolition experience. His words show how home demolitions may harm the child’s internal representations of the state and the family, both of which are supposed to provide him with security: This is a very difficult trauma for a child who sees armed forces arrive with heavy equipment and flatten his house to the ground. What do they think about the state? Their parents? Their future? I think it causes children to hate and to mistrust and generates anxiety. Some children cry and are afraid even when they sleep at night because they hear the noise.

The home demolitions were described by the participants in both groups as having an existential and psychological impact on children. Ongoing Discrimination. Study participants also referred to the ongoing discrimination experienced by Bedouins in these villages. Ilham, a young mother, described the issue of discrimination and ongoing neglect as such: “Our children are exposed to dangers due to the neglect and discrimination of the government. Authorities do not help at all.” The issue of discrimination and its effects on children were also raised by several SWs. For example, Amir reported developmental delays among children stemming from inadequate educational services. He said: “I’m talking about cognitive development. […] I see a 12-year-old Bedouin boy, with the cognitive developmental level of a four-year-old boy who was educated in the Jewish system, which doesn’t suffer from discrimination.” Another SW suggested using the terminology “system neglect.” This highlights the responsibility of authorities as a causal factor for risk and makes a distinction between the authorities and parents as the source of neglect. In conclusion, the findings demonstrate a wide range of perceived risks that emerged from both studies. However, it seems that SWs emphasize parental responsibility. They expressed the view that parents do not adequately address the physical, developmental and emotional needs of the children. In addition, they mentioned the difficult economic situation and the lack of accessible social services as sources of risk. Considering the many risks described so far, the question arises: How do the participants perceive Bedouin methods for coping with these risks in UVs?

9.3.2  Coping with Risk Participants described several factors that protect families and children in UVs. Both groups emphasized social support, nuclear family support and spirituality and religion. Mothers added the element of education and technology as a coping factor. In contrast, some SWs pointed to the characteristics of the child and social services

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as coping factors. The findings show that Bedouin mothers cope by trying to prevent risk through utilization of the protective factors listed above. Nevertheless, SWs found it rather hard to identify protective factors and their insights regarding the issue of protection were dramatically fewer than their extensive thoughts on risk. Social Cohesion and Tribal Support: “When necessary, everyone is willing to help.” Both groups attributed importance to social cohesion and tribal support. Amal described a situation when her two-year-old son was unconscious due to high fever and dehydration. Her neighbor, who owned a car, drove them to the hospital. She said, “My boy was blazing hot. Fortunately, Efaf drove us to the hospital. The doctor told me that if I had arrived half an hour later, I would have lost him.” Like the mothers, SWs believe that a strong sense of belonging strengthens the child. In addition, they pointed to the existence of support systems in some UVs that can help the child and their family. For example, they mentioned the presence of other individuals who can see the child and care for them in addition to their parents. Sharon said: “If there is no mother then there is grandmother or aunt or brother’s wife. Eventually, these children are not alone.” This social cohesion is present even in cases of home demolitions when tribe members will protect houses by placing their bodies in front of bulldozers and soldiers. Samira, a mother of seven, described the help of the community members in rebuilding her destroyed home as follows: After the demolition of our home, I stayed with seven children without shelter on the coldest nights of the winter. Relatives organized a place for us to stay for a few days until members of the tribe rebuilt the demolished home.

Some SWs emphasized the importance of this support system in situations of crisis such as demolitions and domestic violence. They described how they enlist the help of other family members for the benefit of children and families in these periods of stress. The following statement by Basem demonstrates this: When a woman says that she is suffering from an abusive spouse, I have to offer her an intervention. […] One option is to file a complaint against her husband to the police. […] If the SW doesn't establish a proper support system, then that woman will be ostracized from the family or will be threatened. […] In this case it is better to strengthen her together with her family. […] Let's start with the closest circle, her brothers, then her uncles, her cousins and her neighbors. After that, if she has all of this support, she can do anything.

It seems that interventions involving the extended family constitute a therapeutic strategy appropriate for the cultural codes that characterize this community. In addition, some of the SWs referred to tribal or clan support in cases of at-risk children whose parents cannot provide them with optimal treatment. They claimed that in such cases, there is usually a preference to move the children from their homes into foster care within the extended family, and thus, they are not cut off from family and familiar surroundings. Parental Traits and the Nuclear Family: “Love and concern for our children are worth everything.” Participants from both groups pointed to parents’ capacity to provide warmth, love, concern, support and stability, and siblings’ support as sources of strength for

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parents and children alike. Asmaa, a mother of four, affirmed these views: “It’s very important to me that my children feel safe and loved and that they accept supervision and guidance from the older daughters and relatives. Eventually this should protect them from danger.” SWs also referred to a variety of parental and familial characteristics which constitute sources of strength for children. Unlike the tribal support identified by them as a widely common and unique resilience factor, the discussion of nuclear family strength mainly related to exceptional cases of families that manage to provide their children with good conditions. Sharon provided an example of exceptional families who support their children: I look at the Bedouin social workers here […] they come from an even more difficult context. I ask myself, how did they get to higher education and employment? I see that usually, these families have someone older, usually a father or grandfather, who pushes them and gives them what they need to believe in themselves and move on.

From the quote it seems that colleagues from the Bedouin community who began their lives in challenging conditions but managed to succeed are suported by family members who promote their resilience in dealing with various obstacles. Spirituality and Religion: “God will not forget us.” According to the findings, the mothers indicate that spirituality and religious belief are dominant factors in their coping with harsh existential situations. Most of the mothers rationalized the distress caused by illnesses among their children or home demolitions as being God’s will. For example, three of Nasreen’s four children have cancer, which she attributes to the high voltage power lines. Yet, she indicated that God knows that she has the strength to cope because of her faith. She said: “God gave, and God took; it is his desire to test our faith. Thank God, thank God for everything.” Samiha, who received a demolition order from the state, and has nowhere to go with her five children, said: “This is God’s will, and he will not forget us. Thank God for everything.” While the SWs paid less attention to religion and spirituality, some of them noted the power of religious faith in coping with crisis situations, especially medical crises. Reut describes it as follows: There was one mother who gave birth to twins, one of them had a complication and stayed in the hospital for several months. She was there alone all day, and had one twin home with her mother, so it was very difficult. I always asked her where she gets the strength. She showed me that she reads the Koran and she prays and that is her source of strength. Formal Education and Technology: “Everyone wants their children to succeed in life.”

Mothers mentioned formal education and the positive use of technology as a protective factor and a way to prevent risk, as well as being a vehicle for earning a better living and gaining social status. Haneen, a mother of four said: “I want them to have an education, and I know that it is important to expose them to a modern life and technological devices where they can find a lot of information and knowledge that I do not have.” Although, as mentioned earlier, the use of technology is considered a risk factor among some mothers, it seems that some of them believe that exposure

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to technology, such as televisions, computers, and phones can be positive. They view it as a coping strategy that contributes to social mobility and can encourage children to learn and gain knowledge and education. Social Services: “In our work, we try to do our best with what we have.” The findings demonstrate that some SWs from social welfare agencies perceive welfare and other social services as significant protective factors for children in UVs. The findings also show that external interventions are sometimes perceived as providing more protection than what children are exposed to in their domestic environment. For example, Bassem said: The Bedouin child in these villages is protected when they are in the mother-­ child center, and while they are in the school. But what percent of them are in an educational framework? It’s marginal. This is due to the provision of physical protection and beyond, such as properly constructed buildings and safe places to play, hot meals, educational assistance and more. Thus, some SWs attributed importance to external individuals that care for children and serve as a shield in relation to their home environment which is perceived to be characterized by risk. However, they are aware of the great shortage of formal frameworks that can protect children against these risks. Child Characteristics: “Children reach independence at an early age.” According to some SWs, independence is a strength factor and is common among children in UVs. Jasmine illustrates this in the following case: The mother left two of her kids, aged two and four, here on the carpet. […] The four-year-­ old boy went and took the Lego box and brought it to his little brother. They played with it and built a little tower. I was just watching them, feeling delighted, because he was really responsive and was like a parent. […] I don't think that any child should be a parent. But I look at it from a beautiful point of view too.

In Jasmin’s words, what initially appears to be a negative phenomenon of ‘parental children’ is given added meaning and a positive connotation as is it relates to the relationship between sibling and the sense of self-efficacy instilled in young children. In the context of many risk factors, frequent experiences of helplessness, and on-going difficulties, there may be an opportunity for “resistant children” and children with unique characteristics to grow and flourish. In conclusion, our findings indicate a significant gap between accepted Western norms and the reality of Bedouins, which is characterized by ongoing political conflict with the state. The findings indicate a similarity in risk perceptions and coping strategies between participants in the two studies. However, they also point to gaps and tension between the perceptions of SWs and parents.

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9.4  Concluding Remarks This chapter examines Bedouin mothers and SWs’ perceptions of risk and how they cope with it. This comparative study aims to bridge the gap between the culture and practice of SWs and Bedouin mothers from UVs in the Naqab. The findings indicate differences, yet also point to similarities between the perceptions of both groups regarding risks to child development and coping mechanisms. In many ways, it seems that the SWs’ perceptions deviate from definitions which are prevalent in the literature (Roer-Strier & Rosenthal, 2001). Furthermore, they are in-tune with the social, cultural and political reality that clients experience, for example, risk as a result of home demolitions and ongoing discrimination. However, it seems that mothers and SWs differ in their perceptions about responsibility for risk and its prevention. While mothers perceive the state as a major source of risk, SWs attribute responsibility to both the state and to the parents. Furthermore, although SWs perceive welfare intervention and social services as protective factors for children in UVs, mothers view state institutions mainly through the prism of oppression and discrimination. While mothers emphasized the importance of mother’s love for coping with risk, SWs considered the significance of competent and supportive parental figures, which show love, care and an attunement to children’s needs, but tended to perceive these traits as characterizing exceptional families. They considered the professional assistance they provide to applicants as contributing to significant coping strategies. Our findings can be viewed through a context-informed perspective (Shalhoub-­ Kevorkian & Roer-Strier, 2016). This goes beyond the Ecological Systems Theory (Bronfenbrenner, 1979, 2005) and provides an analysis of various complexities (e.g. socio-political, cultural, economic) in understanding risk and coping mechanisms in children’s development. The context-informed perspective is particularly relevant in the Bedouin case as it considers the effects of political conflict, including asymmetries of power which violate children’s welfare and rights as well as racism, discrimination and cultural transition (Hamber et al., 2015; Shalhoub-Kevorkian, 2016). The revised standards for cultural competence in social work practice present intersectionality as: “a way of understanding the complexity of the experiences of those at the margins of our society” (National Association of Social Workers-­ NASW, 2015, 8). Intersectionality (Lockhart & Mitchell, 2010) typically relates to how aspects of social identity (e.g., gender, race / ethnic origin, socio-economic class, patriarchy and geographic location) intersect and interact with oppressive systems (e.g., racism) (Oxman-Martinez, Krane, & Corbin, 2002). In this case study, it also allowed us to include complex identities such as gender, status, race, and ethnicity (Levine-Rasky, 2011) and to assess the impact they have  on the access to rights and opportunities. This allowed us to prevent stigmatization of this group. Interestingly, our findings indicate that the social positioning of the Bedouins at the micro level which appear most frequently are gender, ethnicity, family status, cultural affiliation and religion (Mehrotra, 2010). Likewise, corresponding forces, such

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as discrimination, marginalization and inequality, and other political structures tend to be prevalent at the macro level (Kelly, 2009). Furthermore, the Bedouin mothers in this study belong to an indigenous ethnic minority that is continuously undergoing a cultural transition in the context of ongoing political conflict. Their ethnic identity contributes to experiences of discrimination and inequality that affect their opportunities in education and employment. Green (1999) claims that SWs tend to regard ethnic differences encountered in the context of work as a problem to be overcome rather than as a learning opportunity. The current study may challenge this tendency by providing cultural knowledge that will stimulate a desire to see these differences as learning opportunities. Culturally competent professionals must be able to evaluate the risk for children in general, and specifically, for children undergoing cultural transition (see: Marey-Sarwan & Roer-Strier, 2017; Roer-Strier, 2007). The intersection between gender, culture, ethnicity and lack of equality for the Bedouin population, together with patriarchal practices, points to the uniqueness of Bedouin women in these villages when compared to Bedouin men. For instance, a recent study on risk and protection perceptions among Bedouins (Marey-Sarwan & Roer-Strier, 2017) indicated that men and women can often experience risk differently. While mothers offered broader and more detailed perspectives when referring to home and their immediate surroundings, fathers related more to larger structural factors. The perceptions of SWs in this study seemed to take into consideration the needs and difficulties Bedouin women face in their daily lives, including their inferior status both within the patriarchal family and in the wider society. However, at the same time SWs express their concern regarding the nuclear family’s difficulty in meeting the children’s immediate needs. It seems there is a tension between the will to support and empower mothers and a simultaneous urge to place expectations and demands on their parenthood for the best interests of the child. A culturally sensitive practice enables SWs to become more familiar with the culture of service recipients and an awareness of personal biases, thus enabling a better understanding of their difficulties, challenges, and circumstances. This positions the professional as an intermediary rather than an assimilator of the dominant hegemonic culture (Roer-Strier, 1999). While the issue of ethnic affiliation, gender discrimination and culture were raised by most of the mothers, poverty only arose as a risk factor by the SWs. As Strier (2005) claims, people living in poverty may not regard themselves as poor when there is choice and/or meaning (e.g., religious, traditional, political or ideological) underlying their lifestyle. However, the discussion about the lack of infrastructure and adequate living conditions as a reflection of poverty surfaced among all study participants. Despite the numerous risk factors mentioned so far, our findings indicate that most Bedouin mothers have learned to live with their adverse reality and cope by employing a diverse range of strategies (Saul & Simon, 2016). These strategies exist both within the nuclear family, such as relationships of concern, warmth, and love (Lavi & Slone, 2012), and within the broader social environment, which include social cohesion (Al-Krenawi, 2003) and tribal support through identification,

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empathy, and practical aid (Masten, 2011). Religious faith and spirituality seemed to increase their motivation and help to continue the search for solutions, while also normalizing their abnormal everyday reality. Social Workers were more challenged when trying to identify protective factors. Many did point to similar factors as those outlined by mothers including social cohesion, tribal support and adequate parental care. However, SWs’ reports on resilience were significantly less robust in comparison with the long and detailed description of risk they provided. Findings show that SWs in this study perceive risk as a complex concept while addressing factors at different levels of the ecological systems and the way they intersect with forces of exclusion and oppression, systematic neglect and the ongoing political conflict. Their perceptions seem to lie on a continuum between critical and conservative approaches, while in some matters utilizing an individual and reactive framework for intervention (e.g., emphasizing parental responsibility for risk) and in others using a pro-active, context-informed approach (e.g., focusing on socio-political ramifications). Attention should be drawn to the position of SWs, as mediating between multi-problematic and highly traumatized families and social policies that create and intensify their distress, while handling excessive workloads with minimal resources. This position can generate high levels of stress and contribute to experiences of burnout and a decrease in the sense of self-efficacy (De Figueiredo, Yetwin, Sherer, Radzik, & Iverson, 2014). Furthermore, these conditions have implications on the therapeutic relationship and the way professionals perceive their clients. For instance, heavy workloads and limited resources tend to increase the focus on pathologies rather than the strengths and motivations of people in ongoing distress (Krumer-Nevo, Atias, & Ben-Shammai, 2002). This might explain the gap between the difficulty of SWs in identifying resilience and the mothers’ self-perceptions as resilient in coping with their adverse reality. Despite the few sources of resilience factors and difficulties in accessing formal education and health services, education and the use of new technologies are perceived by mothers as a clear sign of progress and an avenue for achieving a better life and social mobility (Abu-Rabia-Queder, 2006; Marey-Sarwan, Roer-Strier, & Otto, 2017).

9.5  Conclusions, Recommendations and Potential Implications The concept of intersectionality and a context-informed perspective offer promising and challenging frameworks for the study of marginal populations. These concepts are critical in helping SWs avoid the tendency to view parents as the primary source of neglect in cases where there is limited access to basic services due to political constraints. Within it, the application of the theoretical framework of intersectionality contains a social-critical interpretation rather than an individual-psychological interpretation which is key when examining the case of Bedouin families.

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Furthermore, this lens enables us to examine the contexts of Bedouin lives more fully while addressing the various types of oppression that they are exposed to and its multitude of identities, distress and marginalization such as gender, ethnicity, status, culture and religion. According to the intersectionality theory’s interpretation, mothers’ perceptions reflect a deep, established and painful acquaintance with the socio-political reality rather than as expressions of deficient parenting. Such understanding allows SWs to stand alongside the mothers and protest together with them against the discrimination and oppression that shapes their lives. This allows mothers to trust SWs and see them as allies who seek to strengthen them. Indeed, intersectionality enables SWs to better understand the internal world of the mothers, thus creating a real dialogue in social-critical terms. It recognizes that mothers hold a unique knowledge about their social structure as marginalized women and expresses a desire to understand their attitudes and perceptions. We recommend that risk studies aiming to inform intervention programs and policies utilize a context-informed perspective. Furthermore, we argue that Bedouin parenting and risk perceptions must be understood in the context of Bedouin villages’ lack of legal recognition, home demolitions, cultural and lifestyle changes, the entry of technology, and cultural customs such as polygamy. This is especially important in being able to identify resilience factors in context. Nevertheless, our findings also show that the excessive exposure of children to risk in UVs stems from Israel’s policy toward Bedouin citizens of Israel. The state’s policy is reflected in the lack of legal recognition of their land rights and the lack of basic services and infrastructure in their villages (Ministry of Health, 2008; Yiftachel et al., 2016). This reality effects Bedouin children’s physical and emotional health, and development. This comparative study highlights the importance of giving voice to the voiceless and learning from mothers and SWs from within marginalized and oppressed societies. Furthermore, it points to the need for preparation of context-appropriate training programs for professionals working with different groups during their academic training. Moreover, there is great importance in improving understanding regarding child development and risk in the non-Western ‘majority world’ (e.g., Kagitcibasi, 2007). Therefore, cross-cultural understanding of at-risk children will benefit from the development of proper solutions on different levels such as protection, treatment and prevention. Finally, understanding the Bedouin family through the lens of intersectionality helps professionals to see first-hand the complex reality without generalizing. In doing so, we can bring awareness and potential for social justice advocacy and expand and deepen its impact. Accordingly, any effective psychological or educational intervention should account for power relations, identity conflicts and associated political tensions.

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Chapter 10

Child Risk and Protection: Perceptions of One-and-a-Half Generation Immigrant Parents from the Former Soviet Union and Israeli Social Workers Natalie Ulitsa, Lital Yona, Anna Gogonsky, and Dorit Roer-Strier

10.1  Introduction Immigration is a complex phenomenon with profound implications for the individual’s and families’ lives. Immigrants face complex dilemmas regarding majority-­ minority relations, processes of identity formation and maintenance, norms and rules of behavior, and conflicting values of different groups (Goldstein & Laor, 2009). These challenges and dilemmas are becoming increasingly relevant in the twenty-first century, due to mass immigration processes all over the world, and are especially prevalent in countries such as Israel that have received/experienced massive waves of immigration. Parenting may  also be a subject of complex transformations when families immigrate from one socio-cultural context to another. Parentsmay face disparities between their models of successful parenting and those of socialization agents’ in the receiving society. Parents’ perceptions of risk to their children are one of the dimensions of parenting beliefs that have an immediate impact on children’s social and non-social experiences.

N. Ulitsa (*) Faculty of Social Welfare and Health Sciences, The University of Haifa, Haifa, Israel NEVET-Greenhouse of Context-Informed Research and Training for Children in Need, The Paul Baerwald School of Social Work and Social Welfare, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem, Israel e-mail: [email protected] L. Yona · A. Gogonsky · D. Roer-Strier NEVET-Greenhouse of Context-Informed Research and Training for Children in Need, The Paul Baerwald School of Social Work and Social Welfare, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem, Israel © Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2020 D. Roer-Strier, Y. Nadan (eds.), Context-Informed Perspectives of Child Risk and Protection in Israel, Child Maltreatment 10, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-44278-1_10

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As a state, Israel has adopted the Western view regarding the responsibility of the society to ensure and protect children’s safety, e.g., as formulated in the United Nations (UN) Convention on the Right of the Child, which the state of Israel signed in 1990. However, there is no clarity or agreement between the state and its organizations and the majority of the citizens and different groups of immigrants on values and norms regarding “the rights of the child” and “the best interests of the child.” Cultural norms, childrearing practices, and parental contextual constraints may emphasize behaviors that are defined as a risk in one culture and as normative in another (e.g., corporal punishment).

10.1.1  Immigration from the Former Soviet Union (FSU) The immigration wave of former Soviet Jews into Israel, which was brought about by the demise of the former Soviet Union and continued throughout the 1990s, was the largest single influx of immigrants in Israel’s history. Since 1989 about one million Russian-speakers have moved to Israel under the Law of Return and currently immigrants from the former Soviet Union (FSU) comprise the largest ethnic minority in Israel. The immigrants were highly educated, with 60% of the men and women holding academic degrees, and brought with them many years of experience in science, technology, arts and education (Remennick, 1998). This wave precipitated the gradual formation of a multi-faceted Russian-Israeli community with unique social networks and cultural institutions (Leshem & Lissak, 1999; Remennick, 2003). The first generation of Russian-Israelis (across different socioeconomic strata) tend to see Russian culture and language as major facets of their identity and are determined to preserve them as part of their lives (Remennick & Prashizky, 2010; Yelenevskaya & Fialkova, 2006). They also consider Russian culture and the Russian language in particular to be among the most important values to be transmitted to their children. Today, more than 30 years after the beginning of the massive wave of immigration from the FSU to Israel, many young Russian-speaking immigrants (belonging to the one-and-a-half generation) are becoming parents themselves and transmitting these cultural norms and values onto the next generation.

10.1.2  The One-and-a-Half Generation of Immigrants The one-and-a-half generation is of special interest in the context of immigration. This term applies to immigrants who were born in their country of origin and raised there during their formative years, later migrating to a host country when they were older children or teenagers (Gans, 1992). These individuals experienced enculturation in their country of origin through shared activities and values. At the same time, another socialization process took place later on in the new culture, when immigrants gained exposure to local activities and meanings. This dual process may lead to a hybrid

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culture and identity. Scholars are particularly interested in this generation’s integration process because they are part of a large, well-established ethnic-­cultural minority whose adults cherish and cultivate their language and cultural heritage (Epstein & Kheimets, 2000). As they become parents, they are required to integrate the past and the present and to navigate between the origin and host cultures.

10.1.3  Social Work Among the FSU Immigrant Population Not only do cultures shape the perceptions of parents and children, but they also shape those of professionals who are supposed to assess the risk of children from different cultural contexts (Roer-Strier, 2007). Social workers (SWs) who belong to the majority culture and undergo Western professional socialization are not sufficiently aware of the differences between cultures in terms of risk definitions and treatment of risk situations. SWs that operate according to the law are considered to have knowledge regarding desirable and unwanted patterns of child-rearing, while families who treat their children differently are considered deviant and viewed as endangering their children (Shor, 2003). The intercultural encounter presents complex dilemmas for professionals who deal with risk assessment in various aspects: coping with the treatment of children within the family, educating children through physical punishment, issues relating to the status of women and girls, educational messages, approaches to caring for preschool children, and more (Shemer, 2009). Studies in this field suggest that differences between the perceptions of professionals and the perceptions of parents from minority groups may lead to misunderstandings, tensions, and even conflicts, which are incompatible with the best interests of the child (Greenfield, 1994; Korbin & Spilsbury, 1999; Roer-Strier & Rosenthal, 2001). For example, behaviors that may be considered neglectful in the eyes of SWs (such as leaving a child alone at home for many hours), as well as patterns of behavior that may be considered emotional abuse (such as ignoring the child) are not perceived as such by parents who immigrated from the Soviet Union (Shor, 2003). In general, literature shows that differences related to ethnicity, social status, worldviews, and unequal power distribution create a sense of mistrust between SWs and recipients of their services from various minority groups (Cormier, Nurius, & Osborn, 2013). Among FSU immigrants there is a strong tendency to avoid seeking help from SWs mainly because of distrust (Shor, 2007). Social work did not exist in the FSU, and most of the immigrants had no prior knowledge of social services before immigration. Khvorostianov and Elias (2015) argued that the Russian language media (newspapers and TV shows) also contributed to the creation of negative images of SWs among the FSU immigrant community. SWs are described as uneducated, inefficient, culturally alienated, “all capable” and corrupt, and their professional activities are presented as being dangerous and sometimes even criminal. According to the authors, one of the possible reasons to describe SWs as the avowed enemy of immigrants is that social work poses a threat to their

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“last resort”—the family domain. It is important to note that in the communist FSU religion practice was forbidden. The Jews experienced a sharp dichotomy between the public sphere and the family realm where they could maintain familiar norms and habits (Bornstein, 2013). Thus, the family domain became the secure and controlled space for preserving persecuted culture and identity. For them, SWs threaten this safe haven of freedom for self-determination, weakening their power (e.g., as parents). This may be a part of their vehement opposition to social services and SWs (Khvorostianov & Elias, 2015). This chapter aims to explore the views of one-and-a-half generation FSU immigrant parents residing in Israel, as well as SWs (SWs) (who provide social services, assess situations that place children at risk and implement intervention programs working with parents and children from the FSU) regarding the subject of risk for children. The professional literature supports the view that one of the ways to overcome the gaps between professionals and families from different cultural groups is to develop a model of partnership in which the parents serve a source of knowledge about acceptable and unacceptable parenting patterns (Roer-Strier, 2007; Shor, 2003). Exploring immigrant parents’ definitions of risk for children and SWs’ views regarding children at risk among this population will add essential knowledge and comprehensive understanding of the similarities and differences between the parents’ and professionals’ views. Moreover, triangulation of those two perspectives will help to improve the assessment of situations of children at risk and will serve as a basis for planning future interventions. This chapter, therefore, addresses the following research questions: (1) What are the perceptions of risk to children among one-and-a- half generation immigrant parents (mothers and fathers) from the FSU? (2) What are the perceptions of SWs regarding the risk factors and protective factors for children from FSU immigrant families?

10.2  Method This chapter is based on two separate studies: the first targeting one-and-a-half generation FSU parents, and the second targeting Israeli SWs providing social services and implementing intervention programs among parents and children from the FSU; both studies examined participants’ perceptions of risk for children. The studies utilized a qualitative methodology, due to its suitability to gain a deep understanding of the perceptions and subjective meanings of the parents and SWs regarding the risk for children (Denzin & Lincoln, 2017).

10.2.1  Design and Participants The Study of One-and-a-Half Generation FSU Immigrant Parents  Forty parents, 25 mothers and 15 fathers, participated in this study. All of the participants were parents of at least one child who was no less than a year old. The choice to

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interview mothers and fathers stemmed from the desire to understand as much as possible about the views of the one-and-a-half generation of the FSU immigrants’ regarding their perceptions of risk for children. They included both fathers and mothers, who today are parents of small children themselves. All of the participating mothers and fathers were married to spouses who had also immigrated to Israel from the FSU. Four mothers and four fathers were partners but were interviewed separately. Mothers  Eleven of the mothers immigrated to Israel from the Ukraine and 10 came from Russia. The rest of the mothers came from Belarus, Uzbekistan, Armenia, and Latvia. The mothers’ ages ranged from 23 to 41, and the mean age was 30.72. The age range of mothers at the time of immigration to Israel was 6–20, the average age was 13.4 years. The minimum number of years since immigration was 10 years, while the maximum number of years was 22 years. Most of the participating mothers were educated: 16 of them had a bachelor’s degree, and six of them had a master’s degree. The average number of children in their families was 2.08. Fathers  Seven of the participating fathers immigrated to Israel from Russia, while the others immigrated from Ukraine, Belarus, and Moldova. The fathers’ ages ranged from 27 to 40 and the mean age was 31.6 years. The fathers’ age range at the time of immigration to Israel was 11–17 years, and the average age was 13.4 years. The minimum number of years that elapsed since their immigration was 11 years, while the maximum number of years was 24 years. Nine of the participating fathers had a bachelor’s degree and two had a master’s degree. The average number of children in their families was 1.73. Eight of the fathers had only one child in the family. The fathers’ response to participation in the study was lower than that of the mothers. The fathers explained their refusal to participate by a lack of time during the week (returning home from work late in the evening or because of working shifts) and the desire to have uninterrupted time with their families on their families on their days off. The Study with SWs  Sixteen SWs participated in the study. Four of them were born in the FSU, one was born in Tunisia and eleven were native-born Israelis. The choice to interview both native-born SWs and SWs originally from the FSU was made out of the interest to expand the various perspectives and to examine whether there are differences in the perceptions of these two groups. Most of the participants were females (14), their ages ranged from 26 to 51, seven SWs had a bachelor’s degree, and nine of them had a Master of Social Work degree. The participants’ field experience in social work practice varied from 3 months to 28 years. Six of them were employed as a family SWs in the Department of Social Services, nine of them worked with children and adolescents at risk at various therapeutic centers, and one worked with drug and alcohol users.

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10.2.2  Procedure In both studies, data was collected through in-depth, semi-structured interviews. The interview began with the presentation of the research objective, and all of the interviewees signed a consent form for participation in the study. In addition, the parents, as well as the SWs, were asked to fill out a short socio-demographic questionnaire. All interviews with the parents were conducted in their homes, at a convenient time of the day. The parents were asked to answer some guiding questions about what they perceived as a risk for their children, such as: “How would you describe/define risk (physical, developmental, emotional, social risk) for children?” “What do you think is neglect among children?” and “What is, in your opinion, child abuse?” The purpose of these questions was to obtain an in-depth perspective on risk perceptions. The participants were asked to expand their answers and provide examples to illustrate their perceptions. The interviews lasted between one hour and an hour and a half and were conducted in the parents’ preferred language (Hebrew or Russian) to ensure that language would not be a barrier to the participants’ self-expression. Most of the interviews with SWs were conducted at their work place, i.e., in various social services departments throughout Israel. Two interviews were conducted in the homes of the study participants and one participant chose to have their interview conducted at the university. The interviews, which were conducted only in Hebrew, lasted between half an hour and an hour and a quarter. The questions in the interviews focused on the issues of risk and protection, revealing perceptions of SWs regarding the risk factors and protective factors for children whose parents immigrated to Israel from the FSU. All interviews in the two studies were recorded and later transcribed, and the ones that were conducted in Russian were translated into Hebrew. All participants’ names (parents and SWs) were changed to pseudonyms.

10.2.3  Data Analysis The analysis of the interview transcripts was conducted using thematic analysis (Fairclough, 2001) and the main principles of content analysis (Schiffrin, 1994). The analysis was carried out in three main stages: First, the interviews underwent a thorough reading (Van Manen, 2016). Second, researchers identified small “units of meaning” (codes) which were aggregated into categories and sub-categories according to the subject and objectives of the study (Denzin & Lincoln, 2017). Third, those categories were grouped into key themes. Three researchers analyzed the data independently and compared the identification of the key themes, categories, and codes. In the case of differences, they discussed and re-coded the data until they reached a consensus. Finally, the key themes were compared with the two groups of participants in order to gain a comprehensive understanding of their perceptions regarding the risk for children and data triangulation.

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10.2.4  The Researchers The Research with Parents  The first researcher immigrated to Israel from FSU in adolescence, like the study’s participating parents, and also belongs to the one-and-­ a-half generation of immigrants. In the past, she worked as a teacher in a residential therapeutic center for children at risk and came in contact with many children and parents from the FSU. Her work in this environment exposed her to the difficulties and misunderstandings between the therapeutic staff and parents on issues related to risk assessment, as well as differences in perceptions about “proper” child-rearing. Therefore, the subject of the research was interesting to her and was important to her both personally and professionally. The second researcher is a native-born Israeli. She interviewed some of the participants’ parents and took part in the data analysis. The Research with SWs  The third researcher is a graduate student in social work specializing in clinical work. In addition, she is also a SW and was born in the FSU. As part of her work, she managed a program that provided solutions for children and families at risk that belongs to various cultural communities—immigrants from the FSU, immigrants from Ethiopia, North African immigrants, Arabs, and others. The subject of the study was interesting to her from a professional perspective, since she was exposed to gaps in perceptions of risk for children between the professional staff and the parents who receive social services. In addition, she has a personal  interest as she  belongs to the one-and-a-half generation of immigrants from the FSU.

10.2.5  Ethical Considerations The Ethics Committee of the Paul Baerwald School of Social Work and Social Welfare at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem gave its approval for the studies. Participants signed informed consent forms and were promised anonymity and confidentiality.

10.3  Findings In the following main themes emerging from the analysis of interviews with each group of study participants (i.e., immigrant parents and SWs) are presented separately.

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10.3.1  F  irst Study: One-and-a-Half Generation FSU Immigrant Parents’ Perceptions of Risk for Children The analysis of immigrant parents’ perceptions of risk for children reveals three main themes: (1) parents’ responsibility in causing risk to children and protecting children from risk; (2) risk for children related to external (environmental) factors; and (3) risk for children associated with cultural differences. Theme 1: Parents’ Responsibility in Causing Risk to Children and Protecting Children from Risk This theme refers to the most frequent and prominent issue that was raised by immigrant parents in the interviews. Both fathers and mothers described various risks-­ for-­children in  scenarios that may occur as a result of parental irresponsibility, especially with regards to questions relating to definitions of physical and emotional risk for children, as well as definitions of neglect. For example, Eva (27, a mother of one child) said: As for me the parents are blamed for all potential risks to children, including the most egregious risks. I think it’s a parent… who did something wrong with the child, the parents who did everything just how they wanted and thought it was right and the child became an angry child, the parents who broke them mentally, that they cannot open up their mouths and say anything… it’s completely referring to the child—that they (the child) doesn’t know how to adapt to society…child, which was physically attacked and physically abused, in every way. It’s all the parents!

This main theme included the following categories: physical risk, emotional risk, educational risk—as a  parental responsibility, and parents’ use of addictive substances—drugs and alcohol. Physical Risk as a Parental Responsibility  Throughout the interviews, the parents noted that physical risk often presents itself in the child’s immediate environment, at home, and the parents are responsible for preventing it. An analysis of the data revealed two versions of the interviewees’ responses to parental responsibility: the first—physical risk is caused by a lack of attention to the child’s safety and needs, and the second—the parents themselves create risk situations for their children. This category included a reference to (1) safety hazards in the home environment, (2) parents’ physical violence, and (3) health risks. (1) Safety hazards in the home environment: Most of the participants described their personal space (usually the home) as a place where there may be most physical risk endangering a child. Mothers referred to physical harm caused because parents do not prevent safety hazards in the home space. They referred to the danger of falling from a high place, to the risk of drowning in the bath or to a burn that could be caused by the uncontrolled temperature of the water and the danger of suffocation. For example, Stella, a 41-year-old mother of three, said: “Children can fall from high furniture, get hit, break their leg or hand … you always have to look after them, along with their desire for independence.”

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(2) Parents’ physical violence: When the fathers were asked to describe physical risks for the child, their most frequent response referred to physical violence initiated by the parents against the child. According to Boris (35, a father of three): This physical risk for a child is when the parents physically beat the child, humiliates them, gives them severe beatings, uses physical violence against them … It is simply forbidden and unreasonable to do such things to children. They (the children) cannot grow up and be normal people in such situation.

Most parents, fathers and mothers, distinguish between beatings “for educational purposes” and the use of physical force that causes physical or mental injuries to the child. For example, Leon (31, a father of one) explained: There’s a difference. If the parent beats the child for no reason, I think this is a criminal offense, but if the parent beats to educate, to convey a message that is in the child’s best interest, then I’m sorry, and maybe it will sound odd to you, but it’s education, not violence.

(3) Health risk: Study participants attributed physical risk to risk for a child’s health and noted that it’s the parents’ responsibility to prevent those situations and to provide proper care, otherwise it will be considered neglect. Thus, for example, Nastia (30, a mother of one child) said: What can put children at risk at this age is a disease; even though diseases can also be treated in different ways … it can be treated seriously, or it can be treated with carelessness, without concerns and worry.

According to the participating fathers, the children are at high risk for exposure to diseases due to their young age. Therefore, it is the parents’ responsibility to follow the developmental process and, when necessary, to take their children to get medical treatment. Victor (32, a father of one child) said: In my opinion, what is risky for children is a disease. Unsuccessful parental care and irresponsible approach can endanger children. Parents who do not treat a child when there is a problem with them—can simply cause them serious physical injury.

Emotional Risk as a Parental Responsibility  The analysis showed a great similarity between parents’ definitions of emotional risk and their definition of emotional neglect. According to the study participants, emotional risk occurs when the parents do not recognize and face the emotional needs of the child. Yevgeny (31, a father of  one child) highlighted the importance of parents’ attention to their children needs: It is terrible. A child at emotional risk is a child whose parents simply have no power and energy for them. Parents must understand that they are responsible to provide the child with his emotional needs. You cannot think that you brought a child into this world, put on him clothes, feed him and it ends there … There is a whole emotional world that parents have to provide, listen to, embrace, be the place to come for comfort. Parents who do not do this have a serious emotional risk in their children.

Educational Risk as a Parental Responsibility  This category refers to the risk that arises when parents do not invest in their children’s education and development. It

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should be noted, that almost all study participants attributed great importance to imparting education and knowledge to their children, as well as to parents’ orientation to develop and teach their child. For example, Victor described it in this way: I remember myself learning ABC at the age of four. Today I see children of a much older age who do not know it, things that are so basic. It’s a risk that parents do not invest in their children and do not teach them. Afterward, it is difficult to live in this world without knowledge.

Yevgeny also attached great importance to education. In his opinion, investment in a child’s education will prevent him from future risks in maturity: You have to read them books, there’s no way to get away with it … All this TV, these visual stimuli, is not education, it erases brain cells. My father would invest in me, in education, and that’s why I grew up to be a curious person who asks questions. If you do not sit with your children, you will not spend time learning, expanding knowledge—they will grow up to be ignorant, and I think it is dangerous to go around like this in the world.

Parents’ Use of Addictive Substances: Alcohol and Drugs  Almost all of the study participants reiterated the fact that parents who consume alcohol and drugs are placing their children in a wide range of risk inducing situations. Immigrant parents explained that when a parent is under the influence of addictive substances, they could not provide proper care for the child. For example, in Nastia’s opinion, those parents have erroneous priorities, according to which the use of drugs and alcohol precedes the child’s needs: Some do it with intent, they just do not care. More important to them is their beer and drugs. Non-normative families, drug addicts, alcoholics, parents are the ones responsible, always unequivocal! [This] parental dysfunction, dysfunction and lack of understanding of the child’s needs—because of their use of drugs and alcohol.

Theme 2: Risk for Children Related to Environmental Factors In addition to the great importance that the study participants attributed to the parents’ responsibility in both creating and preventing risk for children, they also referred to the external risk factors in their children’s environment. According to the participating mothers and fathers, environmental risk factors included the family’s difficult financial situation and the poor neighborhood where they live. The Family’s Difficult Financial Situation  Several fathers noted that a family’s difficult financial situation can put children at risk. They explained that parents who are dealing with financial difficulties and are concerned about the family’s livelihood are not available to children and cannot meet their children’s needs. Leon noted this difficult situation adversely affects the parents’ moods, which can cause harm to their children: I think a child at risk is a child whose parents have financial problems. There is no money in the house, and it puts everything in a problematic situation. Even if the parents care, and they take care of the child, once there is no money—you cannot buy things necessary for

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their development. Besides, people who have financial problems are nervous and impatient, and the child can get hurt.

Living in an Impoverished  Neighborhood  Some of the participating fathers pointed to a connection between a difficult financial situation and the family’s residential neighborhood. Yuri (31, a father of two) noted that when a child is growing up in an impoverished neighborhood, they have to deal with a harsh environment, with no possibility of personal development and growth, and this has negative implications for the child’s future: Such a poor neighborhood—all the children are at risk … each with a different background, with a different story … But the whole neighborhood is like this, what chance does the child have to go out and become someone big in this life? Almost nil! There are not too many options for the future, I’m afraid.

Theme 3: Risk for Children Associated with Cultural Differences The third theme presents the participants’ perceptions of the risk for children associated with cultural differences. The participating parents, who themselves experienced immigration in their childhood or adolescence, stressed that risk factors can be related to the cultural transition in immigration, and the differences between the culture of the country of origin and of the receiving society. Differences in Risk Definitions Between Cultures  Some of the study participants expressed direct evidence that the definitions of risk for children in the country of origin are different from those in the receiving society, and this might cause misunderstandings and put children at risk from a legislative point of view. For example, Nadia noted that in the FSU, physical punishment for children was not seen as a risk factor, but rather as an educational tool for preventing non-normative behavior: What was acceptable there is not acceptable here. Risk can be perceived in various forms according to the laws of the country, or according to the people living there. If a child at risk is a child whose parents beat them, in another country they can get support from the government and society because it makes them better citizens.

This message also came from Eleanor (29, a mother of two): In Russia, it was common to hit children … with a belt … just hitting them on the butt … or with a ruler during lessons at school … and no one would raise an eyebrow if someone raised a hand to discipline the child … This is unacceptable here. If someone raises a hand to discipline their child, they know that the child is being treated very badly.

The study participants noted that the gaps between perceived proper child-­ rearing practices in the FSU and Israel can raise fears among immigrant parents causing them to not seek professional help. Yevgeny explained: In this country it’s scary! As soon as someone asks for help, a SW arrives and recommends taking the child … There is no consideration for the fact that we were taught differently. I… if I were just looking up at my dad, I would get one … but an educational one! And I wasn’t a child at risk, and no one would have dreamed of taking me from my parents. It was a common practice, and they would not make an issue out of everything. That’s why my sister and I are well-educated. Even now that I’m telling you these words, I’m afraid it will come back

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to a SW who will recommend taking my baby. In my opinion, because of this, the State of Israel has so many children at risk. People are afraid to ask for help…

Avi (31, a father of one) referred in his words to the judicial attitude towards immigrants whose parental perceptions, ways of educating children, and definitions of risk are different from those of Israeli parents: We came from a place with different perceptions and definitions, and it is perceived here as if we are strange as if we are putting our children at risk because we are used to something different. People here look at the children and think, “What a strange thing, it looks like this,” and there are a lot of judgmental attitudes. Without even knowing who and what, right away people think it is strange and dangerous … people need to wake up and understand that different is not dangerous.

Social Risk Related to Immigration  Another risk factor raised by the participants and associated with cultural differences was the over-preservation of cultural codes and activities (including language) and a lack of openness in the receiving society. The participating parents noted that sticking over emphasis to the country of origin’s culture may result in delaying the child’s integration into society and in Hebrew language acquisition, as well as leading to aggressive behaviors due to frustration. For example, Ella said: Children who do not know how to speak [Hebrew], for example, are always sitting with their grandparents at home or are constantly with a Russian nanny… The child does not understand Hebrew, they go to kindergarten, and everyone there speaks Hebrew. The child does not understand what they are talking about. After all, a child has to express what they have to say, so there are outbursts of anger, screaming … that means the child is at risk because … suddenly their whole environment has changed. There were only grandparents in the child’s life, and then everything suddenly changed…

Risk Related to Differences in Education  Some of the participating parents argued that there are significant gaps between the methods of educating children in Israel and the FSU. In their opinion, the educational process in Israel is permissive and allows too much freedom for children, which is perceived by immigrant parents as a risk to children. According to Yevgeny: I think that there are Israeli children who are neglected, but that is certainly not the case with Israeli parents and educators in the Israeli education system. I was simply educated differently … I do not want to generalize now, but somehow there is more freedom here. It is on the border with a lack of education, a lack of boundaries, and a lack of respect for adults. I encountered it everywhere, for example on the bus; it is very difficult to travel here on buses because of unruly children. To me, it is neglect or a lack of education. I do not want my child to behave like that.

Olga (30, a mother of two): Some things bother me about Israeli education—the children here do not always say “hello” and “good bye” … for me, these are elementary things—basic rules of politeness, and for them—“I do not know [man]. Why should I say ‘Shalom’ to him?” There is no such concept here—respect for people … When you enter a person’s home—say ‘Hello!’ It is not clear to me how it is possible not to […] and this is not acceptable to me. And I will not raise my children like that.

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10.3.2  S  econd Study: Social Worker’s Perceptions of Risk and Protection for Children Theme 1: SWs’ Perceptions Regarding Risk for Children SWs’ perceptions of risk for children from FSU immigrant families varied among study participants. The main risk factors identified by them were: (1) social isolation and a lack of belonging; (2) the lack of access to institutional support mechanisms; (3) parents’ alcohol consumption; (4) the lack of emotional discourse between parents and children; and (5) the lack of parental presence with children. Social Isolation and the Lack of Belonging  One of the most prominent risk factors for children noted by the study participants was the difficulty of the FSU immigrants to integrate into Israeli society and its consequences such as social isolation and a lack of belonging. According to Yair (a native-born Israeli SW), social isolation is one of the most significant risk factors: … From what I see in practice is that (children at risk) are those kids who are socially cut off, that’s the feeling sometimes. It’s a bit of an immigrant character. They are also cut off from … When they have already friends it is often members within …the Russian speaking population, and then it is also children … they are already connecting with other children who are also in … who are themselves in crisis or disconnected, and in fact, this type of isolation … and this dangerous behavior is contagious. They are in touch with other children who have also complex problems, and come from complicated families.

The Lack of Access to Institutional Support Mechanisms  Half of the SWs participating in the study pointed out that the FSU immigrant parents do not seek any help and do not contact social services. According to SWs, the reason for this is their suspicious attitude towards social services, the lack of a proficiency in Hebrew and cultural barriers. Suspicious attitude towards social services. Some of the study participants noted that immigrant parents perceive welfare services as unethical and are scared of approaching these services, because by doing this they (the parents) may lose their children. Ronit (a native-born Israeli SW), described it this way: There are a lot of suspicions among them about social services. They live here as if they are still living in the Moscow of the nineties when authorities were going to put people in jail because they were walking down the street… like… it was crazy. If you do a home visit— they do not open the door for you. It’s like they’ll open it up a crack. They’ll look at you with half an eye …. This is a very broad phenomenon. There are a lot of suspicions. There is no trust in those who are supposed to help.

A language barrier and a cultural barrier. According to the SWs, the parents’ difficulty in approaching social services is the result of language and cultural barriers. The language barrier expressed in the lack of language knowledge and the inability to communicate. Parents, who do not speak Hebrew avoid any contact with social services’ providers, and the cultural barrier in this sense is embodied in the

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fact that in the FSU it was not acceptable to turn to state aid agencies and authorities to seek help. For example, Yair (a native-born Israeli SW) expressed it like this: As I understand it—they are cut-off from the resources that could help them. These are families who cannot connect to the resources that the state can provide. And then all these families are disconnected from … they are less able to take advantage of what is there, less able to use what the state (social services) can provide, whether it is associations or authorities. I guess that’s a matter of language too. It is also a matter of culture. You know… it’s barriers like that…

Parents’ Alcohol Consumption  All of the participating SWs noted that alcohol consumption was a major risk factor for children from the FSU immigrant families. However, they referred to this factor from different perspectives: alcoholism as a legitimate part of the culture and alcoholism as a way of dealing with difficulties and stress. Here are some examples that support these two points of view: Half of the participants attributed drinking alcohol to the lifestyle and culture of immigrants from the FSU. According to this attribution, drinking alcohol is a social norm and it is not a sign of risk. However, this contradicts public opinion and SW’s perceptions in Israel. Saar (a native-born Israeli SW) for example, noted that drinking alcohol is an acceptable norm in the family lifestyle of the FSU immigrants and the children are exposed to this and are an integral part of this phenomenon: The same is true of children’s alcoholism: maybe it’s my perception, but to them it seems to be something really normative. I know there are families where the kids also drink alcohol indoors with their parents, and we perceive it as a risk factor … I am thinking of these parents… the only times a parent was worried about their child was when they did not go to school. Many things that we perceive as risk factors are not a risk factor for them.

The other half of the participants claimed that excessive alcohol consumption is the result of distress and the lack of tools to cope with these difficulties, among all the other difficulties, related to immigration. Yulia (a FSU-born SW), described the FSU immigrants who drink alcohol as introverts and “closed” people who are not used to expressing their feelings. First of all, the number one risk factor (in those families) is alcohol, because when you are closed and blocked and not used to expressing emotions and it is not legitimized …and you do not know how “to speak” emotions, then the alcohol is very helpful.

The Lack of Emotional Discourse Between Parents and Children  According to the SWs, the lack of an emotional dialogue between parents and children in the families who immigrated from the FSU poses a risk. The participants in this study assumed that parent-child conversations and verbal expressions of feelings show an “emotional connection” and an attachment between them, and, therefore, the lack of this kind of discourse attests to a lack of an emotional connection, which is perceived by them as a source of risk. Some of the SWs argued that the absence of emotional discourse in the family is a cultural norm among the FSU immigrants.

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According to them, the absence of an emotional connection between parents and children was acceptable in parent-child interactions in the FSU. Saar described this as follows: Look, in general, there is something … Something detached between the parents and children, “something” that does not see the child at all, their emotional needs, again compared to other populations and of course in generalization… something that is also more emotionally disconnected, I think. And again, I see it as something “cultural”. (…) there’s some sort of … yes, there’s some emotional disconnection between the parents and the children, and that’s also the perception of risk. Like…All I want from my child is for them to go to school and not to make trouble.

However, some of the participating SWs referred to the lack of emotional discourse described above as a more complex phenomenon rather than “just” a cultural norm. The Lack of Parental Presence with Children  Almost all participants noted that immigrants from the FSU work long hours. However, the participants had two different views on this issue. According to one of them, the parents’ absence stemmed from the cultural values of the FSU immigrants characterized by priorities and the sacred value of work, which is more important than spending time with one’s own children. As such, the children remain alone for long periods of time without parental presence or supervision. This perception is expressed in the words of Rotem (a native-born Israeli SW): And there is the cultural gap between how they (immigrant parents) view parental functioning and how we view parental functioning and appropriate behavior, between our views of parents in Israel and their perceptions of the parents’ role, which they brought with them from home.

According to the second view, parental absence is a consequence of the difficulty of making a living, and “survival” lifestyle. For example, Ziva (a native-born Israeli SW), said: I think many families who immigrated from the USSR are forced to spend a lot of hours at work, and what happens is that children often spend long hours alone at home. There is no one who can “see” them … no one who knows what is happening to them. Many times, there is also no one to say: “no,” and to explain what is allowed and what is not allowed… A lot of times what happens is that these kids are looking for something outside of the house…what is going on there…

Theme 2: SWs’ Perceptions Regarding Protective Factors (Resilience) for Children from the FSU Immigrant Families The analysis of interviews revealed three main protective factors for children mentioned by the SWs, (both native-born Israelis and FSU-born): (1) Extended family (mainly the positive role of grandmothers); (2) the importance of education, and (3) mental strength. Extended Family (The Positive Role of Grandmothers)  Ten of the study participants posited that an extended family is a protective factor for children from the FSU immigrant families. Protectiveness of an extended family was mainly reflected

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in the significant role of the grandparents (mainly grandmothers) as a “responsible adult” figure in the family who serves as the anchor to the child and their parents. Meital (a native-born Israeli SW) described it this way: Additional protective factor—this is when the grandmother is there. It’s also like there’s an “adult” there, a responsible figure. At least they (the children) are not alone. There are many families where the grandmother is discussed in this story. It is a significant resilience factor.

The Importance of Education  More than half of the study participants stated that one of the protective factors for children from the FSU is education, which is a major value in these immigrant families. According to the SWs, the importance of education acquirement is the force that drives parents to send their children to high-­ level schools and for children to make efforts in their studies, and this inevitably leads to a decrease in risk situations for children. Maayan (a native-born Israeli SW) stated: I think education is also very important for them (for the FSU immigrants) and you can see them going to educational institutions that are even out of town that offer natural sciences studies for their children at a high level, and this is a very significant factor. The more the child gets involved in school, the less they deal with the things we don’t want them to deal with (risk situations)…

Mental Strength  Five of the study participants noted that immigrants from the FSU are characterized by mental strength. Characteristics of this strength are: high levels of functioning, a strong work ethic and high levels of productivity. Yuliya (a FSU-born SW) said: There is something in Russian culture … I don’t know how to define it … There is a very high value placed on functioning and control and there is something about it that keeps a person alive. Just this week I had a reception committee, with a girl who was in terrible shape both emotionally, and physically. She was sent to a boarding school for treatment. The mother is also in a very difficult situation, but what the mother emphasizes in the reception committee is how she sits, how she speaks, how she carries herself. Look there is something in it that also requires a bit of soul, some high standard, and then it also does not let it break and fall completely.

10.4  Discussion The purpose of the two studies described in this chapter was to examine the perceptions of the one-and-a-half generation of immigrant parents as well as SWs who provide social services and care for the population of immigrants from the FSU, concerning risk to children. In the following section, we will discuss the two studies’ findings separately and provide insights from the comparative overview of the parents’ and the SWs’ perceptions.

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10.4.1  P  arents’ Perceptions of Risk: Between Preservation and Change An analysis of the interviews with immigrant parents revealed three main themes: risk for children caused by their parents, environmental factors which create risk for children, and risk associated with cultural differences. Overall, the study with parents showed that the risk perceptions among mothers and fathers of the one-and-a-­ half generation are complex and hybrid and stemmed from two sources of socialization: the first is the values, norms and ways of socialization from the FSU, by which they were socialized by their parents (the first generation of immigrants), and the second is the values, norms and educational concepts acquired in Israel— among others, from the high school and professional education system, from the local media and from military service. This hybridization in their perceptions of risk to children was created by processes of preservation and change that are typical of cultural transition during immigration. Each study participant had different combinations of preservation and change. Perceptions of Risk Which Stemmed from the Preservation Process  A preservation process found its expression in the main finding: parental responsibility in risk to children. According to the parents, the main risk lies in the child’s immediate environment: at home and in the family, and it is the parents who are responsible for both causing and preventing risk. The source of this perception or the “contextual logic” that guides it can be found in Yahniz’s (2014) study about the meaning of parenthood among the first generation of immigrants from the FSU. The findings of this study indicated that the main component of parenthood is responsibility. Parental responsibility extends across all areas of a child’s life. Therefore, it is not surprising that according to the parents who participated in our study, if the child is at risk, then the parents are responsible. Therefore, it can be assumed that parental responsibility is also a central component of parenting among the one-and-a-half generation of immigrant parents, since risk perceptions are interconnected to the participants’ perceptions of “good parenting.” Another reflection of the preservation process was found in parents’ perceptions of educational risks, health risks and the risk that alcohol consumption poses to children. Educational Risk  In the eyes of the study participants, it is the parents’ responsibility to invest substantial time in teaching the child, developing his or her skills and improving their achievements. This finding is consistent with findings from a study that examined parents’ perceptions and behaviors among one-and-a-half generation immigrant mothers (Ulitsa, Keller, & Otto, 2017). Education and scholarships were found to be important values ​​and one of their main socialization goals. An explanation of the above concept can be found in the context of parenting in the FSU. Jewish families in the FSU invested profoundly in the education of their children (Yahniz, 2010). Excellence in academic studies and the acquisition of higher education

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served Jews in the FSU as a social and geographic mobility strategy as well as a tool to overcome anti-Semitism (Poskanzer, 1995; Rosenthal & Roer-Strier, 2001). When these Jews arrived in Israel, higher education continued to define their identity and helped them find their place in the hierarchy of the receiving society (Lerner, Rapoport, & Lomsky-Feder, 2007). It seems that parents from the one-and-a-half generation of immigration still maintain the concepts that were accepted in the FSU, and therefore see the lack of investment in children in the field of education as a significant risk factor. Health Related Risks  The participating fathers and mothers emphasized parental responsibility in ensuring that their children are not exposed to health risks factors and are monitored by their family doctor and in early childhood clinics (Tipat Chalav). The importance attributed by the participants to hygiene, proper dress according to the weather, and proper nutrition, should be understood with respect to the environmental (climate) context of the FSU and its poor health services. Cold weather was a risk factor for infection and high morbidity and was therefore accompanied by a constant concern for the health and safety of children (Ispa, 1995, 2002). This finding is consistent with the findings of Sarid and Shraga (2013), which compared the perceptions and attitudes of immigrant mothers from the FSU and native-born mothers toward the infant’s physical health. The study found that immigrant mothers tend to be more stringent in maintaining hygiene, such as washing hands before taking care of a baby or washing a pacifier, when compared to mothers born in Israel. Perceptions of Risk Stemmed from the Change Process  Alongside the preservation process reflected in parents’ perceptions, the process of change also took place and was identified in their perceptions of risk to children. The participating parents attributed great importance to children’s integration into Israeli society as well as to language acquisition and highlighted their role in helping children with it, alongside the preservation of their culture of origin. These issues arose mainly in the context of the description of children’s social risk. Immigration literature refers to this tendency of integration among young immigrant people who were socialized in the educational system in the receiving society (Gold, 2001). The findings of our study showed that one of the most prominent changes among the one-and-a-half generation was their opposition to a separation from Israeli society. This is in contrast to their parents’ (the first generation) position of seclusion and separatism, which, according to some researchers, caused the creation of a cultural ghetto (Bustin, 2004). According to the parents of the one-and-a-­ half generation, this separation can create risk situations for their children, who were born in, and are being raised in, the receiving society. In their opinion, the greater the child’s exposure to the culture in which they grew up, the greater their chances of succeeding in the future as adults. This is also expressed in language acquisition, which they see as a major factor of successful integration into society.

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Indeed, some of the participants in the study encouraged their children to learn both languages.

10.4.2  S  Ws’ Perceptions of Risk to Children from the FSU Immigrant Families The findings of the study with SWs indicated that risk factors among children of parents from the FSU are: social isolation and the lack of belonging, the lack of access to institutional support mechanisms, parents’ alcohol consumption, the absence of emotional discourse between parents and children and the absence of a parental presence in the lives of their children. SWs’ Definitions of Risk: Developmental Perception  SW’s perceptions reflected a model of risk based on classical psychological perceptions of child development, which states that in order to develop properly, a child needs parental support and a parental presence, emotional discourse, social development, and constructive social relationships. This approach places the child at the center and the environment satisfies their needs. Therefore, the risk is the inability of the parents to satisfy the child’s fundamental needs. The classical theories are currently changing as other perspectives regarding child development show that in many cultures children develop normally without a consistent parental presence and control or without demonstrative emotional dialogue. Parents express their love in nonverbal ways and through actions (Gaskins et al., 2017). Surprisingly, none of the participating SWs challenged the importance of the “emotional discourse,” although, it might be the result of SW’s Western professional socialization. Only a few of the participants who were born in the FSU, noted that in the absence of an emotional discourse the children are more action-­ oriented and thus function better in crisis situations and achieve more. In these conditions resilience can often be developed. Culture as a Source of Risk  Some of the findings indicated that SWs attribute the risk factors to the cultural characteristics of the FSU immigrants. For example, the lack of parental presence is attributed to the higher value placed on work in Russian culture. The excessive use of alcohol is also seen as a part of the culture and the lack of emotional discourse is attributed to the “closeness” of immigrants from the FSU, as well as to the lack of trust in authority figures brought with them from the FSU. These perceptions are essential and binary and must be dealt with because they can result in the over-generalization (and stereotyping) of this specific culture. Therefore, the perception of culture or immigration as a risk factor may be misleading. Findings from a recent study focusing on risk factors among immigrants from the FSU (Selkowsky, Sumbaev-Giller, & Romi, 2014) showed that there was no difference between at-risk immigrants and at-risk native-born Israelis. According to the researchers who conducted this study, at-risk adolescents are on the fringes of Israeli society, whether they are new immigrants or native-born Israelis.

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10.4.3  C  omparative View on Parents’ and SWs’ Perceptions of Risk to Children Triangulation of both parents’ and SWs’ perceptions regarding risk to children allowed us to gain comprehensive understanding and insights into this important issue. In the following section we will discuss three of them. (1) Differences in Risk Definitions May Cause Parents’ Reluctance to Get Professional Help The participating parents stressed differences in risk definitions and differences in child-rearing (socialization) practices as a risk to children. The parents noted that the differences between their country of origin and the receiving society are apparent in perceptions regarding children’s risk. They referred mainly to physical punishment for children and explained that in the Soviet Union such punishments were not viewed as a risk factor, but as an educational tool for preventing non-normative behavior. Studies examining the educational approaches of the first wave of immigrants from the Soviet Union in Israel (Triandis, Kashima, Shimada, & Villareal, 1986) confirmed that immigrants tend to maintain educational approaches from their country of origin. In addition, Shor’s studies (Shor, 1999, 2000) showed that even after migration, these parents perceive emotional punishment, moderate physical punishment, the revocation of privileges and various restrictions as legitimate parental responses to inappropriate behavior by children. It seems that the gaps in perceptions of acceptable and unacceptable child rearing patterns have also been maintained among the one-and-a-half generation parents. According to the current study’s participants, these gaps may cause fears among immigrant parents and can cause a reluctance to seek professional help when necessary. This is exactly the risk factor mentioned by SWs. Reveling both points of view sheds light on this interrelated process. According to the findings of the current study, SWs claimed that one of the risk factors among children is the lack of parents’ requests for the social services available to them within an institutional framework. It seems that these findings are also based on assumptions made by SWs regarding the cultural characteristics of immigrants from the FSU. As the participants in the study pointed out, the suspicions of the FSU immigrants in their attitudes toward SWs and social services can be deduced from the image of the SWs created by the FSU community in the past. As was previously mentioned, SWs in the Russian-­ language mass media are portrayed as unprofessional, lacking cultural understanding, involved in corruption and crime and social services are presented by the media as depressing (Khvorostianov & Elias, 2015). Moreover, in many cases, the solutions provided by social services to deal with difficult and risky situations are not suited to the needs of the families, and as a result, the parents are afraid of the SWs misdiagnosing situations, leading to a solution that is not suited to their unique needs, such as removing children from home (Gatenio-Kalush, 2016). A study of the perceptions of SWs about the risk factors among children of Ethiopian origin

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showed that there is a lack of trust between Ethiopian parents, the welfare system and the education system. Sometimes this lack of trust lead to the removal of children from their home due to their parents’ lack of participation in early-stage treatment programs. The findings of the above study also indicated that the lack of trust between the Ethiopian-Israeli parents, the welfare services and the educational system is a result of stereotypical perceptions of the Ethiopian immigrants’ culture and parenting styles (Engdau-Vanda, 2019). The following Flowchart 10.1 summarizes the triangulation of parents’ and professionals’ views. Parents state that differences in risk definition cause professionals to judge them and therefore they do not seek their help. Professionals mistakenly interpret this end result as lack of access to institutional support. (2) SWs’ and Parents’ Perceptions of Risk for Children: Same Risk Factor, but a Different Attitude: Parents Alcohol Consumption Both immigrant parents and SWs assessed alcohol consumption as a risk factor for the children. SWs referred to this factor from two different perspectives: alcohol consumption as part of a legitimate culture, and its use as a way of dealing with difficulties and stress. Surprisingly, participating mothers and fathers expressed their absolute agreement that if parents use addictive substances such as alcohol and drugs, they pose a serious risk to their children. In their opinion, such parents are not capable of caring for their children. It should be noted that such a risk factor was not found in any of the other minority population groups in which parents were asked about risk perceptions—not among immigrant parents from Ethiopia, Ultra-­ Orthodox religious parents, or among Bedouin parents from Negev (Gatenio-­ Kalush, 2016; Gemara, 2016; Kissing, 2015; Marey-Sarawan, 2012). A possible explanation for the reason why the one-and-a-half generation of immigrant parents noted that the use of addictive substances is one of the most serious risk factors is their cultural context. Alcohol consumption in the FSU was

Social workers’ perceptions of risk

Parents’ perceptions of risk Risk for children!

Differences in risk definitions and child-rearing practices Risk for children! Consequences Judgmental attitudes

Lack of desire to seek professional help

Lack of access to institutional support mechanisms

Flowchart 10.1  Triangulation of parents and professionals’ views regarding help seeking

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among the highest in the world, and remains so today (Rahav, Hasin, & Pheikin, 2000). Drinking alcohol was part of the norms of the culture of origin (Edelstein & Bar-Hamburger, 2007). Recent research shows that alcohol use in Israel among immigrants from the FSU is more prevalent than among native-born Israelis. Some scholars  explain  the increase in alcohol consumption as a response to migration crises (etc. Ritsner, Modai, & Ponizovsky, 2000). The findings from studies examining the relationship between migration and use of alcohol and other drugs, point to the relationship between the stress resulting from the migration process and the difficulties of adaptation and the use of drugs and alcohol (Edelstein & Bar-­ Hamburger, 2003, 2007). It is possible that when some of these participants were children or adolescents, they were exposed to Israeli campaigns directed at youth regarding alcohol. At the same time they observed excessive alcohol and drug use in their home environment, thereby raising awareness of the negative implications that addictions have on parenting and children. SWs also stressed alcohol consumption as a risk factor to children, however, in contrast to the parents, they related to it as a cultural norm that is accepted in families from the FSU or as a strategy for coping with stress. The following Flowchart 10.2 summarizes the triangulation of parents and professionals’ views regarding consumption of alcohol and shows the danger of interpretation when a risk factor seen by parents could be interpreted as a cultural practice by professionals. (3) Different Focuses on Structural Risk The participating parents, mostly the fathers, pointed to financial difficulties in the family and living in a poor neighborhood as a structural risk factor for children. As a consequence of this, parents work long hours, in order to prevent this kind of risk for their children. However, SWs identify this type of absence as a risk to children.

Social workers’ perceptions of risk

Parents’ perceptions of risk

Risk for children!

Parents’ Alcohol Consumption

Parent’s lack of responsibility

Cultural norm

Coping strategy

Flowchart 10.2  Triangulation of parents and professionals’ views regarding alcohol consumption

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Social workers’ perceptions of risk

Parents’ perceptions of risk Risk for children!

Poor neighborhood Financial difficulties

Preventive measures

Risk for children!

Parents working many hours

Lack of parental presence with children

Flowchart 10.3  Triangulation of parents and professionals’ views regarding parental presence

The SWs reported very little reference to poverty as a structural risk factor for children, even though they referenced several families who lived in poverty. Poverty is a risk factor for children living in it due to a lack of parental presence and this absence is mainly the result of a culture that attributes a higher value on work than on parental presence, which in the eyes of SWs is considered to be the wrong priority. The following Flowchart 10.3 summarizes parents’ views on their work as protective while social workers see their absence as risk provoking.

10.5  Conclusions and Implications The analysis of the findings of the present study indicates that defining risk in absolute terms is problematic since the concept of “risk” is contextual. Therefore, when conducting a dialogue about risk, consideration should be given to the overall approach to its clients (parents of children at risk) and the barriers to using existing solutions. When there is a gap between SWs and their clients (parents) due to different perceptions that are contingent upon different contexts, one way to overcome the gap is the partnership approach. According to this approach, the SWs and parents should trust and cooperate with each other. Moreover, SWs should rely on the parents’ knowledge and take it into consideration when providing them with a unique solution to suit their needs (Roer-Strier, 2007). Since SWs today face hybridity in their practices (for example in intermarriages) SWs who adopt this approach may overcome the power differentials and create a more equitable dialogue with parents in their care, while better understanding the parents’ perspective, as well as their own perceptions of risk. Each study’s findings and the  comparative view regarding parents’ and SWs’ perceptions of risk indicate that risk factors for children from the FSU immigrant families are influenced by interpretation. Therefore, SWs who intend to help immigrant families have to develop unique therapeutic solutions tailored to parents’ and

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children’s unique needs. Moreover, SWs should adopt an approach that considers these families to be partners in the dialog about risk factors for children, while taking into account parents’ perceptions as the source of knowledge. Thus, these families’ perceptions of risk should be taken into consideration when developing an intervention plan. Another prominent issue which should be taken into consideration and addressed in SWs’ training programs is the matter of trust. Building trust is very important in the process of two sides meeting because both of them (parents and SWs) have stereotypical views. Without trust between them, there is a fear of reinforcing stereotypes and increasing misunderstandings. During trust building, it is important to talk directly about the differences in parents’ and SWs’ perceptions and to find out what each party defines as risk. Moreover, knowing the parents’ views is essential for planning prevention and intervention programs. During a dialog with the parents based on trust, SWs should share mutual points of agreement between the parties and use it for planning beneficial ways to help children at risk.

References Bornstein, M.  H. (2013). Psychological acculturation: Perspectives, principles, processes, and prospects. In S. J. Gold & S. J. Nawyn (Eds.), The Routledge international handbook of migration studies (pp. 38–51). New York: Routledge. Bustin, A. (2004). To seize the opportunity: The welfare system and the immigrant absorption system. Jerusalem, Israel: Ministry of Labor and Welfare. [Hebrew] Cormier, S., Nurius, P. S., & Osborn, C. J. (2013). Interviewing and change strategies for helpers (7th ed.). New York: Brooks/Cole. Denzin, N.  K., & Lincoln, Y.  S. (2017). The Sage handbook of qualitative research (5th ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage. Edelstein, A., & Bar-Hamburger, R. (2003). Patterns of drug and alcohol addiction among Ethiopian youth in Israel. Jerusalem: Israel Anti-Drug War Authority. [Hebrew] Edelstein, A., & Bar-Hamburger, R. (2007). Use of psychoactive substances and related delinquency among youth from the Former Soviet Union in Israel. Jerusalem: Israel Anti-Drug Authority. [ Hebrew] Engdau-Vanda, S. (2019). Resilience in immigration – The story of Ethiopian Jews in Israel. Tel Aviv, Israel: Resling Press. [Hebrew] Epstein, A., & Kheimets, N. (2000). Immigrant intelligentsia and its second generation: Cultural segregation as a road to social integration. Journal of International Migration and Integration, 1(4), 461–476. Fairclough, N. (2001). Critical discourse analysis as a method in social scientific research. In R.  Wodak & M.  Meyer (Eds.), Methods of critical discourse analysis (pp.  121–138). London: Sage. Gans, H. J. (1992). Second-generation decline: Scenarios for the economic and ethnic futures of the post-1965 American immigrants. Ethnic and Racial Studies, 15, 173–192. Gaskins, S., Beeghly, M., Bard, K. A., Gernbardt, A., Liu, C. H., Teti, D. M., et al. (2017). Meaning and methods in the study and assessment of attachment. In H. Keller & K. Bard (Eds.), The cultural nature of attachment: Contextualizing relationships and development (pp. 195–229). Cambridge, MA: MIT.

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Gatenio-Kalush, M. (2016). Childhood in Ethiopia, motherhood in Israel: Socialization, identity, attachment and risk. Doctoral thesis, School of Social Work and Welfare, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem, Israel. Gemara, N. (2016). Perceptions of risk for children among fathers in ultra-Orthodox community in Israel. Master’s thesis, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem, Israel Gold, S. (2001). Gender, class and network: Social structure and immigration patterns among transnational Israelis. Global Network, 1(1), 57–78. https://doi.org/10.1111/1471-0374.00005 Goldstein, S., & Laor, R. (2009). Intercultural aspects and their impact on professionals in the context of detecting child abuse and neglect victims and reporting duty. Family in Law, 243–277. [Hebrew] Greenfield, P. (1994). Independence and interdependence as developmental scripts: Implication for theory, research and practice. In P. Greenfield & R. Cocking (Eds.), Cross-cultural roots of minority child development (pp. 9–19). Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum. Ispa, J. M. (1995). Ideas about infant and toddler care among Russian child care teachers, mothers and university students. Early Childhood Research Quarterly, 10(3), 359–379. https://doi. org/10.1016/0885-2006(95)90012-8 Ispa, J. M. (2002). Russian child care goals and values: From perestroika to 2001. Early Childhood Research Quarterly, 17(3), 393–414. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0885-2006(02)00171-0 Khvorostianov, N., & Elias, N. (2015). “Leave us alone!”: Representation of social work in the Russian immigrant media in Israel. International Social Work, 60(2), 409–422. https://doi. org/10.1177/0020872815574131 Kissing, R. (2015). Perceptions of risk for children among mothers in ultra-Orthodox community in Israel. Master’s thesis, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem, Israel. Korbin, J. E., & Spilsbury, J. (1999). Cultural competence and child neglect. In H. Dubowitz (Ed.), Neglected children: Research, practice and policy (pp. 69–88). Newbury Park, CA: Sage. Lerner, J., Rapoport, T., & Lomsky-Feder, E. (2007). The ethnic script in action: The regrounding of Russian Jewish immigrants in Israel. Ethos, 35, 168–195. https://doi.org/10.1525/ eth.2007.35.2.168 Leshem, E., & Lissak, M. (1999). Development and consolidation of the Russian community in Israel. In S. Weiss (Ed.), Roots and routes: Ethnicity and migration in global perspective (pp. 136–171). Jerusalem: Magnes Press. Marey-Sarawan, A. (2012). Attachment and risk among Bedouin infants in the unrecognized villages in the Negev. A research proposal for a doctoral dissertation, Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem, Israel. Poskanzer, A. (1995). The matryoshka: The three-generation Soviet family in Israel. Contemporary Family Therapy, 17(4), 413–427. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02249354 Rahav, J., Hasin, D., & Pheikin, A. (2000). Drinking patterns among new immigrants from former USSR and veteran Israelis. Alcohol in Israel, 1, 30–41. [Hebrew] Remennick, L. (1998). Identity quest among Russian Jews of the 1990s: Before and after emigration. In E. Krausz & G. Tulea (Eds.), Jewish survival: The identity problem at the close of the 20th century (pp. 241–258). New Brunswick, NJ: Transaction. Remennick, L. (2003). The 1.5 generation of Russian Jewish immigrants in Israel: Between integration and socio-cultural retention. Diaspora: A Journal of Transnational Studies, ­ 12(1), 39–66. Remennick, L., & Prashizky, A. (2010). From State Socialism to State Judaism: ‘Russian’ immigrants in Israel and their attitudes towards religion. Sociological Papers, 15. Ritsner, M., Modai, I., & Ponizovsky, A. (2000). The stress-support patterns and psychological distress of immigrants. Stress and Health, 16(3), 139–147. Roer-Strier, D. (2007). Reducing the risk for children in changing cultural contexts: Recommendations for intervention and training. Family and Knowledge, 3, 15–31. [Hebrew] Roer-Strier, D., & Rosenthal, M. (2001). Cross-cultural transition and its effects on parenting and socializing. In M. Lisak & A. Leshem (Eds.), From Russia to Israel: Identity and culture in transition (pp. 149–174). Tel Aviv: Red Line.

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Rosenthal, M.  K., & Roer-Strier, D. (2001). Cultural differences in mother’s developmental goals and ethno-theories. International Journal of Psychology, 36(1), 20–31. https://doi. org/10.1080/00207590042000029 Sarid, O., & Shraga, Y. (2013). Infant sleeping and feeding patterning: A cultural perspective on maternal practices. Journal of Nursing Education and Practice, 3(6), 118. Schiffrin, D. (1994). Approaches to discourse. Cambridge, MA: Blackwell. Selkowsky, M., Sumbaev-Giller, E., & Romi, S. (2014). Perceptions of family role, self-identity and self-efficacy: A comparison between Israeli born and FSU immigrants at-risk adolescents. In E. Gruper & S. Romi (Eds.), Children and adolescents at risk in Israel. Volume 1: Overview of the field and core issues (pp. 213–246). Tel Aviv: Mofet Institute. [Hebrew] Shemer, O. (2009). From “multi-cultures” to “multiculturalism”: Professional challenges in culture-­sensitive work with children and their parents. Et ha Sade, 3, 4–11. [Hebrew] Shor, R. (1999). Inappropriate child rearing practices as perceived by Jewish immigrant parents from the former Soviet Union. Child Abuse and Neglect, 23(5), 487–499. https://doi. org/10.1016/S0145-2134(99)00024-1. Shor, R. (2000). Jewish immigrant parents from the former Soviet Union: A method for studying their views of how to respond to children’s misbehavior. Child Abuse and Neglect, 24(3), 353–362. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0145-2134(99)00149-0 Shor, R. (2003). The importance of cultural factors in assessing the risk situations of children from Former Soviet Union families. In E. Leshem & D. Roer-Strier (Eds.), Cultural challenge of human services (pp. 183–193). Hebrew University of Jerusalem: Magnes Press. [Hebrew] Shor, R. (2007). Differentiating the culturally-based help-seeking patterns of immigrant parents from the former Soviet Union by comparison with parents in Russia. American Journal of Orthopsychiatry, 77(2), 216–220. https://doi.org/10.1037/0002-9432.77.2.216 Triandis, H. C., Kashima, Y., Shimada, E., & Villareal, M. (1986). Acculturation indices as a means for confirming cultural differences. International Journal of Psychology, 21(1–4), 43–70. https://doi.org/10.1080/00207598608247575 Ulitsa, N., Keller, H., & Otto, H. (2017). Training three-month-old babies for the future: Maternal beliefs and interactional practices in immigrants from FSU living in Israel. Journal of Cross-­ Cultural Psychology (JCCP), 48(2), 135–155. Van Manen, M. (2016). Researching lived experiences: Human science for an action sensitive pedagogy (2nd ed.). New York: Routledge. Yahniz, L. (2010). Youth from the Former Soviet Union in Israel – Risk and adaptation. Echo of New Studio, 97, 64–70. [Hebrew] Yahniz, L. (2014). “A child is not a weed”: The parenting experience of immigrant parents from the former Soviet Union in a cross-cultural transition. Society and Welfare, 577–608. [Hebrew] Yelenevskaya, M. N., & Fialkova, L. (2006). Between dream cities and reality: Personal narratives of ex-Soviets in Israel. Applied Research in Quality of Life, 1(2), 189–209.

Chapter 11

Challenging Social Workers’ Envisioned Definitions of Child Neglect: Perspectives of Mothers Living in an Impoverished Neighborhood Lital Yona

11.1  Introduction The present chapter gives voice to single mothers raising their children in an impoverished neighborhood. The mothers interviewed for this study live with their children in the nameless “Neighborhood D”, in the northern part of Beersheba, the eighth-largest city in Israel, located in the Negev desert with a population of 207, 551. “Neighborhood D” was established in the 1950s as housing for immigrants, mainly Jews from North Africa, and as of 2019, had approximately 18,400 residents (Central Bureau of Statistics, 2017). The immigrants that were initially sent by the authorities to live in the neighborhood were part of the increased immigration process that characterized Israel from the late 1950s to the late 1960s. When new neighborhoods were built in Beersheba, many families who had initially lived in “Neighborhood D” and could afford it financially left the neighborhood due to its precarious conditions. In fact, since its establishment, a negative selection process has been applied to the neighborhood. Its deteriorating state (compared to the new areas) was regarded as the leading cause (Growth and Development Plan for Neighborhood D, 1989). The mothers interviewed were all second generation North African immigrants who continued to live in the neighborhood. In order to convey my experiences as a researcher entering the neighborhood, I will quote from my research log: As I got closer to the area, the city’s scenery seemed to change. The well-kept squares were replaced by neglected and rusty trash bins, and the new buildings replaced by old and peeling row houses. I felt that the more the city developed, the more the place I traveled to, stood L. Yona (*) NEVET-Greenhouse of Context-informed Research and Training for Children in Need, The Paul Baerwald School of Social Work and Social Welfare, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem, Israel e-mail: [email protected] © Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2020 D. Roer-Strier, Y. Nadan (eds.), Context-Informed Perspectives of Child Risk and Protection in Israel, Child Maltreatment 10, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-44278-1_11

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still. My mother was raised in the neighborhood and often returned with me and my brother to visit our family. I had many memories of this place. As I searched for a parking spot in the neighborhood, I realized that in this place, the laws and conventions are also different. It was clear that there was no regulated parking space, this thought that went through my head, got ‘approved’ when a group of young children approached me and told me I could park anywhere in the neighborhood, and even joked that there is no supervision by the authorities in this place. I was entering a place where a different set of rules applied. It seemed that in this place, time stopped, and the place was forgotten. In front of me was the neighborhood’s playground. The lack of playground was further evidence of the long-­ standing neglect of the place. It was clear that this is the center of the neighborhood, the area where its residents are meeting. The park is surrounded by buildings, and the neighborhood elders are sitting in the entrances from morning to evening on old plastic chairs. On the worn wooden benches of the park, many women sit, smoking and talking among themselves while their children run and play in what once was a swing or a slide, and today rusty iron and broken plastic. The place was so dirty that I couldn’t help but wonder if there were no municipal cleaning services at this place.

It is evident that as Beersheba grew, and the last few decades have been characterized by prosperity and renewal, “Neighborhood D” did not benefit from these changes and its condition has only deteriorated over the years. Today, “Neighborhood D” is defined as an impoverished neighborhood with a population that is facing severe poverty, which led to the establishment of a professional unit of the Welfare Department, in the heart of the neighborhood. The primary role of this department is to provide assistance and social services for the residents. This department is responsible for providing families with solutions to problems such as risk reduction for  children, crises, severe poverty, unemployment, and exploitation. One of the main goals of this unit and the social workers operating it, is the treatment children at risk and families living in poverty.

11.2  Literature Review Misunderstandings and mismatches between parents from minority groups and social workers in the area of abuse and neglect have been documented (Nadan, Roer-Strier, Gemara, Engdau-Vanda, & Tener, 2018; Park, 2005). However, the ways parents of diverse groups envision, perceive, and challenge the perceptions and definitions of social workers is still missing. The following review will start by highlighting how the literature available to social workers, as well as the dominant professional discourses, informs them on the relations between impoverished neighborhoods, single motherhood, poverty, and child maltreatment. I will critic the approaches found in the literature review using the participants’ own words and personal experiences with the social welfare system. The determinants of child abuse and neglect are typically approached from the perspective of developmental-ecological theories (Belsky, 1993; Garbarino, 1976), which suggest that child abuse and neglect result from the interactions between a number of risk factors, including parent and child characteristics, parent-child interactions, family characteristics, socioeconomic status and economic resources, and the social and environmental contexts in which the child and family are situated. In

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the following sections, I will elaborate on each of these risk factors as it is generally portrayed in child maltreatment literature.

11.2.1  Neighborhoods and Child Maltreatment The connection between raising children in a distressed environment and the likelihood that they will experience maltreatment is evident in many studies in this field (Coulton, Richtera, Korbin, Crampton, & Spilsbury, 2018; Gross-Manos et  al., 2019; Spilsbury et  al., 2018). These neighborhoods, which are characterized by structural elements of poverty, crime, violence, unemployment, and instability, are linked to children at risk and an increased likelihood of children suffering from maltreatment (Fothergill & Peek, 2004; Merikangas et al., 2010; Powell & Davis, 2019; Rothwell, Ottusch, & Findersc, 2019).

11.2.2  Single Parenting and Child Maltreatment The literature in the field of single parenting suggests that single parenthood tends to appear together with signs of poverty (Barnhart & Maguire-Jack, 2016) and a diminished quality of the nurturing environment (Berger, 2004). It also suggests that single parents who raise their children in an impoverished neighborhood context are in danger of facing an increased likelihood of parental pressure and stress (Bronte-­ Tinkew, Moore, Matthews, & Carrano, 2007; Maguire-Jack & Negash, 2016) which in turn, is likely to lead to increased child maltreatment followed by the intervention of welfare services (Bae, Solomon, & Gelles, 2007; Bishop, Scott, & Burroughs, 2000; Ensink, Leroux, Normandin, & Biberdzic, 2017; Euser et  al., 2013; Sidebotham & Heron, 2006).

11.2.3  Poverty and Child Maltreatment Studies over the past four decades have repeatedly called for formulating an association between economic determinants and child abuse and neglect (e.g., Berger & Waldfogel, 2011; Lindo, Schaller, & Hansen, 2013; Paxson & Waldfogel, 2002; Pelton, 2015). Regarding the link between low socioeconomic status and risk, the claim that higher maltreatment rates are generally associated with poverty and economic hardship was substantiated (Coulton, Crampton, Irwin, Spilsbury, & Korbin, 2007; Freisthler, Merritt, & LaScala, 2006). It was also claimed that in cases of poverty, physical abuse was three times higher than average, and child neglect was seven times higher than average (Sedlak et al., 2010). Yet, Drake and Pandey (1996) found that the association with poverty was strongest for neglect, somewhat less for

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physical abuse, and moderate for sexual abuse. Support for this finding from the United States (US) is that the largest percentage of children who come to the attention of child protective services (CPS) in poor neighborhoods suffer from neglect (75.0%) (USDHHS, 2017). It is important to note that in many contexts, neglect is not defined as circumstantial but rather as parental failure to provide or meet the basic physical, emotional, or educational needs of the child, the failure to supervise or ensure a child’s safety within and outside the residence given a child’s emotional and developmental needs, and the exposure of the child to violent environments (Leeb, Paulozzi, Melanson, Simon, & Arias, 2008).

11.2.4  A Call for Caution Several scholars have mentioned that the above linkage must be viewed with caution. First, none of the above factors alone have been proven to cause child maltreatment (Coulton et al., 2007; Stith et al., 2009). Coulton, Korbin, and Su (1999) and Sedlak et al. (2010) argue to address neglect’s source when environmental poverty challenges exist as circumstantial and are not intentional. Rice (2001) claimed that single-parent families have been often labelled as “deficit family units” that are “inadequate,” “flawed” or “broken” (p. xi). Krumer-Nevo (2006) argues that single mothers living in poverty appear to be more intensely monitored and supervised, along with a tendency for judgment and stigmatization by welfare authorities in Israel. She notes that much blame is placed on single mothers who do not work, and are raising a new generation of children who live on welfare and charity. Regarding their role as mothers, they are generally considered unfit and seem to be perpetuating poverty through child-rearing practices. Coulton et  al. (2007) argues that in order to genuinely understand the connections between neighborhoods, poverty, single motherhood, and maltreatment, the subjective experiences of the mothers raising their children in the neighborhood must be documented. This chapter is relying on Coulton et al. (2007) argument as a rationale to explore how single mothers from an impoverished neighborhood experience the above links and how this perception shapes their interaction with social workers in the neighborhood.

11.3  Theoretical Framework A variety of contextual domains of the research participants intersect (women, single mothers, low socioeconomic status, and living in an impoverished neighborhood) and determines their social locations and shapes their perceptions regarding risk and protection of children as well as their perceptions regarding the welfare policies, including child welfare policies (Brah & Phoenix, 2004; Nadan & Korbin, 2018). In Israel, homogeneity in risk assessment and intervention is challenged due to Israel’s multi-cultural characteristics (Nadan, Spilsbury, & Korbin, 2015).

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Accordingly, caution is advised when assessing children at risk, especially when discussing communities whose definition of risk to maltreatment is not in line with the definition of the hegemonic majority (Korbin & Spilsbury, 1999). However, while context is evident, the social worker’s risk-related assessment and intervention are still based mostly on the assumption of homogeneity (Morizot & Le Blanc, 2005), and on the Western “universal” perspective (Nadan et al., 2018). The assumption that human lives cannot be understood through a single-factor explanation (e.g., race, gender or socioeconomic status) but rather, are seen as multidimensional and complex can be understood within the theoretical framework of the intersectionality that was first put forward by Kimberly Cranshaw (Etherington & Baker, 2018; Kelly, 2009; Nadan et  al., 2015). Intersectionality is a conceptual framework for understanding the ways in which aspects of human identity (e.g., gender, race, socioeconomic status) simultaneously interact and intersect to shape lived experiences and life chances through interlocking systems of bias and inequality that exist at the macro social-structural level (e.g., sexism, racism, classism) (Crenshaw, 1989). Intersectionality was intended to address the fact that the experiences and struggles of women of color had fallen between the cracks of both feminist and anti-racist discourse. Crenshaw argued that theorists need to take gender, race and socioeconomic status into consideration and show how they interact to shape the multiple dimensions of African-American women’s experiences (Davis, 2008). Similarly, the choice of this theoretical approach as a point of departure for the current study allows for the exploration of the complexity and interactions of the different contexts and social settings in the research participants’ identities (women, single mothers, low socioeconomic status, living in an impoverished neighborhood). Furthermore, it assists with the understanding of mothers’ identities and perspectives in light of systems of bias and inequality at the macro level (i.e., sexism, classism) as well as systems and policies (e.g., child welfare policy, the legal and educational systems). Therefore, intersectionality enables a deeper understanding of the participants’ lived experiences and their perspectives on child risk and protection in the environment and different contexts in which they live. In this light, my exploration was guided by the following research question: What are the perspectives of mothers living in “Neighborhood D” regarding social workers’ definitions of children’s risk and protection, and the ensuing child protection practices?

11.4  Method The neighborhood selected for the current study provides a case study of single mothers living in a distressed and impoverished neighborhood and their perceptions regarding children’s risk, protection vis-à-vis social workers’ assessments and possible interventions. Creswell (1998) considers case study methodology as one of the five main practices in qualitative research. This methodology responds to the need to understand multifaceted and context-based social phenomena in their full complexity (Stake, 1995; Yin, 1994).

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11.4.1  Data Collection The data for the study was collected in 2016–2017  in the northern part of “Neighborhood D.” The research was carried out by the author of this chapter, who has a previous association with the neighborhood. First, a preliminary tour of the neighborhood was conducted with each participant separately, and the researcher asked the participant to show her places that are perceived to be a risk for children, alongside places that were perceived as being protective for children. During the tour, the research participants were asked to describe the neighborhood (social structure, history, etc.). Later, in-depth, open-ended interviews were conducted with each participant separately. Eighteen interviews were conducted outside in the neighborhood’s streets, and two were conducted in participants’ homes. The interview guide focused on two issues: (1) participants’ perspectives of child risk and protection (e.g., What is your view of children at risk/child neglect/child abuse?); and (2) participants’ perspectives regarding the views of social workers dealing with children at risk and child protection in the neighborhood (e.g., What is your perception of the views held by social workers treating children at risk in this neighborhood?). The questions were open-ended, allowing participants to raise other topics spontaneously, and were then followed by probing questions. All interviews were audiotaped and fully transcribed.

11.4.2  Participants Twenty mothers who are raising their children in “Neighborhood D” in the city of Beersheba participated in this study. All participants meet the criteria of residing in “Neighborhood D,” raising at least one child between the ages of two and eight as a single mother, having a low socioeconomic status and living in temporary housing. All participants were secular Jews; 11 mothers defined themselves as religious, while the rest (nine) defined themselves as secular with an affinity for Judaism. Participants were recruited by means of snowball sampling, by which one participant identified and introduced the researcher to another participant living and raising her children in the neighborhood. Most of the mothers who participated in the study were divorced (12 out of 20), others were single mothers with no partner; single mothers whose partner left before birth or who at the time of the interview had spent prolonged periods in prison. One was married to a Bedouin and most had completed at least Grade 9, while some had finished high school. Participants ranged in age from 21 to 42, with a mean age of 31.

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11.4.3  Data Analysis Data analysis was based on the thematic analysis method (Braun & Clarke, 2006; Patton, 2015). In the first stage, the researcher acquired familiarity with the data (immersion) by reading the interviews several times. In the second stage, open coding took place, which facilitated the identification of basic units of meaning. Then, links and hierarchies among and within the codes (subcategories) were established using axial coding (Corbin & Strauss, 2008). Data analysis was conducted using Dedoose, a cross-platform web application for analyzing qualitative data. In the current study, trustworthiness was achieved by inter-rater reliability during the coding process, peer review with colleagues, full transparency regarding all research processes, quotations from the participants, as well as a reflexive log to better understand the effects of the researcher’s personal world views, values, and her intersectional identities and social location; any or all of which could influence the research process (Patton, 2015).

11.5  Findings This chapter will focus on three themes that are related to the mothers’ perspectives regarding social workers’ definitions of children’s risk and protection, and the derived child protection practices. These three themes are: (1) single motherhood in poverty: the daily struggle defending both children and parenthood; (2) challenging the “child neglect” criterion as a risk factor; and (3) the neighborhood as a protective environment.

11.6  S  ingle Motherhood in Poverty: The Daily Struggle of Defending Both Children and Parenthood This theme deals with the research participants’ perceptions regarding the way they think their parenthood is perceived by the social workers, along with the social worker’s ability to understand the context in which they raise their children. It is evident that the way research participants are perceived by social workers is strongly influenced by the existence of a variety of different dimensions in their identities, such as single parenthood and poverty. For the research participants, the social workers’ approach to these dimensions as risk factors for their children creates labeling and criticism and increases the supervision of their parenthood. One of the participants, Shimrit, a 29-year-old divorced mother of three children ages 2, 5 and 7, refers to a universalistic approach to risk assessment based on criterions and indicators. She notes that the social worker has a form based on these

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criterions. The social workers’ evaluation is of high importance in decisions regarding her life and those of her daughter. In her words: The social worker comes with those criterions and forms of hers, marked with checkmarks and X’s and more or less, decides what to emphasize, and that will decide my fate and that of my daughter […]. In my opinion, the observation should be more in-depth in order to see a wider picture of our life here.

Most of the research participants considered the social workers’ approach to risk assessment as being shallow and blind to the unique contexts of their lives. Therefore, it may not reflect the reality that the mothers perceive. It also became clear that this approach creates a sense of a loss of control and helplessness among the mothers as to the arbitrariness in which fateful decisions are made for them and their children. According to Flori, a 34-year-old single mother of two children, ages 6 and 9: In my opinion, you, (the researcher) as a professional and I, don’t see the same thing. Our reality is very different […]. If you were raising your children in this context […], you would have a different understanding of the topics [of your research].

Although Flori is aware that the interviewer is familiar with the neighborhood, she refers to her as a professional that comes from outside and may hold the same criterions of risk as the social worker. These gaps often result in a dichotomy between the mothers who live inside the neighborhood and the “outsiders” (researchers, social workers, etc.) followed by the deep chasm between them. The research participants strongly emphasize the complexity of defining children at risk in the context of single motherhood and poverty. In their opinion, it is necessary to observe both the individual child who might be at risk, as well as their mothers, as being part of the challenging situation in which they find themselves. Ya’ara, a 29-year-old divorced mother of two children, ages 2 and 5, states: To decide on risk without taking into account a larger view of what’s happening, the lack of equal opportunities, when we, as singles mothers do whatever we can to bring them up […]. Deciding if a child is at risk demands taking into account our efforts in this difficult situation; even against all of the odds.

For most participants, making decisions on labeling children at risk requires a deep consideration of the contexts and taking into account the tremendous efforts that mothers make to provide for their children’s needs. Paz, a 35-year-old divorced mother of four children, ages 6, 9, 10, and 14, recounts: Mothers here are not guilty because of their situation; it’s not that they don’t want good things for their children […]. It’s more like living in a certain reality; it’s us and them (the children) together in these difficulties. It shouldn’t be considered that we are against them and are endangering them only because it’s hard for us to support them.

Most of the mothers felt blamed for putting their children at risk. They wanted the researcher to understand that the harsh conditions in which they live places them, along with their children, in a partnership of destiny that is characterized by their coping with daily difficulties. Viewing the mothers as endangering their children is contradicting their efforts and the purity of their intentions regarding their children.

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Or (33), was born in the neighborhood, is the mother of six-year-old twins and the partner of a Muslim Bedouin. She demonstrates how the criteria, which are based on the “dry facts”, automatically identify her children as being at risk. My husband, who grew up in a Bedouin village, and myself have six-year-old twins. According to the welfare system, I am viewed as a single mother because the state does not accept my marriage. I’m unemployed, I live in a poor neighborhood, and I live with a Muslim guy. Now, look at my children, they are well-dressed, they go to school, I give them whatever I can, they don’t lack anything; I go above and beyond for them. The most important thing is that I love them more than I love myself. Now, are they at risk? Why? Because according to the welfare system’s criteria they are automatically considered to be at risk.

On the one hand, Or is well aware of the fact that her status as an unemployed single mother living with a Muslim partner in a poor neighborhood automatically places her children under the definition of risk. On the other hand, she describes her children’s well-being, and mentions the fact that they have everything they need, and that they are well-protected. It is evident that the participants’ daily coping is expressed on two levels. The first addresses the many daily challenges of raising children under this harsh context of financial deprivation and single parenthood, while the second relates to additional efforts they need to make in order to cope with the social workers’ labeling. These additionial efforts are embedded in their daily struggle of “defending” their parenthood from what they perceive as the criterions of risk held by the welfare authorities.

11.6.1  Challenging the “Child Neglect” Criterion Most of the mothers interviewed made a clear distinction between abuse-related and neglect-related, criteria. When considering the abuse, the interviewed mothers believe that there is a consensus between them and the social workers, both as to the definition and the labeling of these children as at-risk, and for taking the necessary action, like an out of home placement. Both Shir, a 33-year-old divorced mother of three children, ages one and a half, 4 and 9, and Tamar, a 26-year-old divorced mother of two children, ages 3 and 4, expressed their agreement with the social worker’s approach regarding behaviors of physical abuse against children. This agreement stems from their desire to prevent any harm to children and enables them to cooperate with the authorities even in cases of out of home placement. In their words: Shir: “When abuse and real harm are done to children, I agree with everything they do at the welfare system. […] Child abuse is one of them, and I do not argue with it.” Tamar: “If it exceeds the limit and she hits just to abuse them, we will work hand in hand with the welfare services to help that poor child, and they will get out of the hell they’re in. In that matter, we will cooperate with whatever is necessary.”

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In the research participants’ opinions, in cases of abuse it is necessary to act decisively and unequivocally by reporting it to the authorities in order to for them to deal with it immediately. However, concerning the assessment of neglect, there is a great chasm, resulting in a sense of distrust and a strong desire to avoid interactions with social workers. The theme of being labeled as a neglectful mother to a neglected child was experienced by the participants as one of the biggest and most painful challenges. In the research participants’ perceptions, the social workers do not consider the reasons limiting their ability to provide their children with the basic necessities (such as clothing, a healthy diet and a proper education) and this is one of the significant contributors for these gaps and disagreements. This lack of understanding of their context results in the irresponsible and biased approach of the social workers according to  the mothers’ views. This also results in the mothers’ preference to refrain from interacting with the social worker even when their assistance is needed. Tal, a 33-year-old divorced mother of three children, ages 2, 4, 5 and 8, voiced the following sentiments: I don’t think that neglect means that the child is at risk or should be defined as one. In my opinion, in cases of neglect, when the child of a single mother with no money, grows up we need to ask a more profound question. Perhaps, it means that this child comes from a home that doesn’t have enough money to supply them with all kinds of things, but that doesn’t necessarily mean they’re at risk.

The tension present in determining which criteria should be taken into consideration in defining children at risk in the area of child neglect constitutes the essence of the gaps. Being labeled as a neglected child is feared, as the participants relate the labeling of their child as a “child at risk” with the prospect of the child being removed from the home. Any help requested from a social worker can result in an intervention that could lead to such an outcome. According to Naama, a 27-year-old divorced mother of two children, ages 3 and 4: You always weigh this option, and estimate what you will have to pay them in return for their help. If, let’s say I need help getting food or warm blankets in the winter […] I can go and ask the social worker for help, but I know what that will mean later on; home visits, checking up to see what I have in the fridge, seeing if I hit my children […]. So, in general, I try to do without it.

For many of the participants, the consequences of seeking help from the welfare authorities were feared to create an intrusion into their personal space and create an opportunity to criticize their motherhood. Keren, a 33-year-old divorced mother of three children, ages 5, 9 and 11, describes it as follows: My main concern is that my children will be taken out of their home. I think that when it comes to this neighborhood and the people who live here, it’s a ‘quick to pull the trigger’ approach because we come from a vulnerable background that is considered a risk factor and is the basis for children maltreatment.

Another reason for their feelings of fear, leading the participants to avoid interaction with the social workers, is that most of them were taken out of their own homes

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as children and placed in foster care, which was caused by their parents’ interactions with the welfare authorities. According to Tamar (26): I was a foster child. My mother made the mistake of letting a social worker into our home because she had no choice, so they took me away to foster care. With me, it won’t be like that. They won’t set foot in my house and that of my children.

Contrary to labeling children at risk based on child abuse criteria, where there is an agreement among research participants with the social worker’s approach regarding the treatment required, significant gaps emerge regarding the criteria of neglect. They’re perceived within their multi-dimensional contexts as single mothers, living in an impoverished neighborhood, raising their children under financial difficulties and having experienced out of home placements themselves. They also assume that social workers view these contexts as limiting their ability to provide for their children under certain conditions. The lack of these conditions places their children within the definition of neglect. The participating mothers call for caution in perceiving the poverty-related and single motherhood reality as neglect and labeling it as a risk factor, moreover, when considering out-of-home placement decisions. As a result, their feelings concerning the social workers are characterized by fear, which results in a willingness to avoid interaction with them, even in cases where assistance is needed.

11.6.2  The Neighborhood as a Protecting Environment While for most outsiders “Neighborhood D” would be regarded as a hub for risk, the participants could point out its many strengths, resulting in a sense of protection for themselves and their children. The third theme shared by the mothers was how their community and environment are utilized for support. The participants regarded their many years of familiarity with this environment as providing a sense of protection, due to a sense of cohesion and partnership that they experience. It also emerges that the collective experience of the research participants strengthens their sense of belonging, which in turn, contributes to their sense of protection in the neighborhood environment. Ronit, a 28-year-old single mother of two children ages 3 and 5, and a resident of the neighborhood, describes this feeling of protection: This neighborhood, contrary to everything that they say and think about it, is a safe place. It feels like this is the safest place for me and my kids. Maybe it is because we mothers have known each other, from childhood. Our children know every nook and cranny in this neighborhood, and even the junkies lying here in the stairwell are not dangerous for us; they are part of the scenery here, and it isn’t threatening to anyone. We have a common language, and we share everything.

The research participants recognized that the neighborhood is perceived as a dangerous environment. However, they themselves regard their long-standing

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acquaintance with the neighborhood and its unique characteristics, and the sense of community, as the basis for their protection. Tal (33) said the following: Our strength is the fact that we have each other. Most of us are familiar with each other from childhood; we grew up together here. We live and go through similar things. So first of all, knowing that you are not alone in situations like this reinforces, knowing that if you go downstairs, sit on the bench, light a cigarette together, smoke, even laugh at the difficulties and know that there is someone in the world who understands and goes through similar things. It brings us together, unites us, so we are there for each other, always supportive.

The neighborhood environment contributes to the creation of a community. It also emerges that this community is strengthened by the existence of shared dimensions among its residents. An expression of this protection in the child-rearing field, which is enabled by the existence of a community in the neighborhood environment, is described by Paz (35), a resident of the neighborhood: Anyone who lives here and is part of the neighborhood knows, for example, there is never a problem in finding a person who will watch the children if she wants to go out for a wedding or some other social event. We are always here for each other and for the kids.

It is evident that close relationships between the research participants, together with similarities in identity components, enables them to experience their lives in a similar fashion and reinforces their sense of protection. Furthermore, a lack of criticism and the feeling of acceptance allow them to feel at ease about their life circumstances. It also reinforces the sense of cohesion and unity that constitutes a resilient factor for them. I live and raise my children here (“Neighborhood D”) by choice. Moreover, even if I could leave here, I would not do that. In this neighborhood, all of the difficulties that we are experiencing are completely normal. No one here is going to criticize me or think, ‘Oh, this mom and her kids are so poor that this is their situation.’ This neighborhood unites us and brings us together. We are all poor. Things that are considered difficult elsewhere are normal here; those things are not considered dangerous, and they do not harm the children.

The unity that exists among the research participants was reflected in their attitude towards social workers, who, according to them, do not understand the unique nature of the neighborhood support system and are therefore unable to understand how the neighborhood provides a protective environment for the children. According to Tamar (26): This cohesion between us is exemplified even in the welfare system that is responsible for the neighborhood’s residents. If we know that there is home visit, we pass along this information and make sure that the children are not outside in the street because the social workers do not like it. We fill her refrigerator with food, so it is not empty when the social worker comes. In my opinion, the problem that social welfare has with this neighborhood is that they don’t realize there is no danger when children spend many hours a day playing in the streets, because the streets of the neighborhood are a part of what we are. No one will hurt the children, and nothing here is dangerous to them. This neighborhood is our home.

The research participants experience the neighborhood as a unique environment that is perceived differently by the social workers. Acceptable norms in the neighborhood, such as children playing in the street, can be interpreted as risk factors by

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an outside observer, while the mothers’ perceive those behaviors as being acceptable and normative and do not constitute a risk for the neighborhood’s children. Many participants explained that the homes are very small, and children need the outside for both social and spatial reasons. The supervision of elders is provided because many people are out in the street. Mothers who work cannot provide fulltime supervision and as a result, neighbors and older children provide assistance. Mothers are well aware that playing is the streets is labeled “wandering” and is interpreted as neglect.

11.7  Discussion This chapter attempted to examine the perception of single mothers who are raising their children in an impoverished neighborhood. The findings of this study reflect the mothers’ views on perceptions of abuse and neglect vis-a’-vis those they perceive the social workers hold. The participating mothers call for a new consideration of the term “child neglect” in view of their challenges. Their resilience is mirrored by depicturing their neighborhood environment as protective. The main contribution of this chapter is the shedding of light on the perceptions of the participating mothers regarding the definitions of risk and protection they envision the social workers to have. Understanding mothers’ views may contribute to both research and intervention (Krumer-Nevo, 2015; Morris et al., 2018; Pelton, 2015).

11.7.1  I ntersectionality: The Biases of Relating Identity Dimensions as Risk Factors The theory of intersectionality was chosen for this chapter as it endeavors to identify how systems of power affect those who are marginalized. Intersectionality is a conceptual framework for understanding the ways in which aspects of human identity (e.g., gender, race, socioeconomic status) simultaneously interact and intersect to shape lived experiences and life chances through interlocking systems of bias and inequality that exist at the macro social-structural level (i.e., sexism, racism, classism) (Crenshaw, 1989). In the case of “Neighborhood D” the findings show how, in the eyes of the mothers, aspects of residential location, socioeconomic status and family structure intersect and label children as “at risk.” For example, the image of single mothers living in poverty in an impoverished neighborhood becomes an indicator of child neglect. The participants argue that biases at the structural level stem from a judgmental attitude and “universalistic” indicators for risk assessment. As shown in the literature review for this chapter, the professional discourse on children at risk available to social workers, is anchored in the professional literature, and claims that the existence of factors such as single parenting, low-socioeconomic

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status, and living in a disadvantaged neighborhood increase the likelihood of child abuse and neglect (Bywaters et al., 2016; Powell & Davis, 2019; Rothwell et al., 2019). Furthermore, Brown, Cohen, Johnson, and Salzinger (1998) argue that the accumulation of risk factors increases the likelihood of child maltreatment by parents. This literature assumes that the parents are the strongest factors related to the likelihood of, and incidences of, child maltreatment (Stith et al., 2009). Criteria for children at risk were based on this literature and are reflected in the risk assessments. Interestingly, the participants of this study, although they were not exposed to the literature, are well-aware of the criteria based on it and challenge them. The participants claim that the biases they experience relate to social workers’ tendency to regard their life circumstances as “risk” for children, which in turn, leads to labeling their children as “at-risk” under criteria perceived by them as being arbitrary and not reflective of the children’s protective condition. The difficulty that research participants face is the gap between their life circumstances or contextual domains and their actual efforts to provide for their children. They feel they are held responsible for neglecting their children and ask for more careful consideration to be taken before labeling them as causing risk or their children as being at risk (especially in the case of neglect). They also call for consideration of the strengths of the community and of the mothers who care about their children and do their best to protect them. Fong’s (2019) findings support the  mothers’ claims regarding  the over-­ reporting of risk. Fong found substantial stratification in the prevalence of incidences of child maltreatment reported to and confirmed by Child Protective Services in the US according to the demographic characteristics of children’s residential neighborhoods. Many more reports were about children of color living in poor neighborhoods. Similarly, Enosh and Bayer-Topilsky (2015) that found that Israeli social workers tended to perceive children from families with a low socioeconomic status as being at a much greater risk than those from moderate-high socioeconomic families, and recommended approximately three times more out-of-home placements for low socioeconomic children than for moderate-high socioeconomic children. Additional support for the mother’s argument against biases can be found in Leung, Shek, and Li’s (2016) Hong Kong study. This study found that contrary to existing stereotypes and biases regarding single mothers living in poverty, the mothers managed to provide appropriate care and guidance to their children, despite the circumstances leading to the challenges and difficulties they were facing. It seems that mothers pay a high price for the biases they envisage social workers to have. They try to avoid social workers’ help due to the fear of being labeled and of having their children taken away. By doing so, they deny themselves the ability to receive both financial and emotional support. Although all the findings in this chapter are based only on what mothers envision and not on actual social workers’ reports, the result of mothers’ views is alarming. Apart from the lack of a partnership with social services to reduce risk, they also remain voiceless, which means there is the absence of the possibility to participate effectively in public discourse (Lister, 2004).

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11.7.2  Child Neglect: Circumstantial and Not Intentional The participating mothers attested they are in agreement with social workers on the definition of child abuse, and legitimize intervention in cases where  children are intentionally hurt by their parents. However, they all questioned their sincerity and warned against bias related to labeling children as neglected. Mothers in several groups such as Ultra-Orthodox, immigrants from the former Soviet Union (FSU), Ethiopian immigrants and Bedouins noted that they were blamed for their lack of economic resources, which was reflected in their inability to provide their children with basic necessities such as shelter, food, and clothing, causing welfare authorities to label their children as if they were at risk (Fong, 2017). The research participants from the groups listed above argue that there is a need for the welfare systems and the state of Israel to intervene and help them deal with the problems in their lives that are created by their economic circumstances, rather than viewing the “neglect” as the intentional behavior of the parents (Coulton et al., 1999; Sedlak et al., 2010).

11.8  I mpoverished Neighborhood: The Merit that Lies Within the Disadvantage While the majority of the literature on child maltreatment focuses on risk, the findings of this study call attention to the importance of examining both risk and protection. Mothers drew our attention to the merits of their community, which they regarded as protective and helpful in preventing neglect. In the eyes of the participants, community cohesion is the result of their feelings of a partnership of destiny and belonging. Mothers reported similarities in the identity dimensions lack of competition and mutual help. The above similarities result in a sense of fraternity and mutuality that is reflected in many aspects, such as help with raising children, supporting the home economy, availability, both emotional and physical, and responsiveness to one another. Alongside a sense of shared fate, it is evident that the research participants themselves grew up in the same area where they are now raising their children. Additionally, the many years of acquaintance among the neighbors and a sense of sharing harsh conditions strengthened their sense of resilience and protection and enhanced community cohesion. Similar to the literature on the subject, it was found that elements such as conditions (structural and procedural elements) in a neighborhood, having a strong social organization and collective efficiency (a sense of trust, common expectations of cooperation for common goals such as child raising (Morenoff, Sampson, & Stephen, 2001; Sampson, Raudenbush, & Earls, 1997) are described as a family support system promoting pro-social norms and behaviors, thereby leading to a decrease in the frequency of child maltreatment (Nadan et al., 2015).

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11.9  Conclusion This chapter demonstrates that single mothers living in poverty in an impoverished neighborhood have a clear perception of what constitutes their social workers’ definitions of abuse and neglect. Although the views of social workers need to be examined and compared, the conclusions of this research, which consisted of listening to the mothers’ views, is twofold. First, it highlights the need for a dialogue and partnership with welfare services in order to find mutually agreed upon definitions of neglect. Second, it proposes an examination of the community as a resource for preventing risk that may lead to new creative perspectives of interventions according to the mothers’ ideas and resources. These community-based interventions invite social workers to explore the unique life circumstances of their clients, while referring to, listening, and understanding their needs and building on the solutions proposed by the clients.

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11  Challenging Social Workers’ Envisioned Definitions of Child Neglect: Perspectives… 213 Coulton, C. J., Crampton, D. S., Irwin, M., Spilsbury, J. C., & Korbin, J. E. (2007). How neighborhoods influence child maltreatment: A review of the literature and alternative pathways. Child Abuse & Neglect, 31(11), 1117–1142. Coulton, C. J., Korbin, J. E., & Su, M. (1999). Neighborhoods and child maltreatment: A multi-­ level study. Child Abuse & Neglect, 23(11), 1019–1040. Coulton, C. J., Richtera, F. G., Korbin, J., Crampton, D., & Spilsbury, J. C. (2018). Understanding trends in neighborhood child maltreatment rates: A three-wave panel study 1990-2010. Child Abuse & Neglect, 84, 170–181. Crenshaw, K. (1989). Demarginalizing the intersection of race and sex: A black feminist critique of antidiscrimination doctrine, feminist theory and antiracist politics. University of Chicago Legal Forum, 139–167. Creswell, J. W. (1998). Qualitative inquiry and research design: Choosing among five traditions. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage. Davis, K. (2008). Intersectionality as buzzword: Sociology of science perspective on what makes a feminist theory successful. Journal of Feminist Theory, 9(1), 67–85. Drake, B., & Pandey, S. (1996). Understanding the relationship between neighborhood poverty and specific types of child maltreatment. Child Abuse & Neglect, 11, 1003–1018. Enosh, G., & Bayer-Topilsky, T. (2015). Reasoning and bias: Heuristics in safety assessment and placement decisions for children at risk. British Journal of Social Work, 45, 1771–1787. Ensink, K., Leroux, A., Normandin, L., & Biberdzic. (2017). Assessing reflective parenting in interaction with school-aged children. Journal of Personality Assessment, 99, 1–11. Etherington, N., & Baker, L. (2018). From “buzzword” to best practice: Applying intersectionality to children exposed to intimate partner violence. Trauma, Violence & Abuse, 19(1), 58–75. Euser, S.  L., Alink, R.  A., Pannebakker, F., Vogels, T., Bakermans-Kranenburg, M.  J., & Van Ijzendoorn, M. H. (2013). The prevalence of child maltreatment in the Netherlands across a 5-year period. Child Abuse & Neglect, 37, 841–851. Fong, K. (2017). Child welfare involvement and contexts of poverty: The role of parental adversities, social networks, and social services. Children and Youth Services Review, 72, 5–13. Fong, K. (2019). Neighborhood inequality in the prevalence of reported and substantiated child maltreatment. Child Abuse & Neglect, 90, 13–21. Fothergill, A., & Peek, L. A. (2004). Poverty and disasters in the United States: A review of recent sociological findings. Natural Hazards, 32(1), 89–110. Freisthler, B., Merritt, D. H., & LaScala, E. A. (2006). Understanding the ecology of child maltreatment: A review of the literature and directions for future research. Child Maltreatment, 11, 263–280. Garbarino, J. (1976). A preliminary study of some ecological correlates of child abuse: The impact of socioeconomic stress on mothers. Child Development, 47(1), 178–185. Gross-Manos, D., Haas, B.  M., Richter, F., Korbin, J.  E., Coulton, C.  J., Crampton, D., et  al. (2019). Why does child maltreatment occur? Caregiver perspectives and analyses of neighborhood structural factors across twenty years. Children and Youth Services Review, 99, 138–145. Kelly, U. A. (2009). Integrating intersectionality and biomedicine in health disparities research. Advances in Nursing Science, 32, 42–56. Korbin, J. E., & Spilsbury, J. S. (1999). Cultural competence and child neglect. In H. Dubowitz (Ed.), Neglected children: Research, practice and policy (pp. 69–88). Newbury, CA: Sage. Krumer-Nevo, M. (2006). Women in poverty: Life stories: Gender, pain, resistance. Tel Aviv: Hakibutz Hameuchad Publications, Migdarim Series. Krumer-Nevo, M. (2015). Poverty-aware social work: A paradigm for social work practice with people in poverty. British Journal of Social Work, 46, 1793–1808. Leeb, R. T., Paulozzi, L., Melanson, C., Simon, T., & Arias, I. (2008). Child maltreatment surveillance: Uniform definitions for public health and recommended data elements. Atlanta, GA: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Injury Prevention and Control.

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Leung, T. Y., Shek, T. L., & Li, L. (2016). Mother-child discrepancy in perceived family functioning and adolescent developmental outcomes in families experiencing economic disadvantage in Hong Kong. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 45, 2036–2048. Lindo, J. M., Schaller, J., & Hansen, B. (2013). Economic conditions and child abuse. National Bureau of Economic Research (Working Paper No. w18994). Cambridge, MA. Lister, R. (2004). Poverty. Oxford: Polity Press. Maguire-Jack, & Negash. (2016). Parenting stress and child maltreatment: The buffering effect of neighborhood social service availability and accessibility. Child and Youth Services Review, 60, 27–33. Merikangas, K. R., He, J.-P., Burstein, M., Swanson, S. A., Avenevoli, S., Cui, L., et al. (2010). Life time prevalence of mental disorders in US adolescents: Results from the National Comorbidity Survey Replication Adolescent Supplement (NCS-A). Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, 49(10), 980–989. Morenoff, E. D., Sampson, R. J., & Stephen, R. (2001). Neighborhood inequality, collective efficacy, and the spatial dynamics of urban violence. Criminology, 37, 517–560. Morizot, J., & Le Blanc, M. (2005). Searching for a developmental typology of personality and its relations to antisocial behavior: A longitudinal study of a representative sample of men. Journal of Personality, 73, 139–182. Morris, K., Mason, W., Bywaters, P., Bunting, L., Hooper, J., Mirza, N., et al. (2018). Social work, poverty and child welfare interventions. Child and Family Social Work, 23, 364–372. Nadan, Y., & Korbin, J. (2018). Cultural context, intersectionality, and child vulnerability. Childhood Vulnerability Journal, 1(1–3), 5–14. Nadan, Y., Roer-Strier, D., Gemara, N., Engdau-Vanda, S., & Tener, D. (2018). In the eyes of the beholder: Parental and professional value mismatch in child risk and protection in two communities in Israel. International Journal of Psychology, 53(2), 23–33. Nadan, Y., Spilsbury, J. C., & Korbin, J. E. (2015). Culture and context in understanding child maltreatment: Contributions of intersectionality and neighborhood-based research. Child Abuse & Neglect, 41, 40–48. Park, Y. (2005). Culture as deficit: A critical discourse analysis of the concept of culture in contemporary social work discourse. Journal of Sociology and Social Welfare, 32(3), 13–34. Patton, M. Q. (2015). Qualitative evaluation and research methods. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage. Paxson, C., & Waldfogel, J. (2002). Work, welfare, and child maltreatment. Journal of Labor Economics, 20(3), 435–474. Pelton, L. H. (2015). The continuing role of material factors in child maltreatment and placement. Child Abuse & Neglect, 41, 30-39. Powell, T. M., & Davis, J. P. (2019). Addressing the social emotional needs of children in chronic poverty: A pilot of the Journey of Hope. Children and Youth Services Review, 98, 319–327. Revitalization Report. (1989). Neighborhood D. Ministry of Construction and Housing, Beersheba Municipality, Jewish Agency. Rice, J. K. (2001). Foreword. In W. A. Paterson (Ed.), Unbroken homes: Single-parent mothers tell their stories (pp. xi–xiii). New York: Haworth Press. Rothwell, D., Ottusch, T., & Findersc, J. K. (2019). Asset poverty among children: A cross-national study of poverty risk. Children and Youth Services Review, 96, 409–419. Sampson, R. J., Raudenbush, S. W., & Earls, F. (1997). Neighborhoods and violent crime: A multilevel study of collective efficacy. Science, 277, 918–924. Sedlak, A. J., Mettenburg, J., Basena, M., Petta, I., McPherson, K., Greene, A., et al. (2010). Fourth national incidence study of child abuse and neglect (NIS–4): Report to congress. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children and Families. Sidebotham, P.  J., & Heron, J. (2006). Child maltreatment in the “children of the nineties”: A cohort study of risk factors. Child Abuse & Neglect, 5, 497–522. Spilsbury, J. C., Gross-Manos, D., Haas, B. M., Bowdrie, K., Richter, F., Korbin, J. E., et al. (2018). Change and consistency in descriptions of child maltreatment: A comparison of caregivers’ perspectives 20 years apart. Child Abuse and Neglect, 82, 72–82.

11  Challenging Social Workers’ Envisioned Definitions of Child Neglect: Perspectives… 215 Stake, R. E. (1995). The art of case study research. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage. Stith, S. M., Liu, T., Davies, L. C., Boykin, E. L., Alder, M. C., Harris, J. M., et al. (2009). Risk factors in child maltreatment: A meta analytic review of the literature. Aggression and Violent Behavior, 14, 13–29. United States, Department of Health and Human Services. (2017). Child maltreatment. Accessed November 12, 2019, from https://www.acf.hhs.gov/sites/default/files/cb/cm2017.pdf Yin, R. K. (1994). Case study research design and methods: Applied social research and methods series (2nd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.

Chapter 12

“Permanent Temporariness:” Eritrean Refugees and Social Workers’ Perceptions of Israeli Policies and Their Implications for Family Well-Being Lior Birger

“…you have to understand, no one puts their children in a boat unless the water is safer than the land…” (Home—poem by Warsan Shire) Temporariness (Noun): “the state of lasting or being intended to last or be used only for a short time; the state of not being permanent.” (Oxford Dictionary)

12.1  Introduction In September 2019, around the time of writing this chapter, Israeli newspaper headlines reported about the stories regarding the deportation of migrant workers, both parents and children, many of them born in Israel. Although September marks the beginning of the school year, for many migrant children, excitement was replaced by fear for themselves and their friends. Non-Jewish migrant workers and refugees arrive in Israel under different legal, socio-economic and political contexts, yet policies regarding them are similar; as Israel’s migration regime is centered on the Law of Return, which grants citizenship to Jewish immigrants who “return” or make “Aliyah,” for non-Jewish immigrants to claim citizenship is generally impossible (Kritzman-Amir, 2015). Additionally, while migrant worker and refugee families and children have access to some health and education services, restrictive policies towards them include detention and the denial of rights. Moreover, the threat of deportation hangs over the heads of many.

L. Birger (*) NEVET-Greenhouse of Context-Informed Research and Training for Children in Need, The Paul Baerwald School of Social Work and Social Welfare, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem, Israel e-mail: [email protected] © Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2020 D. Roer-Strier, Y. Nadan (eds.), Context-Informed Perspectives of Child Risk and Protection in Israel, Child Maltreatment 10, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-44278-1_12

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The current chapter focuses on refugees, commonly defined as people who have left their country because of persecution or violence and who are unable or unwilling to return (UNHCR, 2019). In recent years, as the number of refugees worldwide reached the highest level since records have been kept (UNHCR, 2019), increasingly restrictive migration and asylum policies in Western host countries are accompanied by the changing media and public’s discourse. During the so-called European refugee crisis of 2015, the image of Aylan Kurdi, the three-year-old Syrian-Kurdish child who drowned in the Mediterranean Sea, received global attention. Yet the public’s interest and welcoming attitudes were gradually replaced by what the sociologist Zygmunt Bauman referred to as “refugee tragedy fatigue” (Bauman, 2016). These shifts were accompanied by growing nationalism, anti-refugee and populist political campaigns. Accordingly, states’ responses are moving towards exclusion and restriction. Such is the case in the United States (US), as 2018 was marked by the detention of immigrant children and youth, including the separation of children from their parents, and the worsening conditions of families of the migrant’s “caravan” at the US-Mexico border (Libal & Berthold, 2019). In the context of growing anti-refugee politics and policies, the challenges for social workers (SWs) and other practitioners in advocating for refugee families’ rights, and supporting parents’ and children’s well-being, are intensified. The context of the state’s policies and its implications to the construction of refugee families’ well-being will be explored in the current chapter, based on a context-informed study (Roer-Strier & Sands, 2015) of the perceptions of Eritrean refugee service users (refugees) and social workers who work with them. The chapter begins with a review of Israel’s policies towards Eritrean refugees, while focusing on the situation of refugee families, parents and children, and their encounters with SWs and social services. The concept of “permanent temporariness,” encapsulating refugees’ legal and psycho-social state, is then defined. Following the methodology section, the findings of the perceptions regarding the implication of permanent temporariness to the well-being of the refugees is displayed, including the similarities and differences between service users and SWs’ narratives. Finally, conclusions and implications for policy and practice are discussed.

12.1.1  Israel’s Policies Towards Eritrean Refugees Some 33,000 refugees live in Israel, and 70% are from Eritrea (PIBA, 2019b). By the end of 2018, Eritrea was the ninth-largest country of origin of refugees worldwide (UNHCR, 2019). It is considered to be one of the most oppressive governments in the world; the president has held his position since 1993. Eritreans are subject to a system of mandatory and indefinite national service, and severe restrictions exist on freedom of the press, speech, religion and freedom of association (Van Reisen & Estefanos, 2017). The gross human rights violations which occur in Eritrea were documented in a UN Commission of Inquiry Report, which further accused the Eritrean regime of committing crimes against humanity (UNHRC, 2015). Most Eritreans arrived in Israel between 2006 and 2012, crossing the Israeli-­ Egyptian border. Thousands survived violent atrocities and human trafficking in the

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Sinai desert (Van Reisen, Estefanos, & Rijken, 2012). By 2012, when the fence on the border with Egypt was completed, their entrance almost completely stopped. Upon their arrival in Israel, and after being detained for varying periods of time, many were released and placed on buses that took them to the South Tel Aviv area. Although Israel ratified the 1951 Refugee Convention and later the 1967 Protocol Relating to the Status of Refugees, which establishes a state’s responsibilities to provide rights and services to refugees, it never incorporated it into domestic law (Kritzman-Amir, 2015). Until 2013, Israel officially denied all Eritreans access to Refugee Status Determination (RSD). Since 2013, RSD is supposedly accessible, but in practice the RSD unit has been reported as being dysfunctional (Bar-Tuvia, 2018). In the last 10  years Israel has granted refugee status to only 13 Eritreans (Hotline, 2019a). It maintains a policy of “temporary protection” towards the majority of Eritreans—they are provided a temporary visa, called “conditional release,” which has to be renewed every few months and only includes the right to stay in the country, but excludes any rights to health, social services or work permits (Kritzman-­ Amir, 2015). Since Israel announced that it will not fine employers of refugees as long as the latter are not deported, most refugees work, although without a legal status they are exposed to exploitation in the labor market (Kav LaOved, 2019). Israel’s declared position toward refugees is “to try and make them leave” (Bar-­ Tuvia, 2018). Restrictive policies that were implemented throughout the years include incarceration, detention in an “open facility” that resembles a prison, and economic sanctions (Ziegler, 2015), primarily the “Deposit Law.” Under this law, enacted in 2017, 20% of all refugees’ salaries are expropriated each month to a state fund (PIBA, 2019a).1 This fund can be accessed only upon the refugees’ departure from Israel, although the process was reported as being dysfunctional (Kav LaOved, 2019). In addition, since late 2013, Israel initiated a “voluntary departure” program, transferring refugees to Rwanda and Uganda. In 2018, the government announced a plan to conduct forcible deportation to these two countries. Following an unprecedented public campaign against the plan, it was cancelled in April 2018 (Bar-Tuvia, 2018; Birger, Shoham, & Bolzman, 2018). The 2018 forcible deportation plan was announced as only targeting single men in the first stage (PIBA, 2018), which meant that families, including children, only had temporary protection. Yet families’ deportation was not far from reality; previous cases of deportation of families and children occurred when the South Sudanese community in Israel, including children, was deported to South Sudan in 2012 (ASSAF, 2019a). Additionally, over the years, children of migrant workers were, and continue to be, deported from Israel (Hotline, 2019b). Over the years, these governmental policies towards Eritreans were accompanied by incitement and xenophobic state led discourse (Kalir, 2015). Parts of Israeli society actively support refugees, as manifested in public campaigns and demonstrations, yet public and media counter-discourse regards refugees as threatening “others,” as well as posing a security, demographic and economic threat. This discourse is supported by authorities officially referring to them as “infiltrators” (Arieli, 2016; Duman, 2015). 1  As of July 2018, the amount has been reduced from 20% to 6% for vulnerable groups including women, victims of trafficking, minors, the elderly and single fathers (PIBA, 2019a).

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Other than “infiltrators,” Eritreans living in Israel are also commonly referred to interchangeably as “asylum seekers” or “refugees.” Throughout this chapter, I will use the term refugees. This is based on the assumptions that (1) although the vast majority of Eritreans have not been granted refugee status in Israel, by refraining from deporting them, Israel has practically recognized their special status and their need for international protection; (2) UNHCR explicitly defines them as “people in refugee-like situations”; and (3) Eritreans have notably high recognition rates globally. In 2016, 90% of Eritreans received protection worldwide (see further: Bar-­Tuvia, 2018).

12.1.2  Refugee Families, Parents and Children’s Situation As no official institution is responsible for migrant workers and refugees in Israel, demographic details are estimated. The vast majority of Eritrean refugees, approximately 80%, are men (Kritzman-Amir, 2015). Approximately half reside in Tel Aviv, while the rest live in other cities, with Jerusalem among the main cities of residence (TEFRI, 2018). In Tel Aviv, approximately 7000 children under the age of 18 are refugee and migrant workers, with the majority being Eritreans (MESILA, 2018). Israeli law states that all children, regardless of their legal status, are required to attend school, starting at the age of 3. All parents in Israel put their children in either private pre-schools or in subsidized daycares, which refugees are not eligible for. Thus, for children between the ages of 0–3, members of the migrant workers and refugee communities had started private caretaking facilities, commonly called “babysitters.” In light of the communities’ conditions, including the parents’ socioeconomic status, the physical conditions in many of these facilities are reported as being inadequate for children. This includes crowdedness, high caretaker-to-child ratios, poor stimulation for the children and emotional neglect (Meir, Slone, Levis, Reina, & Livni, 2012). Research shows that children’s stays in babysitters had put their lives at risk and that they have had a profoundly negative affect on their cognitive, emotional, and social development (Meir & Slone, 2016). Adult refugees have high rates of reported exposure to traumatic experiences (Nakash et al., 2015). Despite evidence of strengths and resilience (Lavie-Ajayi & Slonim-Nevo, 2017), their previous traumas, combined with post-migration stressors, the constantly changing policies and the lack of access to rights and services (Birger & Peled, 2017; Slonim-Nevo, Regev, & Millo, 2015), means that many face mental health and psycho-social challenges. Similarly, many refugee children had experienced traumatic events on their journeys to Israel, or were affected by their parents’ stories of trauma. Other post-migration stressors include the lack of legal status, poverty and discrimination (Raveh, Shafranek, & Lichtman, 2017). There is a large community of refugee families living in South Tel Aviv, mainly the Neve Sha’anan neighborhood that is also challenged by neighborhood conditions. These neighborhoods already suffered from neglect, with a poor infrastructure and a lack of public services even before the arrival of the refugees, and the latter’s arrival only

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increased the demand for already limited services and infrastructures (Kritzman-­ Amir, 2015). Thus, children reported risks such as crowded living conditions, exposure to violence, drug abuse and criminality (Raveh et al., 2017).

12.1.3  Social Services for Refugees Refugee adults are not entitled to health and social rights which are regulated under Israeli laws, or to the social benefits which derive from them. Accordingly, the policy of the Ministry of Social Affairs and Social Services is to deny adult refugees access to social services, except in cases of at-risk populations, such as women who suffer from domestic violence, victims of slavery and human trafficking and other vulnerable groups. Even then, access is often denied or limited due a lack of resources and social benefits (ASSAF, 2019b). In fact, most refugee adults are not entitled to any social services. Unlike adults, refugee children are entitled to some health, education, and social rights, yet they face many barriers in accessing them. Unlike their parents, they are eligible to access medical insurance subsidized by the Ministry of Health. Still, parents often can’t afford the insurance fees due to their economic hardships (ASSAF, 2019b). In terms of education, under Israeli law, refugee children are entitled to full integration into the Israeli educational system. Regarding welfare rights, the Ministry of Social Affairs and Social Services’ policy is to only provide assistance to children at risk. As such, SWs in local Social Service Departments in Tel Aviv, Jerusalem, and other cities where refugees reside, provide limited services to refugee families, which are mainly centered on issues of children at risk. Specialized social services for refugees, that offer services to families, parents and children, operate mostly in Tel Aviv where the majority of families live. These services are mostly non-­governmental organizations or non-profit agencies. An exception is the  Tel Aviv municipality, which founded a specialized social service unit for refugees and migrant workers, functioning as part of the city’s welfare services and is based largely on donations (MESILA, 2018). Overall, the existing services’ ability to support children at risk and their families is reported as extremely limited; Israel’s policies and the growing gaps between the numbers of children in need and existing resources limits SWs’ intervention to mostly “emergency” cases (ASSAF, 2019b; Blum-Melamed, 2018).

12.1.4  Permanent Temporariness To discuss the role of Israel’s policies towards Eritrean refugees in the context of refugees’ well-being, I will use the term permanent temporariness. This concept entails both legal and psycho-social aspects of refugees’ lives. Predominantly, permanent temporariness is constructed by a temporary protection mechanism that restricts refugees

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to an extended temporary status (Simmelink, 2011). Moreover, the state uses temporariness as a political tool of governance (Griffiths, Rogers, & Anderson, 2013): refugees’ visas, named “conditional release,” encapsulates not only their temporariness, but also the power that the state has in conditioning it, ultimately aiming at pushing them to “voluntarily” leave the country. Beyond the legal aspects, temporariness is considered by many as an oppressive tool of the state, resulting in feelings of alienation and powerlessness (Cwerner, 2001); it has a “limbo-izing” effect on refugees’ identities (Mountz, Wright, Miyares, & Bailey, 2002) and hinders their ability to plan, progress, or invest in themselves (Griffiths, 2014; Griffiths et al., 2013). Moreover, some researchers demonstrate that forced migrants with a temporary legal status have higher reported levels of PTSD and symptoms of depression in comparison to recognized refugees (Steel et al., 2006; Toar, O’Brien, & Fahey, 2009). Leaning on the concept of permanent temporariness as a point of departure, the exploration was guided by the following questions: (1) What are the consequences of Israel’s policies of permanent temporariness over the well-being of refugee families, parents and children, as perceived by Eritrean refugees and SWs?; and (2) What are the similarities and differences in refugees’ and SWs’ perceptions?

12.2  Method This chapter is based on data from a larger qualitative study, which explores the relationship between Eritrean refugee service users and SWs in Israel and Germany. This study aims to examine political, social, and cultural factors which shape this relationship, as perceived by both users and workers. It is based on a context-­informed perspective, seeing the concepts that humans generate to explain their world as influenced by the many interlocking cultural, sociopolitical, economic and other contexts that surround them (Roer-Strier & Sands, 2015). The current chapter is based on data collected by in-depth interviews with Eritrean refugees and SWs in Israel. Analyzing the data was done with the aim of understanding the context of the state’s policies in the construction of families’, parents’, and children’s well-being. Data was collected through in-depth semi-structured interviews and a socio-­ demographic questionnaire. The study was approved by the Ethics Committee of the Paul Baerwald School of Social Work and Social Welfare at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. Participants signed informed consent documents in Hebrew (SWs) and in Tigrinya (service users) and anonymity and confidentiality were guaranteed. They were not compensated for their participation in the research.

12.2.1  The Interviewees Service Users  Data was collected between May 2018 and August 2018 from seven refugee service users. All of the interviewees were born in Eritrea. They were all men, as men comprise the overwhelming majority of refugees in Israel (approx. 80%),

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and accessing them was relatively easy. Their perceptions regarding Eritrean families’ well-being, including both fathers and mothers, were included in the analysis.2 By the time of the interview, they had resided in Israel between 5 and 11  years (M  =  7.5  years). Their ages ranged from 24 to 43 (M  =  32). Five interviewees resided in South Tel Aviv, one in Jerusalem, and one resided in another Western country, where he had been resettled to less than a year before, after living in Tel Aviv for 8 years. The interview with him was conducted via phone. Four of the men were married and lived with their wives and children in Israel; one was separated from his wife, who lived with their children, one was a widower whose children lived Eritrea, and one was single. They all held temporary protection visas, which only granted them the right to remain in Israel, except for one who held a work permit visa.3 Most interviews were conducted in Hebrew, and took place at a location of the interviewee’s choice, mainly in an NGO’s office or at a cafe. One interview was conducted in English, via phone, and one was conducted in Tigrinya and interpreted into English with the assistance of an interpreter, and took place at the interviewees’ house. The interpreter was an Eritrean woman with previous interpretation experience, who had no former acquaintance with the interviewee or the interviewer, and was paid for her work. The interviews lasted between 1 and 2 h. They were audiotaped, fully transcribed and anonymized. Social Workers  Data was collected between April 2018 and July 2018 from 12 SWs who worked with Eritrean refugees in Tel Aviv and Jerusalem. Their ages ranged from 32 to 51 (m = 40). Eleven were female and one was a male. All were Jewish-Israelis, except for one Arab-Israeli. They all worked in specialized social services for refugees (and/or migrant workers): three at NGO’s; six at government or municipal services, and three at partially state-funded non-profit organizations. Seven SWs had refugee families, parents or children amongst the service users they worked with. Others worked mainly with single adults, around issues of health and mental health. Most SWs were approached through targeted sampling, and only a few through snowball sampling. I was previous acquainted with half of them. All interviews were held in Hebrew and took place at a location of the interviewee’s choice, usually at their place of work or in a cafe. The interviews lasted between 1 and 3 h. They were audiotaped, fully transcribed and anonymized.

2  The gendered experiences of Eritrean refugee women in Israel has been explored in a small number of recent studies (see, for example: Gebreyesus et  al., 2018; Ghebrezghiabher & MotzafiHaller, 2015). Yet further research which incorporates their perceptions surrounding issues like family relations and parenting, is needed. 3  This working permit visa (named B1) was given in 2009, under a one-time governmental decision, to a small group of Eritreans.

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12.2.2  The Researcher I am a white Israeli female SW who has many years of experience working with Eritrean refugees in Israel, in various governmental and non-governmental organizations and services. As such, I was in the complex position of being both an outsider (to Eritreans) and an insider (to SWs). My experience, and the use of a common professional language, assisted in gaining access to SW participants and enhanced the creation of trust. Accessing service users was harder as an outsider due to barriers of language, gender, culture, and existing power relations. Additionally, a few service users who were approached were reluctant to participate, stating that their previous experiences of sharing their stories did not help in changing their dire situation. These factors explain the relatively limited number of service users interviewed. On the other hand, as an outsider I had the advantage of a ‘person who can be taught,’ which allowed taken for granted meanings to come to light (Rubin & Rubin, 1995). I was attentive to power relations on the basis of different positionalities, and used reflexivity by keeping a field diary, consulting my supervisors, and conducting peer debriefing (Aneas & Sandin, 2009). I put an emphasis on the process of trust building, and saw informed consent as a process rather than an event; in addition to signing a consent form, the option not to answer questions or stop the interview was discussed verbally and repeated at different stages throughout the interview (Hugman, Pittaway, & Bartolomei, 2011).

12.3  Findings Understanding the consequences of Israel’s policies on the lives of refugee families was linked with the contexts of migration and culture. Refugees and SWs perceived state policies as intensifying challenges that steamed from cultural shifts following migration. Thus, the findings begin with a short exploration of the role of migration and culture, before expanding on the implications of permanent temporariness for the families’ well-being.

12.3.1  The Contexts of Migration and Culture Migrating from Global South to Global North countries entailed cultural shifts that were perceived by both groups as pivotal in the understanding of families’ well-­ being. Eritreans had to negotiate between different assumptions and norms regarding family structures, parenthood and child education practices. In answering questions surrounding their life in Israel, refugees’ descriptions were mostly comparative by nature, as they moved back and forth from “here” to “there.” As a

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collectivist society, family life in Eritrea was described as embedded in the community; men were the breadwinners and women were responsible for the household. Michael, married and a father of one living in Israel for 8 years, said: In Eritrea the father works, the mother raises the children [and] the whole [extended] family lives together. Until the age of five you live with brothers, [other] children, the whole neighborhood, and when you are five years old you go to school, it’s totally different. All the responsibilities, like a social worker, a kindergarten nurse—it’s [on] the mother.

Michael emphasized the dominant role of mothers, and the extended family, in child rearing. Hagos, married with four children and living in Israel for 11 years, described the differences in education practices, including corporal punishment: What is violence? For us it was education, if I didn’t do as I was told, I would get a slap…this is how we were raised, what we know… there, everyone punishes you, you do something wrong on the street and an adult sees that—he takes responsibility… it’s a different world.

Hagos referred to the attributed meaning of corporal punishment as a sign of adults’ “taking responsibility” over children. Furthermore, he described post migration challenges related to changes in gender roles: [there] It’s a third-world country, the women have no options to work and to bring in money and to have self-confidence. No. There, only the husband works and he takes responsibility… divorce is forbidden… Here, it is all free, she works, he works, and they start fighting at home and get divorced.

According to Hagos, in Israel women go out to work, which enhances their self-­ confidence and independence and threaten men’s role as the sole breadwinners, thus intensifying marital conflicts and divorce. Culture and cultural shifts also served as explanatory in SWs’ accounts, when they described service users’ situations. The use of corporal punishment, for example, was mostly explained through the lens of culture. As Ayelet, a SW, said: “Their violence is cultural… I mean much of the violence is not abusive violence but educational violence.” Sarah, a SW who works with refugee children and their parents, said: They [parents] come here and are being told that everything they do is wrong and against the law. It doesn’t mean that they don’t love their children, but this is what they know. So, we need to help them cope here, not to do something against the law but to allow them to still retain their culture.

Sarah’s explanation adds a critical notion of power relations that surrounds the cultural shifts, since in her opinion, the Israeli laws and norms as imposed on Eritrean parents are often accompanied by the assumption that the latter’s practices indicates an absence of love for their children. Finally, according to SWs and refugees alike, the complexity of families’ well-­ being was not understood solely in light of migration and culture; the state’s policies played a key role in enhancing post-migration challenges. This distinguished Eritrean refugees from other migrants in Israel, as Hagos mentioned: For 20 years I was in my country and this is what I knew, now I came here, and it’s hard to change the situation […] look at the Ethiopian [Jews], they also came here, they were taught

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everything here, and it’s still hard for them… so if those who received an education and [legal] status still find it hard—then for us, how can it not be harder?

Hagos’ narration emphasized the role of the state’s policies, predominantly the lack of legal status, education rights, and parental guidance in enhancing parents’ hardships. These policy related challenges will be elaborated upon next.

12.3.2  T  he Context of the State’s Policies and Permanent Temporariness As previously mentioned, Israel maintains a policy of temporary protection towards refugees, meaning that the majority are given temporary visas, denying them all rights except the right to remain in Israel. In light of this precarious legal status, refugees’ lives in Israel were described by both groups as “a life on hold,” or “a life without living.” Some refugees expressed their gratitude for the mere fact of being alive, and enjoying a few human rights such as the freedom of movement or expression that did not exist in Eritrea, including their ability to demonstrate against the Israeli government. Yet, they made a distinction between being alive and living. Michael put it as such: “We are alive, I don’t know how we are living—good or not—doesn’t matter; life is the biggest thing they gave us in Israel.” Another participant, Goitom, a father of three children who had arrived in Israel seven years ago, was separated from his wife. He described the feeling of being excluded and the wish to live “like any normal person:” In Israel, thank God … I am alive …But… I [also] want to study, drive a car, work…like any normal person, and I can’t, because I am illegal…I can’t be issued a driver’s license. I am young; I want to study, not only to clean floors and come back home.

Living with a temporary legal status had psychological effects, as Michael put it: I know only about today. I am not like any other person. You, for example, you have a plan, you study this year and next year maybe you’ll take time off… Not me. I know only about today… It’s because [the government] gives you a temporary visa. If they give you [a] visa for one month… then you are only able to make plans for one month… maybe next month they will tell you to go to prison. They make my plans…my life is not in my hands.

Michael’s narratives revealed how his legal status limited his notion of control over his life; made him think in time frames that are constrained by the frequency of his visa renewal and resulted in a feeling that the state holds the power to plan his future. This was also manifested in the interviewer-interviewee relationship, as he perceived the white Israeli woman interviewering him to be his opposite, and therefore as having ownership over her own time. Other prominent psychological aspects of permanent temporariness included uncertainty regarding the future. When asked how they see their (or the service

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users) life in a couple of years, both refugees and SWs struggled with the answer. Hagos, who arrived in Israel 11 years ago, said: Future? There is no future, I don’t know what the state of Israel will decide in half a year— sending them [the Eritreans] back or transferring them to a third country? So, no future… I live day-to-day.

Evidently, it was not only short-term visas that enforced uncertainty, but also the threat of deportation. Living in “standby” also had implications for SWs’ ability to support refugee service users. This was apparent in the accounts of Lia, a SW: I had one client who said: “Ok, I earn money…but I don’t know whether to buy a new bed …I don’t buy anything because I don’t know [what will happen],” it’s a life that you just can’t breathe! Even if you are not completely distressed, you are not living. You are constantly on standby.

The distinction between refugees’ being alive and living was repeated in Lia’s narration. Moreover, she pointed  out that their lives being  on standby hinders their ability to plan ahead even regarding seemingly simple decisions. To conclude, as notable in both refugees’ and SWs’ accounts, Israeli policies of short-term visas and the threat of deportation enforces a sense of temporariness, which had different manifestations. Living in an ongoing “standby” generated feelings of insecurity and powerlessness, constraining both refugees’ and SWs’ ability to plan ahead. The further implications of permanent temporariness will be discussed in the following section.

12.3.3  T  he Implications of Permanent Temporariness on Families,’ Parents’ and Children’s Well-Being The ways in which permanent temporariness constrained families’, parents’ and children’s well-being will be presented via four main aspects: (1) trauma, recovery and resilience; (2) limited access to integration, education, and welfare rights; (3) families’ neighborhood conditions, and (4) deportation. 12.3.3.1  Trauma, Recovery and Resilience Living in a state of temporariness was seen as hindering parents’ and children’s ability to recover from previous traumatic experiences, and as traumatic in and by itself. First, as was previously mentioned, many were exposed to numerous traumatic experiences in Eritrea and on their journeys, predominantly in Sinai. In a state of temporariness, recovering from trauma was severely challenged. For example, Yael, a SW said: People are here for more than ten years and they are destroyed…the basics of recovery from trauma… are a subjective acquisition of safety. But creating a meaningful therapeutic

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relationship in a situation of oppression, uncertainty, temporality and ongoing trauma…is almost impossible.

Evidently, temporality damaged refugee’s mental health, as well as SWs’ relationships with them and their ability to support their recovery. Moreover, refugees described the renewal of their visas every few months, and their encounters with the public’s attitude and more specifically with clerks from the Ministry of the Interior, as traumatic. Michael said: You don’t have quiet here [in Israel] […] the society plays with us, the Ministry of the Interior… really plays with us… they say things about you—that are not you. We came here to ask for asylum, we came to save our lives.

Michael portrayed an oppressive environment, the feeling that he is being “played with” and the negative image that society imposes on him which is in conflict with his perception of himself. Aaron, a married father of two, was resettled with his family and granted asylum in another Western country, after living in Israel for 8 years. Remembering the process surrounding the renewal of his visa  every few months, which could take long hours or even days, he said: Everyone [refugees] has trauma… I felt very bad when I hear about going there [to the Ministry of the Interior’s office]4 … I went there many times …and I don’t want to remember that time, that feeling … they are abusing our community… they tell you to stand up, you cannot sit … it doesn’t matter if you have kids or you are pregnant… they say—don’t use your phone, don’t use camera, if the child is crying they don’t care… you are not allowed to eat or drink. In Israel, in every office I went to—I was suffering a lot.

Aaron profoundly describes the traumatic nature of the encounters with xenophobia and discrimination. Such a traumatic environment impacted parents’ mental health, thus hindering their children’s mental health and well-being, as described by both refugees and SWs. For example, Lia, a SW said: People are lost… they know they are temporary, they can’t belong…if mothers are unstable, then their children are even more so… for instance, there is a mother that her child had finished high school and his friends are all joining the army,5 and he can’t find himself, he can’t be recruited without a legal status… its such detachment… who will this kid belong to?

As Lia puts it, living without a legal status, challenges the parents’ ability to ensure stability for themselves and for their children. Lia’s account pointed to another important implication: the traumatic nature of temporariness hindered parents’ and children’s processes of identity formation and negotiation. In this case, it prevented the children’s participation in the army, one of Israeli society’s main socialization institutions.

4  Referring to the Ministry of the Interior’s RSD unit that is in Tel Aviv, where refugees renewed their temporary visas once every 1 to 4 months. Numerous reports had described the dysfunctionality of the unit and the difficulties in accessing it. See, for example: Lior (2017). 5  In Israel, military service is compulsory. This does not apply to refugees, even if they wish to be recruited voluntarily.

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Yet, resilience and strength were also a part of participants’ portrayals of refugees’ mental health. The fact that most families managed to go on with their lives, in spite of constantly worsening policies, was a sign of that. Michael described his way of coping following the period after a deportation threat: I am prepared…tomorrow, if something small or big will come, I don’t want to get hurt, [so] I say—something bad will come, but I will get through it … if you went through many bad things in life—life teaches you, how do you say? Life is like a school. Maybe my situation is not good—but I am prepared for many things.

In his view, the accumulation of adversities enhanced his resiliency and coping. Interestingly, the perception of refugees as resilient existed, to a large extent, in SWs’ narratives. They repeatedly referred to refugees as mentally stronger than Israelis. For example, Ruthi, a SW said: On the one hand, they are fighting for survival, you can’t really understand the anxiety they live with, the stories they hear every day from their families in Eritrea, the fear of what’s to come…it’s survival mode. On the other hand, … I see women who are happy and full of life, it’s tremendous mental strengths…they do manage a life, job, kids, friends, church… quit miraculously, if you think about it.

It is refugees’ endurance in spite of the extreme hardships of migration and temporariness which helped to explain their strengths. Lia said: “They just need to have tomorrow, to have the possibility to buy a bed, simple things, and most of them can just flourish.” Seeing permanent temporariness as refugees’ main barrier for coping and “flourishing,” exemplified SWs’ overall de-pathologizing perception of service users. Next, the challenges related to the lack of integration rights will be elaborated upon. 12.3.3.2  Limited Access to Integration, Education and Welfare Rights Refugee families limited or inaccessibility to integration and inclusion were seen as a deterrent to their well-being in different ways. Denying adults’ rights to education enhanced the gaps and shifting of roles between parents and children. These gaps were addressed mostly by the refugees. Parents saw their children as having more confidence and a greater feeling of belonging to Israel. Isaac, married with four children and living in Israel for 9 years, said: For us, to explain to [our] children is hard…I don’t know how to read or write…when we entered Israel, they first needed to have taught us the language, and what it is like in Israel…but they don’t give you schooling, it’s like they throw you on the floor.

Evidently, Isaac’s lack of access to educationial rights, as well as his lack of knowledge of Israeli laws and norms, increased the inter-generational gaps. Hagos expressed a similar notion: My son is seven years old. I can’t read and write [Hebrew] and I can’t help him, he comes to me with a book and I… I have nothing to tell him, how to explain it to him…So my son can’t listen to other things I tell him…if he asks me things and I don’t know, what will he say? ‘You know nothing!’

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His narration further expresses the implications that these gaps have on parents’ ability to maintain parental authority. Yet, when thinking of a possible solution, Hagos continued and said: The government puts pressure on families…people are afraid… are we here or are we [sent] out [of Israel]? You can’t know, so people can’t sit and learn, become educated … people say “today I am here and tomorrow maybe I am not” … a person needs to be calm, to have [legal] status… and then they can make progress.

He indicated the fundamental impact of legal temporariness: Even if parents were to receive access to education, the absence of a legal status would still challenge their ability to properly “integrate” into Israeli society. Other integration policies included access to welfare services. As was previously mentioned, refugee families have little-to-no access to social services, and social services only treat children at risk. Counselling surrounding other issues or financial assistance was usually unavailable. When parents did receive support from SWs, their temporariness increased their vulnerability, and thus the power differences in the user-worker relationship. This manifested in parents’ position towards SWs, which was characterized by one of two extremes: gratitude or mistrust and fear. Some families were grateful for being in a supportive relationship and having “someone to hear you.” Michael, whose child has developmental delays, discussed SWs’ assistance in the overextended bureaucratic journey in accessing the special education system: They helped us with so many things; I have no words to describe… I don’t say ‘social worker’—we are like a family… I don’t know the language, the holidays, the laws of the country, so the closer they get to me—the easier my life will be … Here [in Israel] you have no one to hear you…why? In our community, everyone has enough problems…if someone tells me too much, I say—leave me alone, I have worst problems… we are all sick … so because they have heard me, and they know more than me, they take some of the responsibility for my kid—off of me.

Michael’s narration entails the meaningful and at times life-saving role that the SWs played in assisting him and his child. Yet they also express elements of powerlessness and the lack of community support, which can be interpreted in light of the extremely difficult situation of refugees in Israel. It seems that their temporariness enhances refugees’ dependency on SWs. Other parents’ positions were that of mistrust and fear. Their instability, limited integration and familiarity with Israeli authorities, enhanced such attitudes towards SWs and social services. This construct was part of the subtext in the interviews with both SWs and refugees, who were hesitant to express negative views regarding SWs or social services. This can be partially explained by the refugees’ caution in light of the interviewer’s positionality as a white Israeli SW. Still, Hagos expressed the notion of fear openly and extensively: A single mother, she has to work for many hours, if she was Israeli—she would get assistance from the state, but she has nothing…the kids return from school and wander around the streets…they see bad things, there are cases of rape… for example, the girl goes out, someone tells her ‘come, I will buy you a candy’ and she is persuaded…then social services or the SW comes and says ‘the child is at risk,’ and right away they take her out of

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home…But …the mother has no help here, if she could explain her problems to you— would you help her? Nothing… all you can do is take the child out… but did you explain to the parent what to do? How to educate the child? … there is no process, the SW has no time to sit around and consult. That’s why all Eritreans are afraid, they do not feel free to talk with the SW… every family is afraid that their child be taken away.

Hagos’ account shed light on the ways that state’s policies enhanced poverty and limited social services’ ability to assist families. Such policies “pushed” parents to work for long hours, which enhanced children’s exposure to risks such as sexual assaults. Moreover, the policy of intervention only in “at risk” situations, and the lack of an ongoing supportive relationship, enhanced the parents’ mistrust of SWs. Thus, when interactions with the latter did occur, parents felt “unfree.” The two positions of fear and gratitude were not only opposites, but could also be seen as closely linked: as power relations increase, fear could explain the intensification of the need for the expression of gratitude. SWs also described fear and anxiety as restricting parents’ freedom. Ayelet, a SW, talked about a refugee mother who was summoned by the police due to a report that was made regarding her child: She thinks that the welfare is the court, she doesn’t understand what she is being told, even if there is a translation, because she gets so nervous. They are all anxious… mothers talk about the fear that their children could be taken away… [there is] horror… how do you live in a place where you don’t understand the rules, the nuances? … how much freedom do you have in your parenting role?… and the kids start to have power over their parents, the kids take advantage of the situation, saying ‘I will call the cops.’

Besides parents’ fear of the state’s authorities, Ayelet addresses how state and welfare policies increase fear within parents’ relationships with their children, and the latters’ power over them. 12.3.3.3  N  eighborhood Conditions: Poverty, Risks on “the Streets” and Racism Refugee families’ neighborhood conditions included poverty, neighborhoods with poor infrastructure, and exposure to racism on a daily basis. First, due to the lack of status, official work permits, and social benefits, many families were driven to poverty and lived in impoverished and neglected neighborhoods. This was intensified with the further implementation of the Deposit Law. As previously mentioned, under this law a  significant percentage of all refugees’ salaries is expropriated by the state each month. Isaac’s wife was injured in a car accident and as a result was unable to work. She was not entitled a social security allowance. Each month 20% was taken from his salary, the only salary supporting the family of six, by the Deposit Law. He was feeling stuck and disturbed: “I can’t make any progress…If you have some money, you will be a bit more relaxed … but there is a fence, a fence that [stops] me from making progress.” Goitom described barriers he faced while searching for a flat: If I want to rent a normal flat, they see my visa and they don’t want to let me… they only give me a bad flat—for a lot of money…they know I have nowhere else to go…[One time]

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while I was searching for a flat, I came, I saw it, and then he [the landlord] asked for my ID… I gave him my visa… he said: ‘Oh, you are Eritrean, I don’t give my flat to refugees.’

The lack of legal status, along with racist and anti-refugee sentiments, was interlinked with poverty: refugees’ lack of legal options made them vulnerable to financial exploitation by landlords. Alternatively, many families resort to over-crowded living conditions, with two or three families living together. Dana, a SW, said: Almost all our service users need financial assistance…and we can’t help with that… they need money for food, clothes or baby carriage … a person who is occupied with how they will get their next meal or how they pay an inflated amount for rent—it prevents the treatment of other problems.

Dana describes poverty as consequently halting service users’ ability to address other issues in their lives, and therefore increasing the risk for children. Moreover, the introduction of the Deposit Law has caused families’ well-being to deteriorate. As Yael mentioned: It just ‘killed’ our clients…people reduced food consumption, shared their flats with more people, which raised the risk for children…women turned to prostitution … in order to feed their children, or went back to live with the violent men they ran away from, because they can’t provide for or feed their children.

The link between the family’s poverty level and the children’s well-being were discussed by both parents and SWs, yet they were highlighted mainly by SWs. Poverty was also interlinked to other neighborhood conditions, such as everyday racism or violence on the streets. These risks where described mainly in relation to South Tel Aviv neighborhoods and included crowded living, the exposure to “street risks” such as drug addicts and prostitution, and the encounters with racism. As South Tel Aviv was at the center of media and public attention, the tensions between “veteran” Israeli residents and “newly-arrived” refugees were enhanced by governmental-led xenophobic discourse. Although many South Tel Aviv residents supported refugees, racist attacks were reported by both refugees and SWs. Sarah, who worked with families in South Tel Aviv, said: So many times, we were on the street, with children or parents, and people from the neighborhood were yelling: “Are you fucking infiltrators? Get the hell out of here,” and the children understand Hebrew! People also hung posters against ‘infiltrators’ at the refugee children’s schools, and parents talked about their children being cursed on the street.

Sarah’s description exemplified the impact of policies and political campaigns on the physical and mental safety of refugee families and SWs. Ayelet described some additional aspects of the encounters between refugee children and Israeli-born children in South Tel Aviv neighborhoods: In the playground, you see refugee children who are raised at the “babysitters” and Israeli citizens, who come to play with their children. They see children who have self-regulation difficulties, and are violent, and then the reaction, which I can totally understand, is rejection …[but] the refugee kids are victims, what can they give back to the world when they didn’t get anything? And then why would the world want to give back to them?

Ayelet addressed the interplay between parents’ legal and socio-economic conditions, related to them putting children in babysitters, thus increasing children’s

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developmental and behavioral problems. This was then enhanced and reproduced in a vicious cycle of rejection and segregation at the meeting point with Israeli society. 12.3.3.4  Deportation Perhaps the most profound aspect of permanent temporariness was the ongoing threat of deportation. This served as a reminder of refugees’ precariousness, which at times became substantial. The fact that the interviews were held a few months after the announcement (and later the suspension) of the forced deportation plan, was evident in the central role the issue had in the narratives. This period was described by both groups as extremely traumatic for the whole refugee community, as well as for those working with them. The issue of deportation will be discussed in two main aspects: (1) The consequences that the deportation has over families’, parents’ and children’s wellbeing; and (2) The deportation as exemplifying different assumptions regarding the role of talking about stressful situations as a coping strategy. First, the threat of forcible deportation was a traumatic period that added extreme stress to the already turbulent reality of the families. Michael described the psychological consequences: I see people, they walk on their feet and I think they are OK, but they are not. Inside… they are really afraid, maybe they will send us to a country we don’t even know, it’s a lot of stress in the head… you see people who became alcoholics, using drugs, people who never used to be like this.

He continued and described how the parents’ stress impacted their children: If I am not well, If I am not relaxed—then my child is al hapanim [Hebrew slang for very bad, terrible, “lousy”] … the children, they get what is happening, we don’t tell them, but when a husband and wife talk about the deportation—the child is afraid. At the time of the deportations many children were sick…why? We don’t tell them, but they know, they feel.

The link between parents’ distress and children’s well-being was described by both parents and SWs. Furthermore, Michael’s assumption was that children understand more than adults realize and that parents should be cautious when they talk near them (which will be elaborated upon next). SWs’ accounts were similar. Those who worked with children and parents in after-school facilities described an increase in temper tantrums, anger and anxiety. Talking about the deportation, Ayelet, a SW said: The children were totally alert…one time a police car drove by, and suddenly they all ran to the door…they felt that something was about to happen, something dramatic. Would it happen now? Would it happen later? … The parents told us horror stories about how a few years ago at 1:00 a.m. when one family was asleep, the police broke down their door, opened the lights and told them they must leave… I am thinking about a child who is asleep, they are in another world, and all of the sudden…BOOM, people from the police invade their home, there is no respect for their privacy… and the parents become so miserable and weak, someone who was supposed to be strong—suddenly they are nothing.

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Ayelet describes in detail the children’s anxiety and alertness in light of the fear of deportation and the traumatic stories that surround families’ everyday reality. In deportation cases, parents’ ability to protect their children from the states’ invasion of their private sphere was deterred. The deportation and its consequences further revealed different approaches to talking as a coping strategy. Overall, SWs’ assumptions was that talking about feelings is desirable and helpful in coping with trauma and distress; that parents should differentiate between how they talk about the deportation amongst themselves and with their children. Moreover, they believe that providing a safe environment for parents to share their feelings will indirectly support their children’s well-being. Sarah, a SW, described a parent support group and the underlying assumptions that derived it: It was important for us to guide the parents, [to tell them] that it’s really important that they talk about the deportation at home or with us, but not with the children… if a kid hears that mom and dad are afraid—then the kid is afraid… The group meetings were important as a safe space for the parents to “let it out,” because there is no doubt that it affects their functioning, their parenthood.

Parents’ views, as reflected from their narratives and from SWs’ accounts, varied. They had diverse opinions regarding the idea of talking about their own feelings, as was expressed in Ayelet’s recounting of a parents group: One mother said: Why do we even need to talk about it? We have been through so many traumas, let’s leave it behind … she was in the Sinai desert… I imagine that the deportation brought up the previous experiences of forced journeys… [I mean] you try to adjust and suddenly, you are facing the threat of being sent on an unknown journey against your will, where you could die. One father was angry …[maybe] he couldn’t deal with the content of the meeting… Someone else said… that he does want to talk, and even cried… a man, which is not taken for granted there [meaning in the Eritrean community] … it’s something that is maybe more Israeli, that they learned here, that it’s important to share and process feelings.

In her description, diverse attitudes were explained not only by cultural differences between “Israeli” vs. “non-Israeli” assumptions, but also by the role that trauma plays in the construction of these views. Previous unprocessed traumatic experiences were seen as hindering the parents’ ability to talk about the current traumatic reality of the threat of deportation. With regard to talking with their children about the deportation, the parents’ common assumption was that avoiding it was a way of protecting their children. Ayelet continued and said: It’s based on an assumption that the kid doesn’t yet understand, and also on parents’ anxiety—who wants to cause emotional flooding and tell their child the whole truth?… It’s coming from a protective place… as many Israeli parents also don’t want to cope, and don’t give their children the credit they deserve in terms of their development and understanding.

She attributed these assumptions to Israeli parents  as well. Another SW, Ruthi, described the gaps between the children’s exposure to the issue and the parents’ notion of “protection:”

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The parents said: “we don’t talk about it with them because we want to protect them”… but the kids are shouting the slogans from the demonstrations… and in the kindergarten they are playing and building an airplane and flying to Eritrea, so it’s everywhere…but the parents didn’t want to talk about it with them.

Although they didn’t want to talk about it with their children, Ruthi went on and described in a somewhat surprised tone how they eagerly wanted to share their own feelings with SWs: They all wanted to talk… they just talked… about their feelings of insecurity, and asked how they could give a feeling of security to their children when they themselves feel so lost and detached?

It seemed that Ruthi was surprised by the parents’ eagerness to share their feelings, which might contradict her previous perception of them. When shared, their narratives revealed the challenges of creating a feeling of security for their children in a state of temporariness. In conclusion, the differences between (some) parent’s reluctance to discuss their feelings surrounding the deportations, and SWs’ assumptions that this will help them cope, were attributed not only to cultural differences, but further contextualized by trauma and temporariness. For example, the parents’ choice or ability to discuss the deportation (amongst themselves or with their children) was understood to also be related to their previous (unprocessed) traumas or to their state of permanent temporariness.

12.4  Concluding Remarks This chapter explored Israeli policies and the affects they have on the well-being of refugee families, parents and children. The term permanent temporariness was used to encapsulate the legal and psycho-social aspects of this ongoing state of instability. The narratives of refugee service users and SWs detailed the manifestations of permanent temporariness in different aspects of the families’ lives. Mental health was one major aspect: their temporariness caused the parents’ mental health to deteriorate, instilled feelings such as powerlessness and lack of control over their lives, and halted their ability to plan their future. It hindered their recovery from trauma and was in itself traumatizing; as such, it was linked to the children’s well-being, since their insecure position was heavily challenged and negatively affected the parents’ ability to provide security for their children. As such, the findings offered a detailed understanding regarding the role of state’s policies in the construction of refugees’ mental health, which is extensively documented in the literature (e.g., Porter & Haslam, 2005; Silove, Ventevogel, & Rees, 2017). Living in ongoing standby further hindered the parents and children’s processes of identity formation and negotiation. It deterred the parents’ aspirations to “be normal,” which they attributed to their ability to make progress, for example, by acquiring education rather than working in cleaning for unlimited years, and

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challenged the children’s feelings of belonging to Israeli society by preventing their participation in socialization institutions such as the army. Further, temporariness halted SWs’ abilities to assist families in recovering from previous traumas and prospering and building their lives in Israel. It was in spite of permanent temporariness and other post migration challenges that they managed to go on and build a family, work and community life, which was perceived as evidence of resilience. Permanent temporariness had consequences on families’ well-being in other aspects of their lives; the lack of access to integration rights, such as education and welfare, increased existing generational gaps between parents and children and hindered parental authority and increased mistrust and fear from social services and SWs. Additionally, having a precarious legal status increased families’ poverty levels and pushed many into overcrowded living conditions, adding risks to their children. Parents and children were exposed to other risks due to their neighborhood conditions, such as violence or racism; state’s policies such as the Deposit Law drove families to situations of extreme poverty, and some women to prostitution. Deportation was a major stressor, putting refugees’ physical and psychological well-being at risk. These findings highlighted the prominent role that state’s policies have in the construction of families’, parents’ and children’s well-being. They demonstrated that by going beyond migration and culture, the policy context reveals the interplay of the state’s power with refugees’ most intimate spheres of lives. This includes the power that the social negative discourse of refugees as “infiltrators” had in constructing refugees’ identities and “socially structured feelings” (Allan, 2015), such as alienation and the way the parents’ lack of rights increases power imbalances between them and their children. Overall, refugees’ rights to be parents and the freedom to be parents was limited. This emphasis on systemic barriers, such as racism, discrimination and social isolation, and its impact on parents’ self-esteem and self-confidence are crucial for understanding immigrant parents (Roer-Strier, Strier, Este, Shimoni, & Clark, 2005). This contextualization could inform SWs who work with families and children, especially when assessing children’s well-being, risk and protection. Restrictive policies further hindered the relationship between SWs and service users. They enhanced a power imbalance within user-worker relations and constrained trust building, which was evident in service user’s attitudes towards SWs, characterized by gratitude or fear. These seemingly extreme positions can be seen not only as opposites, but rather as closely linked; as power relations increase, fear might explain the intensification of service users’ need for expressing gratitude. Understanding the complexity of such attitudes, which could be related or even co-­ exist, could support the enhancement of the user-worker partnership. This could further inform the supervision and training of SWs who work in settings that are characterized by increased power-imbalances. Furthermore, the current chapter demonstrated that using a context-informed approach to study cross-cultural encounters (Roer-Strier & Sands, 2015; Shalhoub-­ Kevorkian & Roer-Strier, 2016) while focusing on the context of policies, allows for moving away from the risk of “culturalization.” For example: overemphasizing

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culture and cultural differences as an explanation for service users’ behaviors and of the misunderstandings between them and service providers (van der Haar, 2015). Instead, it enables SWs to shed light on the role of institutionalized power in constraining people’s well-being, which serves as an important explanatory factor, thus supporting the de-pathologizing of service users. Additionally, it seems that the understanding of the prominent role  of the state’s policies in the construction of refugees’ well-being supported SWs’ reflective processes regarding power relations between the state and the users, as well as those within the user-worker relationship (Nadan, 2017). Similarities between SWs’ and refugees’ perceptions were more prevalent than the differences between them. Still, two main differences are worth discussing. The first is related to the interplay between the state’s policies, trauma and coping. Surrounding the issue of talking about stressful situations (such as the deportations) as a coping strategy, differences between SWs and parents, and between the parents themselves, were revealed. Overall, SWs’ assumptions were that talking about feelings is desirable and helpful in coping with trauma and distress. As for the parents, their attitudes were diverse; while some wished to refrain from sharing their feelings, others seemed to benefit from sharing their emotions in the group counselling setting. SWs’ interpretations of the parents’ diverse attitudes included cultural explanations attributed to the so-called Israeli vs. Non-Israeli assumptions regarding “protection” of children and “what helps with coping.” Accordingly, parents who were eager to share their feelings were seen as “Israelized.” Yet, SWs also used the interplay between trauma and temporariness as an explanation: the parents’ choice or ability to share their feelings surrounding the deportations (amongst themselves or with their children) was seen as related to their previous (unprocessed) traumas and to their lack of stability due to their legal temporariness. Overall, SWs’ explanations might be related to their professional socialization, including exposure to theories related to trauma and cross-cultural competence. Additionally, revealing the diversity of parents’ attitudes demands caution when adopting one or another theoretical framework as explanatory. Rather, the complexity of culture, trauma, the state’s policies, and other contexts should be taken into account when planning and implementing interventions with refugee or immigrant families who face ongoing trauma and insecurity or are subjected to exclusionary policies such as deportation (e.g., George, 2012; Ostrander, Melville, & Berthold, 2017). Other notable difference between the refugees and SWs was that it was the SWs who highlighted the aspects of resilience and strength among the refugees. This difference could be interpreted in different ways: one is that the refugees viewed the interview as a platform for emphasizing a much-needed change in policies regarding their community, thus highlighting its needs rather than its strengths. Another explanation is that their feelings of despair and the trauma they have suffered overruled their resilience. As for SWs, their views could be interpreted as evidence of a de-pathologizing construction of the service users and their needs. This might be related to the shifting discourse within migration theory as well as social work paradigms, which has moved from seeing refugees as traumatized and helpless, to gradually incorporating refugees’ resilience, agency and growth (e.g., Allan, 2015;

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Marlowe, 2010). An additional interpretation is that an overemphasis on people’s strengths is a way to maintain hope in a reality that is filled with violence and despair, and the resources available for SWs to remedy the situation are very limited. Finally, as forced migration increases globally, and as state policies are increasingly exclusionary, driven by populist and anti-immigrant sentiments, SWs must continue to act based on their professional and ethical roles (IFSW, 2014). Together with other professionals and civil society actors, we should stand at the forefront of advocating for human rights and social justice for people displaced from their homes, and for the protection of refugee children and families.

References Allan, J. (2015). Reconciling the ‘psycho-social/structural’ in social work counselling with refugees. British Journal of Social Work, 45, 1699–1716. Aneas, M. A., & Sandin, M. P. (2009). Intercultural and cross-cultural communication research: Some reflections about culture and qualitative methods. Forum: Qualitative Social Research, 10(1), 1–19. Arieli, R. M. (2016). African asylum seekers in Israel: Six genres of discourse within one debate. Hagira, 6, 112–134. [Hebrew] ASSAF. (2019a). Deportation and voluntary departure. Accessed September 3, 2019, from http:// assaf.org.il/en/node/35 ASSAF. (2019b). Welfare and health. Accessed September 3, 2019, from http://assaf.org.il/en/ content/welfare-and-health Bar-Tuvia, S. (2018). Australian and Israeli agreements for the permanent transfer of refugees: Stretching further the (Il) legality and (Im) morality of Western externalization policies. International Journal of Refugee Law, 30(3), 1–44. Bauman, Z. (2016). Strangers at our door. Cambridge: Polity Press. Birger, L., & Peled, E. (2017). Intimate strangers: Eritrean male asylum seekers’ perceptions of marriage and sexuality. Culture, Health & Sexuality, 19(12), 1360–1373. Birger, L., Shoham, S., & Bolzman, L. (2018). Better a prison in Israel then dying on the way: Testimonies of refugees who ‘voluntarily’ departed Israel to Rwanda and Uganda and gained protection in Europe. Independent Research Report. https://doi.org/10.18452/20087. Blum-Melamed, S. (2018). As long as the asylum seekers are here – they are human being who should be given a proper treatment. An interview given to: Kan-Bet Radio, “Seder Yom” with Keren Neubach. Accessed September 9, 2019, from https://soundcloud.com/kan-bet/ t3yhawmeph3b Cwerner, S.  B. (2001). The times of migration. Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies, 27(1), 7–36. Duman, Y. H. (2015). Infiltrators go home! Explaining xenophobic mobilization against asylum seekers in Israel. Journal of International Migration and Integration, 16(4), 1231–1254. Gebreyesus, T., Sultan, Z., Ghebrezghiabher, H.  M., Tol, W.  A., Winch, P.  J., Davidovitch, N., et al. (2018). Life on the margins: The experiences of sexual violence and exploitation among Eritrean asylum-seeking women in Israel. BMC Women’s Health, 18(1), 135. George, M. (2012). Migration traumatic experiences and refugee distress: Implications for social work practice. Clinical Social Work Journal, 40(4), 429–437. Ghebrezghiabher, H. M., & Motzafi-Haller, P. (2015). Eritrean women asylum seekers in Israel: From a politics of rescue to feminist accountability. Journal of Refugee Studies, 28(4), 570–594. Griffiths, M. B. (2014). Out of time: The temporal uncertainties of refused asylum seekers and immigration detainees. Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies, 40(12), 1991–2009.

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PIBA (The Israeli Population and Immigration Authority). (2019a). Information sheet  – Infiltrator foreign worker deposit. Accessed September 10, 2019, from https://www.gov.il/he/ Departments/Guides/guide_for_infilitrators_regarding_monies_from_employers PIBA (The Israeli Population and Immigration Authority). (2019b). Data on foreigners in Israel: 2019, Second Quarter. Accessed September 28, 2019, from https://www.gov.il/BlobFolder/ generalpage/foreign_workers_stats/he/foreign_workers_stats_q2_2019.pdf. [Hebrew] Porter, M., & Haslam, N. (2005). Predisplacement and postdisplacement factors associated with mental health of refugees and internally displaced persons: A meta-analysis. JAMA, 294(5), 602–612. Raveh, C., Shafranek, Y, & Lichtman, D. (2017). This is not a place for children. Levinsky Garden Library. Accessed September 4, 2019, from http://thegardenlibrary.org/wp-content/ uploads/2017/12/This-is-Not-a-Place-for-Children.pdf Roer-Strier, D., & Sands, R. G. (2015). Moving beyond the ‘official story’: when ‘others’ meet in a qualitative interview. Qualitative Research, 15(2), 251–268. Roer-Strier, D., Strier, R., Este, D., Shimoni, R., & Clark, D. (2005). Fatherhood and immigration: Challenging the deficit theory. Child & Family Social Work, 10(4), 315–329. Rubin, H. J., & Rubin, I. S. (1995). Qualitative interviewing: The art of hearing data. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage. Shalhoub-Kevorkian, N., & Roer-Strier, D. (2016). Context-informed, counter-hegemonic qualitative research: Insights from an Israeli/Palestinian research team studying loss. Qualitative Social Work, 15(4), 552–569. Silove, D., Ventevogel, P., & Rees, S. (2017). The contemporary refugee crisis: An overview of mental health challenges. World Psychiatry, 16(2), 130–139. Simmelink, J. (2011). Temporary citizens: US immigration law and Liberian refugees. Journal of Immigrant & Refugee Studies, 9(4), 327–344. Slonim-Nevo, V., Regev, S., & Millo, Y. (2015). The psycho-social conditions of asylum-seekers from Darfur in Israel. Refuge: Canada’s Journal on Refugees, 31(2), 25–38. Steel, Z., Silove, D., Brooks, R., Momartin, S., Alzuhairi, B., & Susljik, I. N. A. (2006). Impact of immigration detention and temporary protection on the mental health of refugees. The British Journal of Psychiatry, 188(1), 58–64. TEFRI (The Economic Framework for the Refugee Issue). (2018). The economic framework for the refugee issue- an economic-social plan for solving the refugee issue and rehabilitating South Tel Aviv. Accessed September 3, 2019, from http://drom-tlv-plan.mdigital.co.il/#supporthead. [Hebrew] Toar, M., O’Brien, K. K., & Fahey, T. (2009). Comparison of self-reported health & healthcare utilization between asylum seekers and refugees: An observational study. BMC Public Health, 9(1), 1. United Nations Commission of Inquiry on Human Rights (UNCHR). (2015). Report of the commission of inquiry on human rights in Eritrea – A/HRC/29/42. Accessed September 3, 2019, from http://www.ohchr.org/EN/HRBodies/HRC/CoIEritrea/Pages/ReportCoIEritrea.aspx United Nations High Commission of Refugees (UNHCR). (2019). Mead-year Trends 2018. Accessed September 3, 2019, from https://www.unhcr.org/statistics/unhcrstats/5c52ea084/ mid-year-trends-2018.html van der Haar, M. (2015). The political context in everyday social work practice. Journal of Immigrant & Refugee Studies, 13(3), 265–280. Van Reisen, M., & Estefanos, M. (2017). The exodus from Eritrea and who is benefiting. In: M. Van Reisen & M. Mawere (Eds.), Human trafficking and trauma in the digital era (pp. 95–147). Bamenda, Cameroon: Langaa Research & Publishing CIG. Van Reisen, M., Estefanos, M., & Rijken, C. (2012). Human trafficking in the Sinai: Refugees between life and death. Oisterwijk: Wolf Legal Publishers. Ziegler, R. (2015). No asylum for infiltrators: The legal predicament of Eritrean and Sudanese nationals in Israel. Journal of Immigration, Asylum and Nationality Law, 29(2), 172–191.

Chapter 13

Children’s Rights, Protection and Access to Justice: The Case of Palestinian Children in East Jerusalem Bella Kovner

13.1  Preface In regimes affected by political conflict and emergency regulations, the state’s military and security concerns, political dynamics, and power structures heavily impact the children’s rights discourse. In this reality, the international child rights frameworks loses validity and legitimacy and in turn, children are perceived as a security threat to society. Considering these challenges, the chapter will look closely at East Jerusalem as a context that is heavily affected by conflict, political oppression, and social deprivation and will examine aspects related to risk and protection as experienced by East Jerusalemite children.

13.1.1  T  he International Framework for Child Rights and Children’s Access to Justice The Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) was adopted by resolution 44/25 on November 20, 1989 at the forty-fourth session of the General Assembly of the UN (United Nations, 1989). This dates back to 1924, when the League of Nations adopted a declaration on the rights of the child (League of Nations, 1924). A broadened version of the declaration was adopted by the United Nations in 1979 and over the course of a decade, international summits were held to fine-tune the Declaration on the Rights of the Child (Berger, 2010), the predecessor of the CRC. The CRC extends the meaning of ‘child’ to any person up to 18 years of age (Hart, 1992). B. Kovner (*) The Faculty of Law, Institute of Criminology, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem, Israel e-mail: [email protected] © Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2020 D. Roer-Strier, Y. Nadan (eds.), Context-Informed Perspectives of Child Risk and Protection in Israel, Child Maltreatment 10, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-44278-1_13

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Ratified by 194 countries (United Nations, 1989), the CRC includes 54 articles that cover all aspects of a child’s life and set out the civil, political, economic, social, and cultural rights that all children are entitled to. It also explains how adults and governments must work together to ensure that all children can fulfill their rights (United Nations, 1989). Over the years, scholars have explored the conceptual framework for rights and protection measures specifically entitled to children. For example, scholars have increasingly sought to answer the question, “What is the moral justification of giving rights to children” (Tobin, 2013, p. 396)? In the 1970s, Hilary Rodham reviewed the emerging children’s rights movement, claiming that children’s rights seemed to be a slogan in search of definition. She recommended a careful study of the sociological and legal issues concerning the idea of rights for children (Rodham, 1973). Minow (1995b) explored the birth and demise of five legal frameworks for thinking about children that had emerged over the previous decades: “Child protection, child liberation, children as potential adults, children in need of traditional authority and social resource redistribution” (Minow, 1995b, p. 268). Minow (1995a) claimed that as persons, children should be provided basic legal protections against abusive governmental power. As young persons, children should benefit from juvenile courts, schools, and parents. In this view, children need rights when they are perceived to be adults, and do not need rights when perceived to be children (Minow, 1995a). Along with the revolutionary rhetoric of the 1960s, child liberationists like Holt and Farson drew on works by Rousseau and Dewey to argue that children deserve rights to fully participate in society and that adult perceptions of children as dependents actually reflect the subjugation experiences of adults themselves (Minow, 1995b). Alongside those who argued for children’s liberation from a constraining status (e.g., Farson, 1974; Holt, 1974; Rodham, 1973), others advocated for protection, services, and care for children (e.g., Ladd, 1996). Minow (1995b) further claimed that both liberationists and protectionists found that the language of rights offered a way to argue for all children in a compromised situation (Minow, 1995b). The absence of a clear conception of children’s legal status allowed greater leeway to blame parents for the failure of state responsibility, to fault the state for the failure of parental responsibility, and to view children’s rights as threats to both parental and state authority (Ibid. 287). Bessell and Gal (2008) found that the CRC provides a foundation based on international law for a human rights approach to the care and protection of children. Within such an approach, care and protection are not provided to children as an act of adult benevolence; instead, they are conceptualized as being an entitlement for all children. This is a powerful social instrument in terms of challenging the sites and uses of power (Bessell & Gal, 2008). Furthermore, the CRC provides a holistic human rights framework that brings forward  new principles, most notably the child’s right to participation, which is necessary to achieve care, protection, and fulfillment of the child’s best interests. Rather than viewing children as vulnerable, needy, and incompetent, one should recognize them as bearers of rights who have competencies, legitimate views, and experiences (Bessell & Gal, 2008).

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13.2  Children’s Access to Justice When referring to children’s access to justice within the CRC framework, Article 12, subsection two, states: 1. State Parties shall assure to the child who is capable of forming his or her own views the right to express those views freely in all matters affecting the child, the views of the child being given due weight in accordance with the age and maturity of the child. 2. For this purpose the child shall in particular be provided the opportunity to be heard in any judicial and administrative proceedings affecting the child, either directly, or through a representative or an appropriate body, in a manner consistent with the procedural rules of national law (United Nations, 2009).

Even though the CRC values the voicing of a child’s opinion in judicial proceedings pertaining to the child, children’s voices have been diluted in the court system as the dominant paradigm in children’s legal theory often overlooks the voices of youth (Berger, 2010). Until they are fully heard, the youths’ voices remain absent or, at best, diluted from the legal system intended to help them (Berger, 2010). Smith, Taylor, and Gallop (2000) claimed that this article addresses the aspirational ideals of the CRC and its international agreement. Specifically, it looks at the US laws through the lens of the CRC, utilizing it as a living document for the development of policies. The CRC’s dominant paradigm of children’s best interests has ignored, diluted, and overlooked children’s voices within the court system (Berger, 2010).

13.2.1  Children as Security Threats Brocklehurst and Beier have been exploring various perceptions and reflections of children and childhood in security studies. While Brocklehurst (2015) attempts to understand why children are undertheorized in international relations and especially in security studies, Beier (2015) found that mainstream security studies have been relatively inattentive to children and childhood, operating either on the assumption that the security of the state equates to the security of those within—children included—or that the former is a necessary precondition for the latter (Beier, 2015). Brocklehurst (2006) uses the term “Infant power” as the strategic harnessing of a trans-historical, transcultural infant in pleas to the national conscience. Symbolic of life and society under threat, this is an example of the instrumentalization of childhood in the service of security. Furthermore, according to Beier (2015), children already populate the security discourse, either as innocents to be protected, as a social resource for the future, as dangerous beings (e.g., child soldiers) or  as potentially dangerous “becomings” (deviant youth). Beier found that along with major children’s rights initiatives that evolved during the 1990s, the rapid predominance of the human security agenda saw the rise of the use of images of childhood (Beier, 2015). One example is Afghan children whose

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experiences have become a powerful moral symbol used by Western states to advance political, military, and strategic agendas (Lee-Koo, 2013). The appeals to the American nation during the “war on terror” use invocations of child abuse by the Taliban to illustrate desperation and immorality. This was possible because children are perceived as apolitical and without agency (Brocklehurst, 2015; Lee-Koo 2011).

13.3  C  hildren’s Access to Justice Among Ethnic and Political Minorities When examining the law enforcement system and the way it affects youth and adolescents—specifically those who are members of marginalized and excluded social, ethnic, and political groups—it is important to look at different examples across various contexts. Race comprises an important issue in police encounters with suspects. These interactions are further affected by geographical location and socio-economic circumstances of the suspects (Brunson & Miller, 2006). Overall, the treatment of young people from African-American and ethnic minority groups by the police in parts of Britain and the United States continues to raise concerns (Brunson & Miller, 2006; Sharp & Atherton, 2007). When examining the impact of police misconduct on the behavior and attitudes of young people from ethnic minority groups in terms of their relationship with the police, participants were characterized by hostility, lack of confidence on behalf of the police, and a mistrust of authorities, which holds implications for the strategies they employ during their interactions with men from ethnic minority groups (Sharp & Atherton, 2007). When examining racial disparities in social policy, security measures, and law enforcement practices in various contexts, several studies have revealed that minority youth were more likely to be taken into custody by police than white youth and were more likely to be detained following arrest and formally petitioned to juvenile court (Black & Reiss, 1970; Dannefer & Schutt, 1982; Piliavin & Briar, 1964; Thornberry, 1973). According to Guevara, Herz, and Spohn (2008), the cumulative effect of race is illustrated in several studies that examined the way in which racial bias at the early processing decisions (e.g., detention and petition) affected later court decisions. While some researchers have found little or no evidence of racial discrimination in juvenile justice proceedings (e.g., Cohen & Kluegel, 1978), others have pointed to contradictory findings involving both harshness or leniency or just leniency for African-Americans as compared to whites (e.g., Bell & Lang, 1985; Leiber & Stairs, 1999). Notably, among these studies, using juvenile court data from Iowa in the United States, Leiber and Mack (2003) examined the individual and joint effects of race, gender, and family status on the case processing outcomes for youth. They found that being African-American affects justice outcomes.

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13.4  P  erceptions of Child Rights and Children’s Access to Justice in Israel The Youth Law (Trial, Punishment and Modes of Treatment, 1971) determines the methods of operation for Israeli government agencies that focus on youth involved in criminal activities. The law applies to minors of ages 12–18 years. Recognizing that the Israeli legislation might not meet the standards of the CRC (which the state ratified in 1991), in July of 2008, the Rotlevi Committee1 was founded to integrate principles of the CRC into Israeli juvenile justice procedures. That same month, the Knesset passed Amendment No. 14 to the Youth Law. The amendment is intended to help realize the rights of minors in criminal proceedings while maintaining their dignity and giving due weight to their rehabilitation and integration into society. The amendment added special provisions concerning the right of the child to express his or her position before a decision is made regarding his or her case (Knesset, 2008). Kadman (2002) claimed that although the majority of countries had signed and ratified the CRC, globally, a large gap remained between the terms agreed to in theory and the convention and practice on the ground. Indeed, this ratification does not guarantee the adherence to the basic rights as embedded within the convention documents. Ben-Arieh, Natanson, and Kosher (2006) claimed that fulfilling these rights depends on the perceptions, beliefs, and attitudes in understanding children’s rights in a given society and according to population group (by ages, cultures, ethnic groups, and socio-economic status). In their analysis of the Israeli juvenile justice policies that defined the previous two decades, Ajzenstadt and Khoury-Kassabri (2013) claimed that juvenile justice policy in Israel has been shaped by three interrelated discourses: a traditional rehabilitative discourse, a rights discourse, and an economic discourse. The rehabilitative discourse is centered on a rehabilitative approach with an affinity for economic and rights discourses. The rights discourse remained independent from the justice discourse and was based on the belief that the state has a responsibility to ensure children’s proper development. The economic discourse mainly included practical economic concerns and was strongly linked to welfare ideas and beliefs. The authors found that these discourses, which were embedded with traditional values generated by Israel’s child-centered culture, helped to shape the Israeli juvenile justice system. Ajzenstadt and Khoury-Kassabri (2013) further claimed that the 1971 Youth Law and its accompanying regulations were based on the welfare approach, treating juvenile delinquents as victims of drives beyond their ability to control, whom the state must consequently care for. Advocates of children’s rights, along with legal practitioners, insisted that policies dealing with juvenile delinquents should reflect the CRC’s principles (Ajzenstadt & Khoury-Kassabri, 2013). While Israel joined the global recognition of the CRC, Israel’s rights discourse was strongly influenced by the welfare-state approach and

 The Committee was headed by Judge Saviona Rotlevi.

1

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independent from the responsibility discourse, which emerged in other places (Ajzenstadt & Khoury-Kassabri, 2013, p. 122). Ajzenstadt (2002) suggested that Zionist ideology is one of various factors affecting the juvenile justice system. She explained that under the eyes of Israeli regulation, children and youth were divided into the following categories: middle-­ class Ashkenazi2 youth, new immigrants, working class “orientals”,3 and Palestinians. The perception of some groups as “primitive” or “undeserving” affected the mode in which the state, including the criminal justice system, treated them and reacted to their behaviors (Ajzenstadt, 2002).

13.5  J uvenile Delinquency and Child Arrest Among the Jewish and Palestinian Populations The Palestinian population in Israel is characterized by higher rates of poverty and unemployment than the Jewish one. Palestinian citizens of Israel suffer from many forms of discrimination, including lower governmental expenditure of public funds for educational, health, and social services, and inequalities in economic attainments (Hammack, 2010; Landau, 2006). According to the National Council for the Child, in 2015, 30% of all Israeli children were living in poverty—comprising one out of every three children and two out of three Palestinian children (NCC, 2016). In 2016, 66% of Palestinian children were reported to be living under the poverty line. Moreover, the total percentage of Palestinian children living under the poverty line had grown from 53% in 2000 to 66% in 2016 (NCC, 2017). The municipality of Jerusalem has the highest percentage of children living in poverty at 58.2% (NCC, 2016). In terms of juvenile delinquency, in 2015, 97.5% of the arrested minors were boys. Of these, 41% were Jews and 38.7% were Palestinians. A total of 66.9% of the arrests ended in pre-indictment detention. The overall number of minors with criminal files dropped from 23,527 in 2005 to 21,211 in 2015. The most common offences were public disorder, bodily harm, and property damage. The percentage of Palestinian minors charged with security offences during 2015 was 88%, and assault against human life was 87.7%4 (NCC, 2016). These figures show a relatively high percentage of Palestinian minors involved in delinquent behavior who eventually encounter the juvenile justice system. Ajzenstadt and Khoury-Kassabri (2013) found that juveniles’ involvement in crime stems from a host of social factors that lie within the state’s realm of responsibility and not within the offenders’ personal character (Ajzenstadt &

 Jews of European descent.  Jews of North-African descent. 4  This type of offence includes nationalist stone throwing, attempted manslaughter, and murder threats. 2 3

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Khoury-Kassabri, 2013). According to Judge Saviona Rotlevi, children who lack access to basic social rights that the state should guarantee, such as the right to be cared for, to be supported by parents, and to be healthy and educated, are more likely to become involved in criminal activity (Israel, Constitution, Law and Justice Committee, 2007). According to Israeli police reports, Palestinian youth form an especially high-risk group, having committed 54% of reported incidents of juvenile delinquency in 2011, which was significantly disproportionate to their representation (27%) in the general population. Consistent with the general trend in Israel, incidents of crime among Palestinian youth decreased slightly between 2005 and 2011 (from 3.1% to 2.8%). However, the level of crime in 2011 was still more than twice as high as that among Jewish youth (1.1%) (Khoury-Kassabri, Khoury, & Ali, 2015). These same scholars claim that these higher levels of criminality among Palestinian versus Jewish Israeli youth as reported in the official statistics may at least be partially attributed to differential treatment by the police and justice system. Palestinian youth likely received harsher treatment from law enforcement than Jewish youth; for example, they may have a greater chance of being arrested, held in detention pending investigation, or referred to juvenile court. Such discrimination may result in disproportionate numbers of Palestinian youth appearing in the official statistics (Sherer, 2009; The State Comptroller Report, 2001). However, a similar trend was evident in the National School Violence Study, wherein Palestinian students reported having significantly greater involvement in severe violence against peers than Jewish students did (Benbenishty, Khoury-Kassabri, & Astor, 2006). Al-Haj and Rosenfeld (1990) claimed that the status of Palestinian citizens (including children) is subjected to, and influenced by, the on-going national conflict. Palestinians’ status is defined and guided by three main principles: (1) the democratic nature of the State of Israel; (2) the state’s Jewish-Zionist nature; and (3) the need to preserve security. When these principles conflict, the latter two overcome the first one and guide the political and public agenda (Al-Haj & Yaniv, 1983; Smooha, 1990). Shalhoub-Kevorkian notes that Israeli child protection laws are based on Western culture whereas the Palestinians, to whom these laws also apply, live in a transitional state and culture with non-western social values and attitudes towards children. Given that the Palestinians have been in political conflict with the Jewish population since before Israel was founded in 1948, Palestinian youth lack trust in the formal juvenile justice systems (Shalhoub-Kevorkian, 2005). Scholars studying the Palestinian society both in Israel and in the Palestinian Authority suggest that children’s experiences and development are deeply shaped by their community’s status as a national minority subjected to economic and social disadvantages (Ben-Arieh, Khoury-Kassabri, & Haj-Yahia, 2006). Haj-Yahia, Leshem, and Guterman (2011) conducted one of the few studies on the dimensions of exposure to community violence among Palestinian youth in Israel. The study revealed that a significant percentage of Palestinian adolescents aged 14–18 in Israel reported being directly exposed to community violence as victims (49.4%) or as having witnessed violent incidents (79.2%). In their study examining the role of exposure to neighborhood violence, perceived ethnic communication, normative beliefs, and parental communication about

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physical violence among Palestinian adolescents, Massarwi and Khoury-Kassabri (2016) found that adolescents’ perpetration of serious physical violence against others correlated both directly and indirectly with individual, family, and contextual factors. In addition, parenting was found to mitigate the negative effects of contextual factors, which predicted adolescents’ perpetration of serious physical violence against others. Consistent with the results of previous studies (Gorman-Smith, Henry, & Tolan, 2004; Gorman-Smith & Tolan, 1998; Huesmann & Guerra, 1997; McMahon & Watts, 2002; Schwartz & Proctor, 2000), the findings indicated that adolescents who reported higher levels of (direct and indirect) exposure to violence in their neighborhood were more likely to perpetrate serious physical violence against others (Gorman-Smith et al., 2004; Huesmann & Guerra, 1997; McMahon & Watts, 2002; Schwartz & Proctor, 2000). In closely examining delinquent behavior among Palestinian youth, Khoury-­ Kassabri et al. (2015) found that Palestinian youth who had been assisted by the Division of at-Risk Youth in Jerusalem were found to be highly delinquent. Furthermore, the greater the commitment of the adolescent’s religiosity, the less likely he or she was to engage in delinquent behavior. Juveniles who have higher levels of parental involvement and stronger attachment to parents are associated with lower levels of involvement in delinquency and political violence. Notably, Attar-Schwartz, Ben-Arieh, and Khoury-Kassabri (2010) found fewer minors on probation in Palestinian localities than in Jewish secular localities. Gal, Ajzenstadt, Ben-Arieh, Holler, and Zielinsky (2009) found that in Israel, the rate of suspected minor delinquents in 2006 stood at 2.1% in general, with a rate of 1.5% for Jews and 3.5% for non-Jews. However, the findings of Attar-Schwartz et al. (2010) did not correspond with this general description. One reason might be that Palestinian minors receive harsher punishment than Jewish minors and are not put on probation, which is perceived as a rehabilitative option. For instance, Mesch and Fishman (1999) examined ethnic differences in closing juvenile criminal cases and found that Palestinian minors face greater chances of standing trial than Jews do for similar charges, even after accounting for socio-economic and legal variables. Another possibility is that Palestinian youth are more often  sentenced imprisonment as opposed  to probation due to the lack of rehabilitative services in the Palestinian community (Kop, 2007).

13.5.1  The Case Study of East Jerusalem When specifically examining the East Jerusalem case study, the complex reality surrounding children is characterized by limited services (education, health, welfare, and infrastructure), socio-economic deprivation, political marginalization, and an institutional perception as a security threat to the State of Israel. This reality enhances the risk of delinquent behavior, which in turn, is interpreted by the law enforcement and justice systems as political violence. The institutional reaction to

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this behavior is of penal nature. Thus, instead of being characterized by care and protection, it is guided by further deprivation, isolation and incarceration measures.

13.5.2  Access to Resources and Services The Palestinian population in East Jerusalem is particularly disadvantaged due to high levels of unemployment, limited access to economic resources, poor educational attainment, high dropout rates from school, and poor sanitation as well as other economically depressing conditions (Choshen, Bluer, Korach, Yelinek, & Assaf-Shapira, 2012; Shalhoub-Kevorkian, 2014; Yair & Alayan, 2009). Choshen et  al. (2012) found that this population is generally more traditional than the Palestinian population in Israel, more religious, and has stricter patriarchal familial and societal structures. Unlike Palestinians who live in other parts of Israel, Palestinians in East Jerusalem are not Israeli citizens and only have permanent residency status (ACRI, 2017; Khoury-Kassabri et  al., 2015). Throughout 2016, the Interior Ministry revoked the residency status of 95 Palestinians in Jerusalem, including 41 women and 11 children. Since 1967, Israel has revoked the residency status of 14,595 Palestinians in Jerusalem (ACRI, 2017). The on-going Palestinian-Israeli conflict continually affects the social, economic, and political situation of Palestinians in Israel in general, and in East Jerusalem, in particular. Over the past four decades, the Israeli government has not allocated the necessary resources to develop East Jerusalem. As a result, East Jerusalem suffers from a severe shortage of infrastructure and public services, including health, education, welfare, and water and sewage systems (ACRI, 2016, 2017; B’Tselem, 2014; United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs— Occupied Palestinian Territories [UN OCHA OPT], 2011). According to the Central Bureau of Statistics (2017), in 2016, more than 70% of the East Jerusalemite families were living under the poverty line, a 10% increase from 1997. Furthermore, in 2016, 31% of all children in Israel were living under the poverty line, an increase of 9.2% from 1998. Of these, 1.1% were residents of East Jerusalem (Central Bureau of Statistics, 2017). In 2017, the welfare services in East Jerusalem defined 8973 children as being at risk. While the four welfare services that are active in East Jerusalem currently handle 11,451 Palestinian families, 598 families remain on the waiting list for governmental assistance (ACRI, 2017). As increased poverty leads to a greater need for governmental support, the current number of welfare services is inadequate to deal with the number of people who need assistance. Palestinians in East Jerusalem also struggle to receive an education. In an attempt to address the escalating violence in East Jerusalem and the high school dropout rate among Palestinian students, a Knesset meeting held on February 10, 2014 by the Committee of Education, Culture, and Sports discussed these issues (Knesset, 2014). Moshe Tor Paz from the Jerusalem Municipality claimed that “only two thirds of the students are completing their high school education.” He further pointed

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out that the three main challenges concerning this high dropout rate are: (1) the shortage of classrooms; (2) the feeling of aimlessness among the students, as a Palestinian high school diploma does not enable access to the Israeli higher education system; and (3) a cultural challenge, as many ninth and tenth graders are already working and do not envision a future for themselves in higher education. The Ministry of Education initiated various supplementary programs to improve academic achievements, but these have not been relevant for schools that do not provide an Israeli high school diploma (Knesset, 2014). According to official figures as presented during another Knesset meeting held by the Committee of Education, Culture, and Sports to discuss the classroom shortage in East Jerusalem, the number of students in East Jerusalem in 2016 was reportedly as follows: 45,000 in the official school system, 43,000 students in the unofficial school system, and 17,000 students in private schools (Knesset, 2016). Indeed, this bleak situation is reflected in more current statistics of The Association for Civil Rights in Israel (ACRI). According to the 2017 ACRI report, 109,481 Palestinian students are enrolled in school. Forty-one percent study in recognized municipal schools that are managed by the Jerusalem Municipality; 4% of the children study in recognized but unofficial schools, which receive partial funding; and the remaining 18% study in private schools.5 About 17,717 children are not registered in any school system.6 The figures presented in the meeting held by the Committee of Education, Culture, and Sports indicated that The Jerusalem Municipality estimates that there is a lack of 2000 classrooms in the East Jerusalem education system (Knesset, 2016). This shortage remains despite the Supreme Court’s 2011 verdict, which granted the Jerusalem Municipality a period of 5 years to build new classrooms in East Jerusalem so that students who wish to move from unofficial and private education to official schools could do so (Ismail Ibrahim Abu Libdeh v. Minister of Education, 2011). Out of 2000 intended classrooms, only 418 were built in the past 5 years (Knesset, 2016). As of the school year 2016–2017, half (857) of the formal classrooms in East Jerusalem were unsuitable for learning,7 and 33% of students did not complete 12 years of studies (Knesset, 2016). The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs in the Palestinian Territories (UN OCHA OPT) reports that pupils are often accommodated in rented houses, which do not meet basic educational and health standards; consequently, parents have resorted to costly educational alternatives even though children are entitled to free education under Israeli law (UN OCHA OPT East Jerusalem, 2011). 5  See the Jerusalem Municipality’s answer to ACRI on 20 March 2017 following the request for information based on the freedom of information law, http://www.acri.org.il/he/wp-content/ uploads/2017/05/EJ-education-290317.pdf 6  Ibid. 7  See the Jerusalem Municipality’s answer to ACRI on March 20, 2017 following the request for information based on the freedom of information law at http://www.acri.org.il/he/wp-content/ uploads/2017/05/EJ-education-290317.pdf

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Another challenge facing children in East Jerusalem involves the fundamental right to continue residing in their homes. According to ACRI (2017), during 2016, the Ministry of Interior withdrew the residency rights of 95 East Jerusalemite residents, including 41 women and 11 children. Moreover, Palestinian children and youth in East Jerusalem suffer from the Israeli establishment’s policy of demolishing homes. According to The Israeli Information Center for Human Rights in the Occupied Territories (B’Tselem) (2014), between 2004 and 2014, 2028 people in East Jerusalem lost their homes, including 1108 minors. B’Tselem (2014) also reports that the Jerusalem Municipality carried out 814 total or partial demolitions of houses and other structures in East Jerusalem between 1999 and 2013, while the Ministry of Interior carried out 174 demolitions during that same period. Schaeffer, Halper, and Epshtain (2013) suggest that demolition is a subjective and painful experience, to which men, women, and children react differently. These scholars posit that not only the acts of demolition, but also the months and years leading up to it constitute a traumatic time for children. The experience of witnessing parents’ fear and powerlessness, feeling constantly afraid and insecure, watching loved ones being beaten and losing their homes, experiencing the harassment of Civil Administration field supervisors, and then enduring the noise, violence, displacement, and destruction of the home that comprises a child’s entire world affects children for life (Schaeffer et al., 2013). Overall, children in East Jerusalem suffer from both disparity and discrimination. Disparity refers to differences that are the result of factors other than discrimination. In the case of East Jerusalem, these factors are limited access to health, legal, and welfare services, a poor and limited education system, and lack of infrastructure. Discrimination is defined as a difference based on unequitable treatment of groups without reference to an individual’s behavior or qualifications (Sowell, 2018). In the case of East Jerusalem, the youth experience is defined by discrimination, which is based on their ethnicity, political affiliation, and religion. According to Sowell (2018), disparities can reflect the plain fact that success in many kinds of endeavors depends on prerequisites specific to each endeavor—and a relatively small difference in meeting those prerequisites can mean a very large difference in their outcome. The disparities that characterize the lives of children in East Jerusalem create the baseline or benchmark for their future opportunities and well-being.

13.5.3  Delinquent Behavior and Access to Justice In addition to the lack of access to social and educational opportunities, and to insecurity in the fundamental spheres of housing and residency, Palestinian children in East Jerusalem have been overly represented in the Israeli criminal justice system. In 2010, human rights organizations reported a steep rise in the number of children in East Jerusalem arrested by the Israeli authorities (UN OCHA OPT East Jerusalem, 2011). Indeed, this trend has continued. Continuous state violence, mainly over the past 10 years, included three wars against Gaza. UN OCHA OPT (2015) reported

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that during the 51-day war in Gaza beginning in July 2014, 1462 Palestinian civilians were killed; a third of them were children. In the West Bank and East Jerusalem, 27 Palestinians were killed and 3020 were injured between June and August 2014. That summer was marked by a severe escalation of violence in Jerusalem (dubbed the “Jerusalem Intifada”) against the backdrop of the Gaza War and other violent attacks, especially the kidnapping and murder of 16-year-old Mohammed Abu Khdeir in July 2014. According to UN OCHA OPT (2016), while most of 2015 witnessed a relative calm in East Jerusalem compared to 2014, tensions rose during September of that year, with protests, clashes, and violence spreading to the rest of the occupied territories. The sharp increase in violence was accompanied by a rise in Palestinian children’s involvement in acts of resistance, from throwing stones at military jeeps and police cars to stabbings of Israelis, including settlers, police, and military personnel. In recent years, new policy and legislative changes have been introduced, some of which relate to specific offences and/or populations while others have a more general character. Minors from East Jerusalem are mostly affected by the policy changes introduced to curb the rising number of East Jerusalemite children involved in disturbances and security offences (ACRI, 2016). The newly introduced and adjusted legislative measures are presented in the list below: July 21, 2008 Enactment of the Youth Law (Adjudication, Punishment, and Means of Treatment), Amendment 14, 5768-2008. The amendment introduced significant changes to the law consistent with the spirit of the CRC, the best interest of the minor, the possible harm caused by legal proceedings to the minor’s body and maturation, and provided alternatives for rehabilitation with an emphasis on a return to normative functioning. These legislative changes were based on the recommendations of the Committee for the Evaluation of the Basic Rights of Children and the Law, headed by Judge Saviona Rotlevi, and in particular, by the recommendations in the report of the Subcommittee on Children in the Criminal Proceeding, also headed by Judge Rotlevi (Knesset, 2008). December 24, 2009 Publication of the first version of the Enforcement Policy in the Offence of Stone Throwing, State Prosecutor’s Office Guidelines 2.19, 5770. The guidelines defined the relevant typical instance—a 16-year-old minor who threw stones without causing damage and who has no prior criminal background. The starting penalty in this instance is set at three to four months’ of actual imprisonment. In addition, it established the policy that the prosecution could consider whether or not to submit a request for detention prior to and throughout legal proceedings on a case-by-case basis (State Prosecutor’s Office, 2016). June 29, 2014 Publication of Government Decision 1776, strengthening enforcement in offences of stone throwing (June 29, 2014). The decision established that the above-mentioned guidelines of the State Prosecutor’s Office “fail to provide an optimal response for the prevailing security reality in East Jerusalem.” The decision imposed a strict policy of indictment, including requests for detention until the end of proceedings, “with the goal of increasing the customary punishment, and with the intention of leading to the imposition of significant periods of

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actual imprisonment, suspended imprisonment, and considering the imposition of fines in appropriate cases” (Prime Minister’s Office, 2014). Publication of Program 1775 for 2014–2018 aimed at intensifying personal security and socio-economic development in Jerusalem for the benefit of all its residents. The suggestions for intensifying deterrence are as follows: (a) Representatives of the Ministry of Justice proposed that the members of an inter-ministerial team assigned to review and examine the security issues in East Jerusalem will enact a punitive measure related to throwing stones at a moving vehicle, which would also include aggravated circumstances that require a more severe punishment. (b) An amendment of the State Prosecutor’s Office Guidelines from December 24, 2009. The inter-ministerial team worked to update the decision while expanding the punitive measures against the offences, in accordance with the circumstances of the case. (c) The inter-ministerial team recommended that the police code of conduct be updated immediately and that the need for additional updates be reviewed from time to time, taking into account the security situation (Prime Minister’s Office, 2014a). July 29, 2015 Enactment of the Penal Code (Amendment No. 119), 5775-2015, which added the offence of throwing stones/other objects at a police officer/police vehicle, an offence incurring a penalty of up to 5 years imprisonment; the offence of throwing stones/other objects at civilian vehicles, an offence incurring a penalty of up to 10 years imprisonment; an offence of throwing stones/other objects with the goal of hitting a passenger or a person in his vicinity, an offence incurring a penalty of up to 20 years imprisonment (Knesset, 2015a). September 9, 2015 Publication of an updated version of the “Enforcement Policy in the Offence of Stone Throwing” State Prosecutor’s Office Guidelines 2.19, 5770, updated in August 2015. This detailed version addresses the legislative changes and is stricter than its predecessor. The most significant change in the guidelines is the declared policy to request detention through the end of proceedings for any person suspected of stone throwing and the effective elimination of alternatives to detention (State Prosecutor’s Office, 2016). October 2015 Article 24A to Amendment 20 of the Youth Law (Trial, Punishment and Modes of Treatment), entitling the court to impose a fine on the minor as part of the verdict, and allowing the court—following conviction, and in addition to punishment—to require a letter of commitment from parents holding them accountable for the minor’s future behavior and obligating them to pay a fine to the victim or to cover trial expenses (Knesset, 2015b). Combined enactment of two amendments: A proposed amendment to The Youth Law (Adjudication, Punishment, and Means of Treatment) (Amendment No. 20), 5776-2015, that allows the courts to impose a fine of up to 10,000 NIS on parents following the conviction of their child in addition to the punishment imposed on the minor.

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A proposed amendment to the Penal Code stating that the minimum penalties for the offense of stone throwing will be one-fifth of the maximum sentence (Knesset, 2015c). Indirect Amendment No. 163 to the National Insurance Law, 5755-1995 permitting the denial of payment of welfare benefits to the parents of a minor who committed security/stone-throwing offences and was sentenced to actual imprisonment (Knesset, 2015d). August 2, 2016 Enactment of the Youth Law (Adjudication, Punishment, and Means of Treatment), Amendment 22, determining a prison sentence for minors who were convicted of a terrorist offence even before reaching the age of 14. The Youth Law stipulates that a minor under the age of 14 cannot be sentenced to imprisonment. The amendment establishes a temporary order that is valid for 3 years, such that the court will be authorized to sentence a minor under 14 convicted of manslaughter, murder, or attempted murder, to residential imprisonment for a determined period after which the minor will be transferred to a prison when he/she reaches the age of 14 (Knesset, 2016a). Due to the significant increase in the numbers of Palestinian minors arrested in Jerusalem for stone-throwing offences, the policy changes concerning minors suspected of stone throwing, security offences, and disturbances are more tangible in East Jerusalem than anywhere else (ACRI, 2016). According to official Israeli police statistics,8 600 Palestinian minors aged 12–18 were arrested in East Jerusalem in 2014, and 608 were arrested in 2015—an increase of 105% compared to 2010.9 Statistics reported by the police to ACRI (2016), however, reveal different figures: 792 Palestinian minors were arrested in East Jerusalem in 2014. From September 13, 2015 through December 15, 2015—a 3 months period that was one of the most violent periods that Jerusalem has experienced—398 Palestinian minor residents of East Jerusalem were arrested. Indictments have been served against 30% of all minors arrested.10 According to the Jerusalem Institute for Policy Research (JIPR), during 2015, a total of 414 juveniles were arrested in the city. Thirty-five percent of the arrested juveniles were Jews, while 65% were Palestinians. Of these, 266 were convicted,11 and the remaining 148 were not convicted. Of the convicted juveniles, 78% were Palestinians (Jerusalem Institute for Policy Research, 2016). The 2016 NCC report on children in Israel showed that during the period of January– November 2015, a total of 1115 juvenile prisoners from East Jerusalem and the Occupied Palestinian Territories were held in Israeli prisons; the majority (62.7%) were held for security offences. 8  Information sent by the Israel Police on May 16, 2016 under request number 4173 to the Author, following a request for information submitted on May 1, 2016 based on the Freedom of Information Law. 9  According to the Israeli Youth Act, Section 34f of the Penal Code 1977: ‘A person shall not be held criminally responsible for acts committed before he was twelve years old’. 10  Police reply to ACRI dated October 19, 2015, based on the Freedom of Information Law. 11  The offences include disturbing security or public order, offences against human life, and causing bodily harm.

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Child arrests in East Jerusalem violate the basic principles and measures outlined in the CRC and other international legal frameworks and safeguards.12 During 2016–2017, B’Tselem and Center for the Defense of the Individual (HaMoked) collected affidavits from 60 teenage boys who had been arrested and interrogated during the period from May 2015–October 2016. The findings that emerge from these affidavits, in conjunction with information gathered by HaMoked, B’Tselem, and other human rights organizations, demonstrate that the State of Israel implements a clear and explicit policy involving its various relevant authorities: the police pull boys out of bed in the middle of the night, unnecessarily handcuff them and make them spend a long time in the interrogation rooms. The Israeli Prison Service keeps the boys incarcerated under harsh conditions, and in court, judges almost automatically extend the boys’ custodial remand, even in cases when the arrest was unwarranted to begin with, and in cases in which the child defendants complain of being subjected to physical abuse (B’Tselem and HaMoked, 2017). During 2013, the Israeli State Comptroller’s Office examined Israeli Police conduct concerning East Jerusalemite minors in criminal proceedings. The examination focused on the application of Amendment No. 14 to the Youth Law. Samples of juvenile arrest files were examined to reveal whether minors were being informed of their rights, were able to consult with a public defense lawyer, and had parental presence in their interrogation as well as to examine the frequency of night interrogations and the usage of interrogators who specialize in youth. The examination found that most files lack the information necessary to determine if the minor was treated according to the judicial protocol. This inadequate recording prevents proper monitoring of the arrest and interrogation. The criticism presents a grim picture of the implementation of the relevant provisions of the law dealing with minors in criminal proceedings. The report states that the police should adhere to Amendment No. 14 to ensure that all files include a letter to the parents, that all interrogations are with parental presence, and that minors are informed of their rights and are interrogated during the daytime by a youth interrogator. Moreover, the police should continuously seek for alternatives to detention for minors (The Israeli Annual State Comptroller Report for 2014).13

 The CRC specifies principles concerning juvenile justice procedures and prohibits the use of torture and cruel, inhumane, or degrading treatment in order to extract an admission or a confession (art. 37a). According to the CRC, child arrest is always the last resort and can only be used in the absence of other alternatives. If arrested, children should have access to education, family visitation, legal support, and respectful treatment. 13  In the sample used by the State Comptroller’s Report for 2014, 80% relates specifically to East Jerusalem and the West Bank. 12

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13.6  Conclusion The socio-political reality in East Jerusalem is extremely fragile and constantly affected by the Israeli national strategic “securitized” policies and legislation. Within this fragility, East Jerusalemite children are deprived of basic services and their essential needs (e.g., education, health, welfare, access to justice) are not properly fulfilled by the state. Children in East Jerusalem suffer from three intersecting discriminatory regimes: structural discrimination that targets them as criminals based on their ethnicity; a lack of governmental assistance as they fall under the responsibility of neither the Palestinian nor the Israeli socio-legal systems; and limited access to welfare, justice, and educational opportunities. These factors combined put the children at immense risk for school drop-out and delinquent behavior. By adopting Minow’s five legal frameworks concerning children’s rights to the presented analysis; child protection, child liberation, children as potential adults, children in need of traditional authority and social resource redistribution (Minow, 1995b), it can be argued that a sixth discourse that characterizes the reality faced by East Jerusalemite children, which is the perception of children as a security threat, exists. The perception of East Jerusalemite children as a “security threat” enables the state to remove them from the human category and the legal apparatus of “human rights” and “children’s rights” as enshrined by the CRC and specifically, the Rotlevi Committee. This reality creates a vicious cycle where at-risk children are perceived by law enforcement and legal systems as a security threat, thereby becoming a risk to the states’ welfare and security. Following in the footsteps of previous studies concerning the role of the state in fulfilling children’s rights (Kadman, 2002), the state’s interpretation of the CRC and the Youth Law (Ajzenstadt & Khoury-Kassabri, 2013; Ajzenstadt, 2002; Ben-Arieh, Khoury-Kassabri et  al., 2006; Ben-Arieh, Natanson et  al., 2006), and the state’s discriminatory treatment towards Palestinian children in general (e.g., Al-Haj & Rosenfeld, 1990; Benbenishty et  al., 2006; Hammack, 2010; Khoury-Kassabri et al., 2015; Landau, 2006; Mesch & Fishman, 1999; Shalhoub-Kevorkian, 2005), and in particular in East Jerusalem (Choshen et al., 2012; Khoury-Kassabri et al., 2015; Shalhoub-Kevorkian, 2014; Yair & Alayan, 2009), this chapter finds that instead of addressing the needs and risk factors experienced by East Jerusalemite children, the state treats them as a security threat or concern that further exacerbates their risk to become involved in delinquent behavior. This in turn creates a vicious cycle that enhances the children’s vulnerability to risky behavior, which poses a further threat to the State of Israel. Within this reality, instead of being characterized and defined by the child protection and international child rights framework, the institutional approach towards these children is overtaken by the security discourse, which is defined by threats, control, oppression and incarceration.

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Chapter 14

Young Children’s Perspectives of Risk and Protection Yael Ponizovsky-Bergelson, Yael Dayan, Ibtisam Marey-Sarwan, Dorit Roer-­Strier, and Nira Wahle

14.1  T  he Contexts of Children’s Perspectives of Risk and Protection 14.1.1  Children’s Perspectives, Participation, and Involvement Children’s active participation in families, communities, and neighborhoods is motivated by their desire to be participating members of these groups (Hedges & Cullen, 2012). Currently, scholars advocate for the inclusion of children’s perspectives in social work and related disciplines’ academic research, practice, policies, and discours (Ben-Arieh, 2005). The meaning that children give to their Y. Ponizovsky-Bergelson (*) Faculty of Social and Community Sciences, Social Work Department, Ruppin Academic Center, Netanya, Israel e-mail: [email protected]; [email protected] Y. Dayan Early Childhood Studies, School of Social Work and Social Welfare, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem, Israel I. Marey-Sarwan The Arab Academic College for Education, Haifa, Israel NEVET-Greenhouse of Context-Informed Research and Training for Children in Need, The Paul Baerwald School of Social Work and Social Welfare, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem, Israel D. Roer-Strier NEVET-Greenhouse of Context-Informed Research and Training for Children in Need, The Paul Baerwald School of Social Work and Social Welfare, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem, Israel N. Wahle Early Childhood Department, Kibbutzim College of Education, Tel Aviv, Israel © Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2020 D. Roer-Strier, Y. Nadan (eds.), Context-Informed Perspectives of Child Risk and Protection in Israel, Child Maltreatment 10, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-44278-1_14

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experiences and to the knowledge they acquire about the world is influenced by various contexts including social, cultural and political. Studies show that very young children (ages 3–6) not only hold their own views and opinions, but also have the capability to express valuable perspectives regarding their contexts and world views (Clark & Statham, 2005; Dayan & Ziv, 2012; Nasie & Diesendruck, 2019). This “new sociology of childhood” regards children as capable and knowledgeable experts about their own lives (Clark, 2004), possessing ideas, perspectives, and interests that are best learned through interactions with them (Clark & Moss, 2001; Mayall, 2000, 2015). This standpoint represents an enormous change from classic research with children; while children were previously regarded as dependent, incompetent, and acted upon by others, they are now perceived as social actors (Elden, 2013), participants, and even co-researchers (Christensen & Prout, 2002; Jones, 2004; Lewis & Kellett, 2004). The Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC), developed by the United Nations in 1989 and ratified by Israel in 1991, emphasizes children’s right to express their views and to influence their own lives (United Nations, 1989). The CRC agenda shaped prevention and intervention programs by fostering the realization that children have the right to be consulted, heard, and to appropriately influence the services and facilities that are provided for them (Lansdown, 1994; Woodhouse, 2004). Consequently, social researchers began to change their philosophies regarding research with children (Fraser & Robinson, 2004). Both Mayall (2000) and O’Kane (2000) refer to research as being conducted with children instead of on or about children. Leonard, McKnight, and Spyrou (2011) suggest the term “child-­ focused research”, pointing out that children have the ability to engage in the process of the construction of meaning in their own lives. Moreover, social scientists began to engage children in projects that explored their experiences, views, and understandings (e.g., Dayan, 2007; Moore, McArthur, & Noble-Carr, 2008). In doing so, they were looking for and creating innovative ways to enter children’s worlds (e.g., Curtis, Liabo, Roberts, & Barker, 2004; Devine, 2002; Lightfoot & Sloper, 2002; Mulvihill, Rivers, & Aggleton, 2000; Shemmings, 2000; Sloper & Lightfoot, 2003).

14.1.2  The Israeli Context for Children Israel provides a unique setup for context-informed research on children’s perspectives. Socialization is regarded as one of the main venues through which adults transmit perceptions of risk and how to avoid it for children. Socialization literature claims that parents’ socialization goals are influenced by their contexts and reflected in children’s perspectives (Keller & Otto, 2009; Marey-Sarwan, Otto, Roer-Strier, & Keller, 2015). In this chapter we will examine how different contexts are manifested in children’s perspectives of risk and protection in diverse communities. There are numerous contexts that affect children’s lives in Israel. We will briefly mention some of those relevant to this chapter. As stated and previously described, Israel is composed of various cultural, ethnic, and religious groups, some of which

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maintain strong cultural ideologies and practices (Bar-On, 1999). Both the macro socio-political level and the different cultural ideologies of families and communities, naturally, affect young children on the micro level. Moreover, a socio-­economic gap, which developed during the 1950s as Jews from Asia and Africa migrated to Israel, can still be seen today in different areas of the country among various populations such as immigrants from Ethiopia, Asylum seekers, Bedouins, etc. This gap is noticeable in terms of income, occupational distribution, education, and social influence (Peres & Ben-Rafael, 2006; Smooha, 2009), and is infused by racism and nationalism. The context of religious viewpoints is provided to children by various religious subgroups such as the Ultra-Orthodox, Masortim (“Traditional [people]” who perceive and define themselves as neither strictly religious nor secular), and secular Jews (Israel Central Bureau of Statistics, 2011). The second largest population group is Palestinian citizens of Israel (who comprise 20% of Israel’s population), whose religious affiliation is predominantly Muslim, with smaller Christian and Druze communities. Social, cultural, religious, and political schisms create ongoing polarization and tension within Israeli society. Members of each group may hold different ideas not only as to how the regime, the political culture, the institutions, and the law of the state ought to be shaped and function, but also as to how they want to live their lives and raise their children (e.g., Goldscheider, 2002, Ulitsa, Keller, & Otto, 2017). Children from different groups, as well as their parents, have their own opinions and views regarding how they would like to live their lives. The research aim was to explore young children’s perspectives on risk and protection among the different communities in Israel. This chapter will present their perspectives on protection and risk; perspectives that are a product of the physical and human contexts in which they live.

14.2  Methodology The development of various methods for qualitative research, data collection, and analysis opened new paths for researchers to uncover young children’s perspectives. For participants aged 3–6 it is important to take into account that they have just started to obtain linguistic proficiency and still haven’t learned how to write. Therefore, in order to gain comprehensive knowledge about their perspectives of risk and protection, we designed a methodology that triangulates children’s drawings, photos, and verbal explanations and descriptions. This multi-method design corresponds with the conception of triangulation or crystallization (Denzin & Lincoln, 2011). The comparison of data collected by several research tools provides a richer depiction of children’s perspectives and contributes to the study’s thoroughness. Studies found that children manage to share their perspectives best when they are given a wide range of opportunities for expression and asked to provide their own explanations (Darbyshire, MacDougall, & Schiller, 2005). Multiple research tools increases children’s cooperation, boosts their confidence, and encourages them to

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convey their own perspectives. Researchers found the combination of visual methods, such as drawings and photos, to be useful in learning about children’s perspectives (Literat, 2013). Children often produce or engage with images as part of everyday life; therefore, they perceive these activities as fun and relaxing. Moreover, these venues help the abstract become concrete and minimizes the power relationship between the adult researcher and the child (Fargas-Malet, Mcsherry, Larkin, & Robinson, 2010; Leitch, 2008, 2010; Ponizovsky-Bergelson, Dayan, Wahle, & Roer-Strier, 2019; Thomson, 2008). The main unit for analysis in this study was interviews with children based on two triggers, and two tools for data collection: children’s photos and drawings. Photos  Taking pictures is a research tool of great interest to researchers working with young children (Lal, Jarus, & Suto, 2012). This method consisted of two stages: In the first stage, the children were asked to take a picture of what puts children at risk (Einarsdottir, 2010). In the second stage, the children were asked to describe the photos and explain the reasons for their choice (Clark, 2004). Photography is engaging and interesting to young children as it is task-centered rather than talk-centered (Barker & Smith, 2012; Gabhainn & Sixsmith, 2006). It is quick and has immediate results. It empowers the children because they are handed a tool (e.g., a camera) that belongs to the adult world and are allowed to choose their photography subjects, and shoot them at will (Pink, 2001; Waller & Bitou, 2011). Therefore, photos help researchers place children at the center of the research and opens up avenues to genuine communication between children and researchers (Pascal & Bertram, 2009). The verbal explanation that follows the photography is expected to contextualize the photo and expose children’s own interpretations (Einarsdottir, 2007). The children are invited to chat, explain their choices, and express themselves authentically without interruption. The adult listens and asks for clarifications when needed. Drawings  Drawing is a different means of expression that incorporates the children’s imaginations. It is a comfortable medium that children often use in their daily lives. Mental health professionals frequently utilize children’s drawings to evaluate their development (Einarsdottir, 2010). Recent studies have chosen to take a different approach when studying children’s worlds. Instead of focusing on the content of the drawings, they focus on children’s interpretations of what they drew (Einarsdottir, Docket, & Perry, 2009; Hall, 2011). In this study, the drawings provided an additional tool for the children to express their imaginations, dreams, or fears, which may have been impossible or difficult without the help of photographs (Holliday, Harrison, & McLeod, 2009). Participants  This chapter is based on a portion of a national study funded by the Israel Science Foundation and conducted by a team from NEVET-Greenhouse of Context-Informed Research and Training for Children in Need  (NEVET) at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. Participants in the national study were children from diverse groups in Israel. Convenience and purposive sampling were utilized (Patton, 2015). Convenience sampling draws on readily available populations, for example, children in kindergartens.

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In purposive sampling, subjects are selected according to predefined characteristics or conditions. The condition for the purposive sample was the age of the children (3–6 years) and a variety of different communities in Israel. For this chapter we analyzed results of 11 different groups or communities with a total of 260 children (see Table 14.1). Researchers  The study’s methodology and scope require highly-trained skilled researchers with experience in conducting both qualitative research and research with very young participants. Masters level students with access to young children in the different communities were trained by the authors. We tried to locate students who came from the communities or had easy access and had established trusting relationships with the different groups and or spoke the relevant languages such as Arabic and Russian. Data Collection  The researchers asked the children to help them understand what puts children at risk and what helps protect them by having them take photographs of their surroundings. Then they were asked to explain the photograph they chose as the one that expresses best what puts children at risk and what helps in protecting them. In some cases, the interview was done individually and in other cases, a small group of children was assembled in order for the children to explain their photos. This was done to find out if children would be more verbal and less intimidated by adults in the presence of their peers. All of the conversations were tape-recorded. In the second stage, the researchers gave each child paper and crayons. They asked the children to draw one drawing of what puts children at risk and one of what helps protect them. Similar procedures of selection, explanation and recording were done in the case of the drawings. Data Analysis  According to Lundy, McEvoy, and Byrne (2011), an important and challenging aspect in research with very young children is analyzing the data. The pictures and drawings were not analyzed to prevent adult interpretation of them. We analyzed the explanations children gave; this verbal communication was thematically analyzed. All conversations’ protocols were transcribed. Analysis involved identifying key categories and themes that emerged from the verbal data collected (Dockett, Einarsdottir, & Perry, 2009). Ethical Considerations  All research performed with children as participants raises ethical and methodological issues. In this study, the issue of trust was particularly challenging as the research deals with risk and protection and the researchers were people unknown to some of the children. Ethical approval was granted by the ethics committee of the School of Social Work and Social Welfare at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. The researchers did their best to provide the children with a secure setting (familiar surroundings and a relaxed and informal atmosphere) and offered the option to withdraw their participation if they became uncomfortable (Darbyshire et al., 2005; Punch, 1998; Smith, 2011). Parents were asked to sign consent forms agreeing to have their children participate in the study. The research-

8

Refugees and asylum 21 seekers in Israel

11

7

8

6

Jewish families that immigrated from Brazil

11

Settlement communities Bnei Menashe community-Negev desert

17

9

18

10

31

29

18

5

4

31

Ultra-Orthodox (Haredi) National-religious from Central Israel

18

Boys 14

3

N 31

Former Soviet Union 29 (FSU) background

Group name Ethiopian background

2

1

3

10

9

14

19

13

11

Girls 17

3.2–6

3.3–6

4–8

3–6

3–6

3–6

3–6

Age range 3–6

Group description/Group characteristics The Ethiopian families resided in impoverished, and segregated neighborhoods located in two cities in Central Israel (see Chap. 5 for more details about the population) Immigrants from the Former Soviet Union are the largest immigrant group in Israel comprising approximately one fifth of the populationa. The group included children from both religious and secular families who live in settlements in the occupied territories (see Chap. 10 for more details about the population) Ultra-Orthodox families adhere to strict religious laws and live in closed communities (see Chap. 6 for more details about the population) This is an ideological track in the Zionist movement, which unlike the Ultra-­ Orthodox view that the salvation of the Jewish people will only take place with the coming of the Messiah, emphasizes the Jewish aspect of Zionism Included children from four settlement communities residing in the southern Samarian hills of the occupied territories, close to Palestinian villages The Bnei Menashe (“Sons of Menasseh”) are an ethnolinguistic group from north-east India. Since the late twentieth century, this group has claimed that they descend from one of the Lost Tribes of Israel and have adopted the practice of Judaism. The families regard themselves as religious Jews Large numbers of asylum seekers and refugees arrived in Israel between 2007 and 2012. Today this population numbers approximately 38,000, most of whom are Eritrean and Sudanese nationals who illegally crossed the Egyptian-Israeli border (The Jewish Federations of North America, 2018) Brazil’s Jewish community is the second largest in Latin America and has about 120,000 Jews. Since 2014 there has been a dramatic increase in the number of Brazilian immigrants to Israel: Nearly 70% of Brazilian immigrants are young families with children or singles (The Jewish Agency for Israel, 2016)

Table 14.1  Demographic characteristics of participant groups or communities (N = 260 children)

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a

The Israel Central Bureau of Statistics (2018)

16

30 11 Bedouins from Unrecognized Village in the Naqab

4

7

15

15

Jewish Quarter-Old City of Jerusalem

10 Palestinians from East Jerusalem

9

14

8

11

3–5

4–6

4–6

The 116,000 square meter area that lies in the southeastern sector of the Old City is home to numerous yeshivas and synagogues. The quarter is inhabited by around 2000 residents, with only 80 Jewish families among them (Hattis Rolef, 2000). These families are characterized as having strong ideological motives for strengthening Zionist settlement, having numerous children (from 4 in young families to 14 in older families) and placing a great significance on their children’s religious and Zionist education. The Jewish Quarter is heavily guarded; children are constantly accompanied by security guards carrying weapons everywhere they go The study was conducted in Jerusalem in an integrative day care for children referred by welfare services. All of the children interviewed were from low socioeconomic backgrounds, living in severe distress under occupation conditions, and were defined as children at risk (see Chap. 13 for more details about the population) The Bedouins in the Unrecognized Villages are a native minority population that has a unique historical, political, social, and cultural heritage (Nasasra, 2012). Approximately 80% of Bedouin households live below the poverty line (Abu-­ Bader & Gottlieb, 2009) (see Chap. 9 for more details about the population)

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ers explained the study to the children, and they were also asked to give their consent. The researchers explained the procedure and addressed the children's right to refrain from participation at any stage. The researchers obtained tape-recorded consent from the children.

14.3  Findings In this section, we will outline the most prominent contexts that emerge from our analysis through which children construct risk and protection. The findings presented are based on our previously analyzed database and is described in six Masters Theses, two research seminar papers, three articles and a chapter in a book on the subject (Ponizovsky-Bergelson, Roer-Strier, Dayan, & Wahle, 2019) to demonstrate both the contexts involved in children’s perspectives on risk and protection and the intersections between contexts. The contexts that emerge from the analysis are: the political context, the kindergarten context, leisure time, the house, neighborhoods, contexts of weather, health and disease prevention and the religious and spiritual contexts.

14.3.1  The Political Context The political atmosphere of constant conflict between Israelis and Palestinians is marked by times of tension and war. Children (both Israelis and Palestinians) are exposed to armed attacks, house demolitions, missile attacks, terrorism, injuries, and death. Many regard the political context as a major source of risk. For example, Jewish children from the Occupied Territories live in isolated settlements within a large Palestinian population with high levels of hostility between the two populations. The sense of tension and the need to provide for means of security and protection is reflected in the children’s perceptions. A child from a settlement in Samaria explained his painting: “I drew a father; father protects us, I drew him with a shield and a sword, so he can protect us with the shield and with the sword he will kill Arabs.” A girl who participated in the interview and listened to his explanation responded: “It is more correct to say terrorists because Arabs are not always bad. There are good Arabs, so it is more correct to say terrorists.” This ability of children to understand complexity and avoid generalizations and binary definitions was manifested in many other of their verbal explanations of their photos and drawings. According to one girl: “The most protective for us is the shelter, because there is a shelter in the house and there is a shelter in the kindergarten, and it protects us from rain and shooting, and protects us from all kinds of dangerous things outside.” This girl, living in a settlement in the Occupied Territories, exemplifies the ability to see the intersection and existence of various contexts simultaneously: The context

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of the kindergarten, the geo-political context, the weather as a context, the context of the “outside reality.” In the settlements, security guards are placed at the entrance to each kindergarten to prevent political violence. The children expanded upon their protective capacities in the following statement: “The kindergarten’s guard keeps dogs and cats, and enemies from coming inside.” In the settlements there is also a prominent presence of Israeli soldiers guarding the place. They are also portrayed as defenders: “Soldiers, because they are killing the Arabs”, “Soldiers are guarding us.” A boy explained his painting: “This is an army helicopter, a watchtower and a soldier … The army’s helicopter checks for Arabs, a watchtower guards and a soldier kills the Arabs.” While children in Jewish society referred to the soldiers as a protective force, a Palestinian girl from East Jerusalem drew a house and explained: “It guards us from soldiers and from shooting games.” Palestinian children reported multiple political related risks that impact their lives, their families, and their everyday routines. Palestinian researchers interviewed children about their experience of crossing a checkpoint at the entrance to west Jerusalem (Jebara-Jebali, Naamni-Ibrahim, Artool, & Fteiha, 2016). The Israeli checkpoints are barriers erected by the Israeli Security Forces at entrance points from the Occupied Territories to Israel with the stated aim of “enhancing the security” of Israel and Israeli settlements and preventing those who wish to do harm from crossing. These checkpoints may be staffed by the Israeli Military Police, the Israel Border Police, or other armed units. One boy explained: “At the checkpoint they stop the person …and they shoot… anyone who passes wrongly they shoot them”.1 The Palestinian children who were interviewed refer to both the police and the army as sources of risk. One of the children explained: “There are policemen, there were policemen who protected us and now they shoot … long ago they were protecting and now they do not.” Another Palestinian boy explained his drawing: The soldiers are holding us and beating us. This is the checkpoint, and there is a prison, and the army is there and shoots us. There is a gun, and this is a soldier, another soldier standing; this soldier is holding the child and when pushing a soldier, they all attack us and beat us and kill us. And we choose to bypass this area, and turn around, and take the other road.

Bedouin children also referred to the police and army as a source of risk. In the following example, a Bedouin boy in an UV described an incident in which Jeeps arrived carrying policemen and soldiers to demolish their house. They shouted at mother and when she attempted to reply…they (the policemen and soldiers) wanted to destroy our house. They shouted at Mother and pushed her, and Mother fell down and told me to run to Grandma’s. I was afraid they would kill me with a rifle.

In the Jewish Quarter of the Old City of Jerusalem, the settlers live in close proximity to the Arabs, and therefore there are many security measures  in place. 1  All citations from Palestinian children were translated from Arabic into Hebrew, and then into English.

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There is a constant need for coordination with the security company that secures the residences in the neighborhood and accompanies the residents on every exit from the neighborhood where they live, including accompanying the children to the kindergarten. A girl explained: “I photographed Sara coming back from school with her escort because that’s how they keep her safe coming home.” Another boy elaborated: It’s the escort (the guard) that goes to kindergarten, who protects us so that the Arabs will not do something unpleasant to us. Sometimes they (the Arabs) shout, but then (the guard) does not do anything to them but if they throw a stone like the one that hit Moshe’s hand then we stop the escort and call the person in charge of the guard.

In addition to the daily routine of maintaining security in settlements in the Occupied Territories, the war in the Gaza Strip affects children in The settelments near Gaza as well as Israeli and Palestinian children all over the country. “I photographed a shelter door, it makes children feel safe, even if there are alarms and missiles, it can really protect us,” said a girl from a town in central Israel. Children all over Israel are well aware of the risks of war but demonstrate an impressive ability to think they have the ability to defend themselves and even take on the responsibility for protecting the adults. A girl from an Ethiopian immigrant family in a central town in Israel noted: “My father does not run to the shelter, he is not afraid, I tell him: ‘Come, there’s that voice [siren],’ but he sits and does not get up.” A similar attempt to protect her father was manifested in another girl’s report: “I tell him [the father] you have to run to the shelter.” A boy from a family who immigrated to Israel from the Former Soviet Union regarded the house as a safe place to protect oneself from bombs: “This is the house, and it has a strong wall … If there is an alarm that means that there are bombs outside, then you can enter the house and wait.” In the communities that aren’t along the borders, there usually are no guards, but the children related to the kindergarten’s fence as the way to guard them from the risks awaiting them outside. One boy photographed the fence and said: “When you are inside the kindergarten it helps to feel safe.” Another girl explained the dual role of the fence: “It keeps us from going out … and also simply cannot get in here and it keeps the kindergarten and gives security.”

14.3.2  T  he Context of the Kindergarten: Peer Group, Facilities and Teachers Education in Israel from age three is compulsory, free, and provided by the State. The kindergarten system operates according to a common curriculum for all children in the country and is under the auspices of the Ministry of Education. There are three tracks in the kindergarten system: general Jewish education; religious Jewish education where an additional focus on religious aspects is included in the curriculum; and an Arab educational track. The first two tracks operate in Hebrew, while the latter operates in Arabic. There are also unofficial recognized education

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institutions, e.g., the Ultra-Orthodox religious school system that separates boys and girls as young as the age of three (Aram & Ziv, 2018). Many children were interviewed in the kindergarten, so it is not surprising that there is an extensive reference to the kindergarten as a context. Our analysis shows that risk and protection are constructed in the eyes of the children in three main frameworks within the kindergarten: The peer group, the facilities, and the relationship with the preschool teacher; in each context there are both sources of risk and protection. The Peer Group  We were impressed with the many references to friendship as seen by the children as a major protection resource throughout the study among the different groups. Staying with friends and playing with them appeared to be an important and significant source of protection. One of the girls of Ethiopian origin, who lives in an impoverished neighborhood in a central city, commented about her peers and the interaction with them that protects her: “They are friends and fun [with them] because they play together.” Another girl, who is a member of an immigrant family from the former Soviet Union, described a similar feeling: “When children play together it is very protective for them and it is very joyous for the children and it makes them very happy.” However, children are well aware that peers could become a source of risk if they behave in an aggressive way or violate the rules and regulations of the kindergarten, as explained by an Eritrean child whose family has sought refuge in Israel: “It is forbidden to hit and push. No one should hit.” Another child, also from the Eritrean community, photographed cubes and explained: “Children can throw play blocks at me. This can put me at risk.” The Facilities  Interestingly, as they emphasized the fun of playing with friends as protective, children associated a sense of pleasure with the sense of being protected. They explained that the facilities in the kindergarten may be a source of pleasure that provides a protected feeling but may also create risk, especially the risk of falling, if not used according to the rules of safety. Falling and injuring themselves was seen as a major risk factor  among all of the groups. A girl who lives in a community settlement in the center of the country explained about a ladder: “If you do not hold the handlebars of the ladder, then children just fall and if you hold then they will not fall.” Another girl photographed a slide and said: “[that] you can fall. Here. … There’s blood if you get on this side and fall.” Children seem to be well aware of these dangers and most children take specific measures to be careful and avoid risk. Children also describe a sensation of excitement related to taking risks. A child from an Orthodox community described the exciting sensation he gets from sliding fast as giving him the sense of protection: “It’s a sure thing that everyone who wants to slide feels it, they feel the slide; it’s fun, I feel that something tickles me inside… it’s fun for me.” Relations with Their Preschool Teacher  The third context within the kindergarten is the relationship with the kindergarten teacher. A girl from a beach town

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photographed the kindergarten teacher at the daily gathering and said: “The kindergarten teacher protects the children to keep them from getting hurt. She sees what is dangerous, so she protects them.” According to many of the children who participated in this study, the teacher protects the children by encouraging them to adhere to the safety rules or punish those who do not keep them. She also protects them by expressing love and organizing their favorite activities. A boy and a girl in a kindergarten of children of Ethiopian origin described their teacher: “Because she is a kindergarten teacher and she does not want the children to be hurt or beaten.” The girl added: “She teaches us and sings songs to us … she loves us.”

14.3.3  The Context of Leisure Time From the children’s explanations about risk and protection, it is possible to outline the contexts of their activities during their leisure time. A girl from an immigrant family from the former Soviet Union talked about watching movies on the computer, but noted: “Children should not see long films on the computer.” Another girl spoke about a pool, but also in the context of risk: “You must not approach the pool because you will fall into the pool with all your clothes.” Another girl from the center of the country explained: “If you go into the water alone without your parents you can drown, and if you go with your parents, you will not drown.” A girl from the same town referred to swimming in the sea as a protective activity that gives her a sensation of enjoyment: “Because you can float in the sea and then you … it’s fun for you to float on the waves.” And a girl from a settlement explained: “The flotation ring protects us from all the waves that can carry us away or drown us.” A girl who lives in a coastal city noted: “Children must not open the gates of the boats alone and jump into the sea. They can drown and not breathe in the water.” Playing in an amusement park was another leisure activity regarded as a protective activity because it is a joyous place: “This is a girl who went to the park and then it made her happy … the park had fun facilities and her mother allowed her to be in the fun facilities and that made her happy.” The park also appeared in the drawing of a girl from an immigrant family from Brazil who explained: “I photographed it because there is a park here … When the children play, they feel good.” Riding bicycles was considered a leisure activity for a lot of Ultra-Orthodox children who took pictures of their bicycles, which they regard as being both sources of risk and protection. One of the boys painted a child riding a bicycle without holding the handlebars and explained: “Riding without holding the handlebars is forbidden.” A girl from the Ultra-Orthodox community painted a bicycle and a rider who crashed in a tree and said: “Suddenly you can be stuck without noticing.”

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14.3.4  T  he Protection of the Home from the Dangers of the “Outside” World There are various dangers “outside” that can be avoided by entering the house. A girl from a village in the center of the country presented the dangers of the “outside”: The house; it keeps us from being able to enter and not be devoured by predatory animals, and it protects us from strangers that we do not know … so they will not go in there. Outside, there can be dangerous people: ‘This is a house with a door, because if someone wants to do something to the children, then the children can go inside and then lock the house and nothing will happen to them, close the door and lock.’

Thieves who try to enter the house are also included in “outside” risks. A boy from an Ethiopian family explained: “If thieves want to come at night, and if they knock on the door, they cannot enter because no one opens them, because everyone is sleeping,” said one of the girls. “They want to kill, come home and want to shoot the rifle they bring.” A Palestinian girl from East Jerusalem drew a house and explained: “Say a cat wants to scratch us so you can escape to the house.” As opposed to dangerous locations, all the Bedouin children in the UV’s mentioned the home as a physical and emotional stronghold, providing a defense against risk. A Bedouin boy chose to photograph his room, saying: “The home protects us because it is beautiful and tidy and doesn’t contain things that can harm us.” At home there are also parents who can protect children against the dangers outside. One of the girls from a settlement photographed her mother and explained: “Because mother is the guardian, dad can also guard, but mother can make us safe because if something is scary she can protect us …” (Interviewer: ‘How can she protect you?’) “She can scare away the bad animals that attack us or help us go home and other stuff.” As an explanation of the drawings of parents, another girl from a settlement referred to the emotional significance of parents’ protection. She clarified, “They can help us calm down, go to the house, all sorts of things.” A daughter to immigrant parents from Brazil noted: “Both father and mother are protective. They know what is bad and what is good.” Bedouin children described figures such as grandmothers, mothers, fathers, sisters, and brothers as a source of strength and security and they appeared in all the interviews within this group. The figures of grandmother and mother were specifically mentioned and described as providing physical and emotional protection by providing warmth, love, support, and caring. One of the girls, like many other children, mentioned her grandmother as fulfilling her physical and emotional needs, stating: “Grandma makes salad for me and buys me things. She loves me and I love her dearly.” One of the boys photographed his mother and explained: “If someone hits us we hide behind mother and she hugs us and gives them a slap.” A boy whose father is married to three women living in adjacent houses talked about his sense of

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feeling protected when his father visits them, saying: “Father comes to us and brings us sweets and I go with him over there (pointing to a faraway location).” When the researcher asked how he felt when he was with his father, he said: “I feel happy because I love him.”

14.3.5  The Context of the Neighborhood The neighborhood was described by the children as a source of both risk and protection. Children referred to playgrounds in their neighborhoods as such and described times of leisure spent on their bicycles and spending time with their friends. A refugee girl described the neighborhood as safe and that her mom trusted her to avoid risks. She explained: “Mom lets us go around alone in the neighborhood and sometimes I forget that you have to look right and left … so as not to get hurt by the cars.” Many children brought up the road and its dangers. They are aware of the danger of crossing a road unaccompanied and of cars that ignore the importance of accessories, such as a seat belt, to avoid injury. A girl from a former  Soviet  Union family lists the dangers and the rules of caution: And we are really small; we sit in a stroller and only with a mother and when mother is not there we give a hand to father. It is forbidden to go to the street because there are cars and they travel quickly, and if there is a little boy then the cars may not see him because he is really small, even when he’s three or four or five-years-old … he can only go with mother or Father and cross the street carefully.

A child from an immigrant family from France who lives in Jerusalem explained why the road is dangerous: “The road that has a lot of cars and scooters on it and it’s dangerous for children because they can be run over.” Other sources of risk also exist in the neighborhood. References were made to the neighborhood in the context of garbage bins, the smell, and crime. A girl from the Jewish Quarter of the Old City of Jerusalem took photos of garbage cans filled with garbage and said: “It’s the dangerous thing that makes dirt and stinks that the neighbors throw away and it’s disgusting on the way to kindergarten.” Another girl from the Jewish Quarter pointed out the air pollution in the neighborhood, which among other things stems from small tractors traveling in the narrow alleys and from overcrowding. She proposed a change to their place of residence in order to avoid harm: “Yesterday, I went with my mother to take a book from the library and I chose a book with large pictures and explained there that there are pollutants and it is very dangerous and unhealthy, and I told my mother that maybe we should live in the village because there are not all the cars that cause the pollution.” Even in a well-kept new neighborhood in the center of the country, a girl took a picture of a garbage can and said, “Bin, because you throw a lot of things in it, and it stinks.” In the same town, but in an impoverished neighborhood, a child of Ethiopian origin took a picture of a sewage cover and said, “If someone steps on the sewage cover that is not strong, they can fall in.” The most elaborate

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descriptions of risks in the surrounding neighborhood came from the UVs Bedouin group. Due to a lack of an orderly removal of garbage, the village residents are forced to burn it, resulting in a strong odor and the danger of asphyxiation. One of the boys explained: “If we go near burning garbage, we can get burned and it’s hard to breathe, so we could choke and die.” In order to cope with this danger, he suggested: “Stay away from fire and wash your hands in cold water if you get burned.” The children mentioned scrap iron and piles of junk that were found nearby, rubble created by destruction of buildings which concealed snakes, open sewer cisterns, the fear of drowning in ravines that filled up with rain water, and the military air base’s fence that is adjacent to the village. One boy explained: “Here was my cousin’s house that the greens (the soldiers) destroyed. It is dangerous to go near it because big stones might fall on us, and then we’ll die.” Due to a lack of infrastructure in the village, the inhabitants are forced to dig wells in order to collect rainwater. One girl photographed an open well, and recounted the following: “The well is open, and it has dirt in it and if a child falls into it, they drown and die.” At the same time, she photographed a sealed well and explained: “This well is not dangerous because it is closed.” It appears that other participants were also aware that sealing wells might be a solution to the danger and a possible way of avoiding it.

14.3.6  Weather as a Context Weather appeared in many of the drawings as a context for understanding risk and protection. In Israel there are marked winter and summer seasons and short periods of transition between them. There is a specific educational tendency to emphasize the risks presented to children during summers in Israel. The summer is characterized by particularly hot days and measures must be taken to protect oneself against the sun and dehydration. Children are very aware of these risks, especially in the southern parts of Israel. A boy from a beach town photographed hats and said: “Hats (protect) that the sun will not give us sunstroke,” and another girl photographed a shed and explained: “The shed (protects), because if there is a strong sun, and in many places there is a strong sun and we play in the sun….The shade makes a shadow.” Children made several references to drinking water, which in their opinion, prevents headaches, helps in the recovery from illness, and prevents death. The following quotes are some examples from a boy and two girls from families from the former Soviet Union: Boy: “So that their head will not hurt, that … that … there will not be very severe situations, for example, as I have a headache now, so … then it is the same thing and … and … that they drink a lot, so won’t be bad and painful situations.” Girl: “When you get sick, you drink water and then become healthy.” Another girl: “If a person lives without water, then they can die … If you live without water, then he needs at least a bit … a person can live for about two days without water … and if they go … when you drink water, it helps your body and the body works well.”

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Another girl noted: “On warm days it is necessary to drink water: It protects from the sun, children need to drink lots of water.”

Winter also proposes danger. In some areas there are sandstorms, the cold wind and the rain can be harmful, and you have to take precautions. A girl from the Negev said: If there is wind, we can close the door and close all the windows. The house protects us because if there is a strong wind then we can close everything in the house and the wind will stay outside. Strong wind is not good because it can blow away small people.

Another child from the center of the country explained: “If it’s cold, they should go home and go inside quickly; it helps them and then they get warm.” The house also protects against the rain: “A house that protects us from rain or all sorts of things… When it rains it protects us from getting wet and not getting cold and we will not get sick.”

The case of the unrecognized Bedouin villages serves as a central example to the context of weather. The dwellings in the villages are constructed from cheap materials with asbestos roofs, or alternatively, people live in tents. Summer in the desert is very hot and winters are rainy and cold. Since there is no electricity infrastructure, the inhabitants use cellular batteries for the purposes of light and heating. On sunless days there is no electricity during the night hours and the appearance of the moon and stars receives special protective significance. Bedouin children expressed a fear of darkness, of being cold and losing their home as a result of rain and thunder. One boy drew a house surrounded by rain and clouds and described the damage that could be done to the house’s exterior as a result: Child: “I drew rain on the house.” Interviewer: “What happens when the rain falls on the house? Why rain is dangerous?” Child: “Because we go into the house and the roof breaks down and metal falls (the roof leaks) and the rain wets our mattresses and clothes. When it stops the sun shines and dries the house.”

The sun and moon were seen as a sources of danger as well as possible sources for protection. They provide heat and light and make it possible to dry laundry, a topic that is significant in the context of poverty and a lack of sufficient items of clothing. One girl drew the sun and moon as illuminating the night and explained: “The sun warms us and dries the laundry and shoes that Mother cleans. The moon lights up the night so the children can go home and sleep without fear.”

14.3.7  T  he Context of Health-Related Risks and Diseases Prevention Many children noted the importance of maintaining good health and proper nutrition. They demonstrated extensive knowledge about the causes and prevention of diseases. Citrus fruits containing vitamin C were highly recommended by the children. (Israel is one of the world’s leading fresh citrus producers; citrus fruit is

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Israel’s largest agricultural export, Ministry of Agriculture & Rural Development, 2019). A girl photographed a clementine (a cross between a mandarin orange and an orange) and explained: “It’s a clementine that makes people healthy.” A girl from an Arab village painted orange trees and explained: “Oranges are good for the body.” Vitamins are seen as an important source of protection from disease. A boy from an immigrant FSU family took a picture of a vitamin cabinet and said, “This is the cabinet of vitamins that Mom gives us in the morning, and that’s how it keeps us from becoming sick.” Two girls from a settlement referred to disease as potentially contagious and to the clinic as a place for recovery. They both said the following: “When adults are sick it can be dangerous because then the children can be sick.” “This clinic is good for people that are going to get better if they are sick.” Food and health care were frequently mentioned among children of immigrants from the FSU. The cultural literature has related this concern to the hygiene, health, nutrition and protection against cold weather in the FSU, where the weather is very cold and accompanied by dangers of disease. In the FSU there was a constant concern for the health and safety of children in light of the high morbidity rate (Ispa, 1995, 2002). A boy from a FSU family explains: “My grandmother said (quotes in Russian) you have to eat carrots because then you will have good sharp eyes and big hair. If you do not eat food then you will die, and food will help.” Another boy from a FSU family said: “Water, you have to drink it; that’s what I painted here … a person can go to the hospital if they do not drink water for at least two days; after five or six days, they have to go to the doctor. Water and lying in bed … If someone is sick; then they have to drink water … Because it strengthens the body … When you get sick, you drink water and then you get healthy.” Food was seen as a protective factor in many groups. A Palestinian girl from East Jerusalem photographed a table and explained: “Because we eat on the table, eating, this keeps us protected.” A Bedouin girl described the use of plants and trees and said: “From the olive tree, we eat the fruit.” Various animals were described as especially protective, as they provided food. A Bedouin boy photographed a goat and said: “From the goat, we drink milk and eat meat.”

14.3.8  The Religious and Spiritual Contexts A significant part of the population in this study is a population living in communities that maintain a religious lifestyle. In some of the drawings and explanations, God is presented as a protector. A Jewish girl from the old city said: “Hashem (Hebrew name for God) is the protector of everything and everyone and God helps everyone.” Although it is impossible to draw God, children find ways to represent God and express their faith in the protective forces of God, as exemplified in the

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following conversation between the interviewer and two girls who live in a religious environment: Interviewer: Child 1: Interviewer: Child 1: Child 2: Girl 1: Interviewer: Child 1:

“What did you paint?” “The sky.” “As something that protects children?” “Yes, because God resides in the sky.” “God is everywhere.” “But mostly in the sky.” “So, what protects?” “God that is in the sky, but it is impossible to draw him.”

While photographing God is also impossible, children found creative ways to confront this challenge. A boy took a picture of the ceiling and explained: “You do not see, you only see the ceiling of the room, but behind the ceiling there is God (who protects), and you cannot photograph him.” An Eritrean refugee explained that: “God protects me from ‘Sitan’ (and he translates “Satan”), God looks down on us from above and makes sure nothing bad happen to us.” Another Eritrean child painted the sky and said: “Heaven protects me because of God.” Children also viewed prayer as a protective act: “To pray is to feel [confident] that God will help us, bring us food… and make us happy sometimes.” Another child added: “When we pray, Hashem (God) helps you.” Regarding the question about what protects you most, a girl whose parents emigrated from Brazil replied: “The Torah (The Five Books of Moses)” and when she was asked “to elaborate” she said: “Because God loves most of all the children’s prayer and because the Torah can save you from death.” A child residing in the Jewish Quarter of the Old City of Jerusalem sees prayer as protecting children’s wellbeing and health. He stated: “This is Rabbi Eliyahu praying here at the Western Wall. This is the best protection because prayers are performed there, and they pray, and that’s how everyone is healthy and there are no problems.” In addition to divinity providing protection, children also mentioned supernatural entities as a threat to children. For the Bedouin children, demons played a significant role. They were described as threatening presences hiding behind trees and inside wells. They appeared in drawings in the context of danger, injury, and death. The children attributed magical powers to them, described their threatening external appearance, and related complex imaginative anecdotes involving them. They explained that demons appear as darkness falls, capture children and eat them, then disappear when the moon, stars and sun appear. For instance, one girl photographed an open waterhole and described the threatening physiognomy of the demon dwelling inside it, stating: “In the well there is a demon (‫ )غول‬with huge feet, a big mouth, large eyes and horns. He has no skin on his legs and he eats small children.” Another boy drew a huge tree and behind it three frightening demons and explained: “At night behind the tree a huge demon appears with horns, and whoever comes close to him is snatched and eaten.” This boy however, showed much agency

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in dealing with this threat saying: “When demons chase me, I tie an electric cable and escape from there and then they trip over the cable, fall down and die.” Another girl provided an alternative possibility: “I turn on the light and the demon disappears and on days when there is no electricity, the demon hides behind the tree and in the morning, we call a man who fixes the electricity so that demons will stay away.”

14.4  C  onclusion: What Did the Children Teach Us About Risk and Protection? The children’s construction of risk and protection attest to a complex and varied view of reality. This reality emerges in numerous intersecting contexts, such as the political context, the kindergarten context, leisure time, the house, neighborhoods, weather, health and disease prevention and the religious and spiritual contexts. In each context, children identify the risk and protective measures, understand different aspects of these domains, and express their ability and confidence to prevent risk and protect themselves by engaging adults and children, utilizing their environments, and adhering to rules and regulations. There are several important lessons to be learned when one considers children’s perspectives on risk and protection: The first lesson is that risk and protection are context-dependent; one cannot refer to risk and protection as universals. Moreover, the findings regarding domains such as health, weather, peer relations, etc., suggest that we should add more contexts to our conventional views of risk and protection. The context of Israeli/Palestinian political violence surfaced from the children’s explanations as a major source of risk for children growing up in Israel. Children and their families face a continuous threat and the ongoing complex situation warrants concerns regarding safety that clearly affect everyday life (Hobfoll et al., 2009; Sagi-Schwartz, 2008). Although this issue is mentioned by many of the children interviewed it is missing from the social work agenda and discourse on children at risk. The voices of the children raise many concerns regarding a lack of attention to this context. There are numerous PTSD studies in Israel and Palestine showing the effects of political violence on children from both sides (e.g., Hirsch-Hoefler, Canetti, Rapaport, & Hobfoll, 2016; Mussa, Blizovski, & Koren, 2018; Pat-­ Horenczyk & Schiff, 2019; Rosshandler, Hall, & Canetti, 2016; Shaheen et  al., 2018). However, these studies focus on the results and not the causes. Focusing on trauma (caused by political violence) and its treatment misleads us from advocating for targeting the political violence as a formal cause for potential risk for children. While political violence is seen as major risk factor it is also important to note that children (in particular the Jewish children who referred to the army and police as protectors) had many references to how they cope with the political violence and manage to protect themselves and their parents. These references reflect both agency and resilience.

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The second lesson is that children can describe multiple contexts that affect one domain, which shows their ability to view the intersections between different contexts of risk. Their perception is not narrowed to one context at a time but rather they identify how different aspects of different contexts overlap. A house, for example, is seen as protective against various risk factors: war, wandering animals, thieves, weather, etc., and one child could refer to several domains of risk and protection within the same example. The third lesson is that risk and protection are not dichotomous constructs. Children do not grasp risk and protection as separate entities but rather as context dependent variables, meaning that under certain conditions, something that is seen as dangerous could become protective and vice versa. A slide in a playground could be a source of risk if children are not careful but it also creates a sense of enjoyment that is considered to be protective. Although we presented the children with dichotomous questions regarding risk and protection, the children taught us that risk and protection may not be dichotomous. They manifested complex, mentally flexible, and creative thinking regarding a range of topics. The fourth lesson is that children, as young as 3–6 years old, understand complexity. A child who claims that we need to use the right terms in order not to label all Arabs as bad people, is an example of this lesson. Although, at their age, they were expected to manifest concrete thinking, children actually demonstrated that they were capable of abstract complex thought such as detecting domains that protected and endangered them simultaneously (for example: people, places, natural phenomena, and neighborhoods). Such thinking challenges both what we, adults, think about risk and protection and what many of our classical developmental theories conceptualize about children’s cognitive thinking among the pre-school age group. The fifth and very important lesson is that children have abundant agency. Agency was regarded as being dependent on social-cultural and political contexts and its definition is influenced by environmental attitudes regarding rights, citizenship, and morality (Oswell, 2013). Agency is manifested in the children’s experiences as possibilities for action and the ability to choose (Hilppö, Lipponen, Kumpulainen, & Rainio, 2016). The findings indicate that children can be a rich source of knowledge, that they possess robustness and the ability to act to prevent risk in their surroundings and control the results obtained both on practical and interpretational levels. Agency is expressed in their responses when asked to suggest ways of coping with the many risks they discussed. In many cases, the children considered themselves responsible for their fate and referred to their personal ability to avoid danger. Despite, or perhaps due to, their unique intersecting contexts some of them demonstrate impressive coping strategies to manage potentially risky situations. These strategies include cautious behavior, distancing themselves from dangers, and requesting help from adults, in addition to taking active steps to prevent danger and utilizing resources generated by their imaginations and creative abilities. Moreover, some children protected others (e.g., the children who urged their parents to go to the shelter). Many of the examples that related to political violence indicated that children utilize their agency and resources. Children feel they can influence their reality and change it, control risk-provoking situations, prevent risk, and enhance protection in their lives and

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even keep their family safe. Despite some of the negative experiences that children described, the findings indicated the agency and resilience that enabled children to face harsh realities and feel they could protect themselves or rely on objects and others to gain a sense of protection (Marey-Sarwan, 2019; Ponizovsky-Bergelson, Ashter, Dayan, Roer-Strier, & Wahle, 2019; Saul & Simon, 2016). In accordance with the conceptual framework of the Sociology of Childhood (Mayall, 2002, 2015), the invitation of young children to participate in the study provided them with a stage to express their voices, thus challenging the traditional perceptions of childhood as a protected sphere and children as passive bystanders. The Sociology of Childhood framework challenges the image of a child as a weak individual unaware of the risks in his or her environment and as being totally dependent on adult guidance. Our findings support the alternative view this framework offers: the image of a strong child with environmental awareness, power, and the ability to calculate and avoid risks (Vandenbroeck & Bouverne-De Bie, 2006). Hopefully, the understanding of the children’s agency and resilience will encourage social workers, educators, and policymakers to value their contribution, support their strengths, include them in the risk and protection discourse, and become more sensitive to their self-defined needs (Podesta, 2017).

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Chapter 15

Disclosing Sexual Abuse in Religious Communities in Israel: Lessons Learned by the Research Group on Child Sexual Abuse Dafna Tener, Amitai Marmor, Efrat Lusky Weisrose, Aya Almog-Zaken, Tsofnat Melamed Filtser, and Shosh Turjeman

Disclosing child sexual abuse (CSA) during childhood and adulthood is described by the literature as a multiphase, complex, life-long process, often conceptualized using the term “storying” (Alaggia, 2010; Draucker and Martsolf, 2008). Storying child sexual abuse involves multiple contexts and actors including the survivor, his or her parents, other formal and informal figures, the community, and cultural elements (Alaggia, 2010; Tener & Murphy, 2015). Survivors struggle with the barriers to disclosure (e.g., McElvaney, 2015) as well as finding the right person to whom they wish to disclose (Staller & Nelson-Gardell, 2005). In Israel, during 2015, there were 4530 reports of child sexual abuse to youth workers, which made up 11% of all reports of child maltreatment (Israeli National Council for the Child, 2016). Yet, it is also known that there is a huge gap between D. Tener NEVET-Greenhouse of Context-Informed Research and Training for Children in Need, The Paul Baerwald School of Social Work and Social Welfare, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem, Israel The Haruv Institute, Jerusalem, Israel e-mail: [email protected] A. Marmor (*) · E. L. Weisrose · T. M. Filtser NEVET-Greenhouse of Context-Informed Research and Training for Children in Need, The Paul Baerwald School of Social Work and Social Welfare, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem, Israel e-mail: [email protected] A. Almog-Zaken The Paul Baerwald School of Social Work and Social Welfare, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem, Israel The Myers-JDC-Brookdale Institute, Jerusalem, Israel S. Turjeman Child Advocacy Center’s Programs, The Haruv Institute, Jerusalem, Israel © Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2020 D. Roer-Strier, Y. Nadan (eds.), Context-Informed Perspectives of Child Risk and Protection in Israel, Child Maltreatment 10, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-44278-1_15

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reports made to authorities and personal testimonies of sexual abuse (SA) (Eisikovits & Lev-Wiesel, 2016). In a national study in Israel with a sample of more than 10,000 Israeli adolescents, it was found that 17.6% of the participants reported being sexually abused throughout their lifetime. The most common reasons that prevented them from disclosing the abuse were fear, shame, and being afraid of the perpetrator (Eisikovits & Lev-Wiesel, 2016). Familial, professional and societal responses to child sexual abuse survivors’ disclosures may range from supportive and empowering to negative and hurtful (Crisma et al., 2004), and negative responses may result in continued abuse or prevent intervention and healing for the survivors and their families. Disclosing child sexual abuse in Orthodox and Ultra-Orthodox societies can have additional complexities, as will be further described in a different chapter (for more background on the Ultra-Orthodox society, see Chap. 6). Child sexual abuse is often treated within the nuclear or extended family, or within the boundaries of the community, and there is less of a tendency to report it to the authorities (Ben Meir & Levavi, 2010; Neustein & Lesher 2008; Tener et al., 2017). Several domains are important when considering the unique characteristics of the religious and Ultra-Orthodox community. There is almost no open discussion of sexual issues, especially with children. Explicit language, such as using the exact names of body parts, is not used and strict laws of modesty are recommended, especially in the Ultra-Orthodox community. Sexual abuse may hinder the victim and siblings’ prospects of marriage and therefore disclosure is feared. Outsiders are regarded as dangerous and children are instructed not to have any contact with them. The sanctity of speech is mandatory according to Jewish law. Swearing, gossiping, or using any form of “lashon hara” (bad language, lies and blame) are prohibited and regarded as a very corrupt habit according to the Torah (The Five Books of Moses). Over the past 2 years, as part of the School of Social Work and NEVET-­ Greenhouse of Context-Informed Research at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, we have been conducting studies as part of a research group that includes faculty members, doctoral and master students, and field workers, all involved in child sexual abuse research and/or treatment. Each of us is involved in diverse research projects or practices in child sexual contexts, and we deal with areas that are considered “gray,” less spoken about, and deeply conflicting. For example: peer sexual abuse or sexual abuse in closed societies such as the Ultra-Orthodox community, religious communities, and a religious cult run by Goel Ratzon. We held group meetings on a regular basis in which we provided an environment that allowed for vivid discussions on issues and dilemmas in our research. Our group members themselves are of different levels of religiosity, which allows space for diversity. For the purposes of this chapter, we have chosen to focus on one theme that emerged in all of the diverse research and practice we conducted: the theme of disclosing child sexual abuse in different contexts. We decided to address various contexts of disclosure that were expressed during our studies, including disclosure in the context of the abused child; disclosure from the perspective of parents whose child was sexually abused; disclosure from the perspective of the researcher and her study participants, all child sexual abuse survivors; disclosure in the context of societal responses and lastly, disclosure in the context of the online media. All of these

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contexts are central to our work and thus each of the following subsections will include theoretical, empirical or practical perspectives of these contexts, each written by one of our group’s members based on their research findings and/or their professional knowledge and experience.

15.1  “ I couldn’t tell. My dad would collapse and my mom just couldn’t believe it:” Barriers to Disclosure and the Initial Disclosure Amitai Marmor, who discovered this theme in his research, is a doctoral student and social worker. His main research focus is child sexual abuse and sibling sexual abuse. For the last 7 years he has been working with children who have been sexually abused or had displayed offensive sexual behavior at ‘The Meital Center for Treatment of Child and Youth Victims of Sexual Abuse in Jerusalem’. One of the significant steps in the process of sexual abuse disclosure is the long and hidden stage in which the victims (and sometimes the offenders) wait in doubt and fear regarding the disclosure. Studies from North America found that 20% of victims will never disclose the abuse they experience (He’bert et al., 2009) and in cases of sexual abuse within the family, over 70% will remain in the “untold story” phase for life (Tener & Murphy, 2015). In fact, research conducted in Sweden found that the average time it takes to disclose childhood sexual abuse is 21 years from the initial abusive act (Jonzon & Lindblad, 2004). As with the other parts of disclose of sexual abuse, this is not a linear process in which a person keeps their secret and then reveals their story all at once. As part of the analysis of cases involving sexual abuse within the family at the “Beit Lynn” Child Advocacy Center (CAC) in Jerusalem (Marmor et al., 2019) it was found that the process usually included two stages of disclosure. First, the family comes to the CAC following a teacher’s suspicion, a neighbor’s report, or even a report by the parents or the child, but the investigation leads nowhere. Secondly, during the follow-up investigation, which can take place a few years later, the child/teenager or their parents are ready to open up and talk about the abuse. It is important to note that this is a process, and the ability to cope, understand and be able to see the abuse may take years. Many parents describe how retrospectively, they managed to understand and see situations as offensive or at the very least disturbing, but while the acts took place they interpreted them differently. The difficulties or barriers to the disclosing of the abuse can be divided into three: internal barriers, interpersonal barriers, and sociocultural barriers (Tener & Murphy, 2015). Personal internal barriers include components such as the person’s personal difficulties including feelings of guilt, a lack of understanding, or a significant connection with the offender (Lab & Moore, 2005; Draucker & Martsolf, 2008). Interpersonal barriers, for example, include the fear of not being believed or the fear of change in their social status following the disclosure (Alaggia, 2005). Cultural barriers were found by our group as the central barrier in the Israeli religious context and our research found unique religious-cultural characteristics that

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might cause it to happen (Lusky-Wiserose, Marmor & Tenner, in preparation). The lack of information regarding sexual acts is a recurrent theme. Some of the victims mentioned not being aware of the fact that the sexual interaction they had experienced was abusive (Zalcberg, 2017). Others found it difficult to even say the words sexual abuse, lacking the language to speak about sexual acts or to name body parts (Epstein & Crisp, 2018; Hamo & Idisis, 2017). Children in particular found it difficult to find anyone to whom they could disclose, because all of the adults in their lives had some kind of relationship with the perpetrator (Tishelman & Fontes, 2017). The disclosure process itself may include several steps: (1) Preparation—warming up; (2) Initial disclosure—general details of the abuse are relayed while the victim examines how the listener responds to their story; (3) If the recipient passes the “test”—disclosure is then carried out in a more significant and complex way; (4) Each time the story is told—facts, experiences, and emotions may be added to it (Draucker & Martsolf, 2008; Sorsoli et al., 2008). One of the significant findings about the moment of disclosure, as evidenced by the CAC cases (Tener, Lusky-Wiserose & Marmor, in preparation), is that this moment is usually connected to subtle nuances and hidden outreach. In the religious groups we studied, there are hardly any cases (of disclosing sexual abuse within the family) in which the victim or the perpetrator directly reached out to the parents or another person and disclosed the story of the abuse. For example, one case reveals a story of disclosure that occurred during a mother–daughter conversation about why the shutter in the children’s room was broken (due to the siblings trying to hide the abuse). In another case, the father saw the victim sitting on his brother’s bed; this aroused his suspicion because he knew that his other son makes sure that no one sits on his bed. In another case, the victim’s aunt noticed that she often played with the perpetrator behind closed doors. In all of these cases, it was necessary to look beyond the simple observed phenomenon, address subtle nuances or personally know the victim or the abuser. Disclosure obstacles tend to blind a person to such nuances. When a parent fails to see the sexual abuse that is happening in their home, it isn’t out of malice or a desire to hide and protect the perpetrator; they do not see because they cannot see. They do not see because in order to do so they have to process an unbearable and complex situation and process difficult internal conflicts—such as seeing their son or daughter as sexual abusers or sexual victims. For example, one mother described various events that took place years before the abuse was disclosed but it was only recently that she was able to see and acknowledge them and give them a different meaning: “The mother describes that a few years ago she saw her son get into bed with his sister (then 5) and later her daughter told her that they played ‘dad and mom’ and that she was lying on her brother. In another incident in the same family, the mother saw her son with her daughter and she was without a skirt” (CAC files). Only in hindsight could the stories be understood by the parents.

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To sum up, the pre-disclosing or initial disclosing stage is very gentle and complex. It includes the initial invitation or the courage to tell and it has universal and unique personal cultural components.

15.2  “ A terrible disaster happened to us”: Parent Responses After the Disclosure of CSA Shosh Turjeman, an Israeli CAC coordinator at the Haruv Institute and a former director of the Jerusalem Child Advocacy Center (CAC), reported the following: When I was the director of the Jerusalem CAC, I received a phone call from an Ultra-­ Orthodox mother who sounded very stressed and anxious. She cried when she told me her daughter had been raped. I tried to calm her down and finally she was able to tell me the following story: When her daughter came from school she said: ‘Mom listen; I met a stranger in the street and he…’ The mother was so frightened at that moment that her response was to pass out immediately. When she woke up, the girl told her that nothing had happened and that she had only met a stranger in the street. The mother than told me that she feared that the daughter had suffered severe sexual abuse and did not continue to tell her because of her extreme reaction. We invited the mother and her daughter to the CAC. Eventually the daughter stated that the stranger in the street had exposed his penis in front of her.

This story is only one of thousands of calls the Jerusalem CAC receives from parents after their child was abuse was disclosed. It was chosen because it not only provides us with a glimpse into the complexity of parental responses after disclosure, but also provides some insights into children’s and parents’ needs during disclosure. First, it teaches us that parental responses largely dictate the child’s disclosure story. After her mother fainted upon hearing the first sentence of the story, the girl chose not to continue telling the story for fear of damaging her mother’s health and it took a long time to convince her to tell her abuse story again. This finding is similar to what the literature teaches us about the difficulties that children have in disclosing to their parents for fear of hurting them (Jensen et al., 2005). Second, we understand that the religious cultural context of the family being Ultra-Orthodox is of great importance here. A mother’s reaction upon hearing of an encounter with a male stranger in the street may be more extreme among closed religious societies (that teach their children that all people outside of the community could be dangerous), even when the nature of the deeds themselves have not yet been clarified. The Ultra-Orthodox society’s modesty regarding communication between males and females may have led the mother to think that the mere fact that a male stranger contacted her daughter suggests the possibility of rape. In addition, this story presents us with an example of a possible parental response. In the many encounters we had with parents at the CAC, we heard a range of parental responses. Some described CSA disclosure as a disaster, using methaphors of

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war and crises in their descriptions. Thus, some of their statements included phrases such as: “an earthquake,” “The sky fell on us,” “A terrible disaster happened to us,” or “A catastrophe.” On the one hand, other parents tended to blame themselves and their reactions included statements like: “How didn’t we see?”; “How didn’t we recognize the signs?”; “The child tried to tell us but we were not attentive!” or “We fell asleep on our watch.” On the other hand, other parents tended to blame the child or deny the abuse and used statements like: “It can’t be.”; “He is a liar.”; “They are making this up.”; “They have a very active imagination.” or “There’s no way it happened.” Other parents tended to reduce the severity of the abuse and used statements such as: “Yes, they told me but I’m not sure, that didn’t sound serious to me,” or alternatively, in cases of abuse between two minors: “It’s just a child’s play.” Some of these responses may not only cause emotional harm to the child survivor, but may also contribute to the continuation of the abuse (Tener et al., 2018). My experience at the CAC tells me that parents who believe their children, help them process and back up their stories, as well as encourage them to speak with professionals, can be crucial for continued disclosure, treatment and healing. Therefore, it is important for professionals to refrain from judgment regarding parents’ reactions, even those that seem aggressive and offensive. We must bear in mind that disclosure can be experienced as a major crisis for families (Tener et al., 2018) and professionals working with children and families after CSA must attend to the parents’ needs, and offer them support and guidance that enables them to support their children.

15.3  “ I would rather tell this story for the first time to a stranger:” SA Disclosure Within Qualitative Research Efrat Lusky-Weisrose a PhD student at The Paul Baerwald School of Social Work and Social Welfare at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, researched this theme. The process of “storying”, particularly within the research setting, is not only facts reporting an act, but is also an outcome of an encounter between two subjects (Chase, 2005; Dowling, 2006). Arguably, the qualitative interview is essentially an “intersubjective dance” (Josselson, 2013) containing an overt and covert charge of the mutual expectations from the encounter by both partners, unspeakable negotiations, and sub-assumptions, especially when it comes to disclosing sensitive content such as SA. As part of the dance, the researcher reaches out to the participants with a non-­ judgmental attitude and asks them to lead him or her through the intricacies of their story, while the interviewees carefully look for safety nets in which to deposit their sensitive stories. This tentative disclosure process begins as early as the initial contact phase of the research. This is what Menachem, a 30-year-old Hasidic (a sect within Orthodox Judaism) man, wrote in response to an advertisement I posted

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online as part of my search for Ultra-Orthodox SA victims who were assaulted by authority figures: Hi I saw your post in the Facebook group “∗∗∗”…. I don’t know if my story is what you’re looking for in the research, but for some reason it caught my attention because until this day I haven’t opened up about it with anyone in the world. I still live in the sector… While I did experience minor things, I’ve never told anyone, even though I think it had a certain impact on my life. These are really minor things that certainly cannot be considered to be criminal.

In this early stage, it is possible to identify some hidden expectations, assumptions, and perhaps even  concerns about the disclosure situation. Menachem had doubts regarding how well he fits into my research, or in his words: “I’m not sure if that’s what you’re looking for.” He was not entirely convinced that his story is indeed one of abuse. There may be a desire for the researcher to hear his story even though it never received social validity. There may also be a fear that the interview encounter will reactivate the “non-story” experience given to the story in other contexts. Moreover, Menachem approached me anonymously and emphasized repeatedly the fact that his story had never been vocalized. In doing so, he sought to bring me into his secret world and create a kind of “secret alliance” between us, which is possible given the fact that the researcher comes with no preconceived notions. Menachem’s approach to disclosure may be a one-time and rare opportunity for him, especially in the context of closed communities where there is a serious cost to such disclosure. The declaration, “I am still in the (UO) sector” indicates that he is somewhat ambivalent about his position within the community—whether in his religious beliefs or in his social affiliation. Later on, I realized that Menachem defines himself as “Anus”,1 living a double life—between observance of Halacha (Jewish religious laws) within family and community life, and a “forbidden” secular secret life. In telling me so, Menachem gave clues as to the boundaries and inherent conflicts of his story. In fact, our very encounter, which carries cultural, social, and gender gaps, is basically a betrayal of all the principles and social contexts that surround him. Menachem’s choice to meet and contact the outside, the unknown “other”, with its threatening and incomprehensible parts, perhaps carries the wish to engage in dialogue with the “otherness” part of his self.2 Joining the “intersubjective dance” also creates many challenges. Sociologist Zeli Gurevich summarizes the complexity of the encounter through the concept of “radical middle:” The middle is radical because those who ‘touch’ the middle experience an extreme experience that has excitement about the encounter, wishing for a moment of merging… But in that experience, there is also fear. Fear of the ‘other’ and fear of their absence. When the middle

1  Anusim: Haredi (Ultra-Orthodox) individuals living between the two worlds and behaving as Ultra-Orthodox outwardly, while as secularists in some manners (Barzilai, 2004). 2  Hegel (1807) argues in the Phenomenology of Spirit that this process is a dualistic relationship where one part of the self is able to look upon the other part of it and come to an integrative understanding.

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is opened in front of the stranger, it is full of stress, internal negotiations, translations efforts (Gurevich, 2011, p.104).

The researcher and the participants within a secret “radical” encounter are in a dissociative experience from the outside world. The researcher is required to keep the secrets and dialectical parts of the story and to deal with the ethical dilemmas that arise from it. The charged encounter creates unavoidable intersections between the  different identities of the researcher: professional, genderial, social, cultural, etc., which can sometimes be experienced as conflicting and confrontational with one another. For example, what ethical issues arise in a situation where a non-Ultra-­ Orthodox woman discreetly interviews an Ultra-Orthodox man, where the very meeting is forbidden according to Jewish law (halachically)? Where is the boundary between personal and professional when the participant describes very personal fantasies as part of his story? Although this “intersubjective dance” of the researcher-participant carries with it complexity and contradictions, some qualitative literature about the role of reflectivity in research suggested using the “dialectical approach” as a solution (Ben-Ari & Enosh, 2011), which suggests that previous opposites and contradictions can be perceived as integrated and as composing different parts of the same whole. In that manner, thinking about the contradictory parts of the encounter of the participant (e.g., abuse-non abuse; Haredi-Anus; present-absent sexuality) and of the researcher (e.g., between personal and professional identities) from an integrative attitude, asks for a high level of conceptualization and analysis of the phenomenon.

15.4  “ On Facebook everyone can write, and there is no voice that is louder than the other. And there is room for truth:” The Online Network in the Context of SA Disclosure Tsofnat Melamed Filtser, a Masters student at The Paul Baerwald School of Social Work and Social Welfare at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, studied this theme at length. The findings of my research are focused on the virtual discourse on sexuality and sexual abuse of Israeli Jewish religious (Modern Orthodox) women. Modern Orthodox Jews represent about 11% of Jewish society in Israel (Israel Central Bureau of Statistics, 2018). The main characteristic of this diverse group is the combination between the commitment to religious-ritual rules and norms while at the same time adopting characteristics of modernity as central components of their lives (Sheleg, 2007). While the use of the open Internet is forbidden for Ultra-Orthodox women, during recent years the phenomenon of Online Religious Communities became a significant part of the Modern Orthodox group (Campbell, 2005), which presents opportunities for interactions between its members.

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In the virtual space, and especially on Facebook, there are many diverse groups in the religious sector dedicated to the discourse on sexuality and sexual abuse. The groups vary in  size from tens to tens of thousands, in the group’s privacy settings (ranging from open to confidential), and gender composition (between groups of only women or men and mixed groups). Sexual abuse discourse in these groups is usually divided into two different types: the theoretical-critical discourse that encourages action, and the personal-­ intimate discourse for advice and support. In large religious groups, discussions about sexual abuse occur very frequently, but naturally, the discourse is more theoretical and less personal or emotional. In a message posted on May 20, 2019 in the public Facebook group, “I am a religious feminist—and I also have no sense of humor,” a group with over 16,000 members, the groups’ members were called upon to come out of the virtual space and join the fight: Like a thief at night, Rabbi B comes to (name of town) today to deliver a ‘lesson’ and give ‘advice.’ We’ll be there at quarter to eleven for a protest vigil. You are welcome to bring a sign.

After several hours, the group message was updated: We won! Tonight with Rabbi B is canceled. The protest is also canceled. We will continue to provide support for the victims and prevent backing the offenders. Thanks to all the volunteers and join the protest!

In addition to the public groups, there are closed female groups with more stringent privacy settings. These groups can be written in anonymously, but because of their sense of feminine closeness and security, many women choose to reveal personal experiences of sexual abuse under full name and image. In these groups you can see individual-level disclosure, personal disclosure, and intimate discussions aimed at ventilation, support, and a sense of partnership. Participants in my study suggested that the virtual space may be seen as ideal for disclosure and discourse, as described by Ayala (pseudonym), one of the participants: Women feel more comfortable being exposed in Facebook. Even with their name and face too, because of the feeling of distance. As if there is more closeness within the distance. You can be more intimate because you still feel distant from the people who read it … on Facebook you write and the one who wants—hears.

The relative feeling of anonymity encourages feelings of intimacy and creates a safe space for sharing, even a very personal one. No voice is stronger than the other and the normalized discourse in the virtual space encourages discourse and disclosure. These perceptions are in accordance with findings from previous research on the importance of the sense of anonymity and remoteness when disclosing sexual abuse in the virtual space for sharing and receiving support (Andalibi et al., 2016), and in relation to women in closed religious societies, for whom the internet serves as an effective space where their voices can be heard and have influence, and as a means of sharing in the public discourse and promoting the female struggle for an equitable society (Ebrahimi & Salaverría, 2015; Shirazi, 2012).

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Yet, despite its benefits to the victims, the disclosure of sexual abuse stories in the virtual space has its risks, including any possible damage to the readers who are exposed to it and to the victims themselves, as further described by Judith, who runs a Facebook group of hundreds of women: I feel that virtual space is a tricky for dealing with sexual abuse […] I sometimes feel that this discourse is dangerous … Many times when such content comes up, I invite women within my group to seek treatment, to be wary of the virtual space as a healing space because sometimes […] there are also mistakes and insensitivity.

It seems that despite the therapeutic quality of the virtual space, it is not yet perceived by the research participants as a professional therapeutic area capable of providing the appropriate support in cases of sexual abuse. This could be due to the lack of knowledge or professionalism of the responders or due to the technical and mental unavailability of the other party and the direct discourse on such a sensitive topic. Therefore, sharing this space of sexual vulnerability is viewed with caution, and can possibly even perpetuate further harm.

15.5  “ It was so terrible. The whole street came to a standstill. Policemen were outside. All the neighbors were looking out of their windows.” SA Disclosure in the Societal and Public Contexts Aya Almog-Zaken, the researcher of this theme, is a PhD student at The Paul Baerwald School of Social Work and Social Welfare at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. She is also a children and youth researcher at the Myers-JDC-Brookdale Institute, Jerusalem. An important context that needs to be taken into consideration in child abuse storytelling is the social context in which the child lives (Marey-Sarwan et  al., 2018). Religion-based cults provide a specific example of how social context may influence child abuse disclosure. The literature on the lives of children in cults (Singer, 2003) notes that the self-seclusion and self-differentiation of cults from society gives rise to situations in which children are isolated from therapeutic and educational frameworks, and are beyond the reach of the wider society’s protection and care. In this respect, they are at a disadvantage vis-à-vis children suffering from similar abuse and neglect who do not live in a cult. The fact that they live in a cult has an enormous impact on a child’s ability to conceptualize and report sexual abuse—are they even aware that they are being abused? And, if so, who will they tell? In this section of the chapter, I will relate to the disclosure of the sexual abuse suffered by the daughters and wives of an Israeli polygamous cult leader, Goel Ratzon. This affair is one of the most infamous and sensational cult occurrences that have taken place in Israel. In 2010, through a massive operation that combined police and welfare authorities, the cult was disbanded and the affair came to an end.

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Goel Ratzon’s cult was created and gradually expanded by Goel in the Hatikva neighborhood in south Tel Aviv from 1980. In the end, the cult was comprised of 21 women and dozens of children who lived together in several neighborhood apartments (Ifergan, 2014; Rabinovitch, 2013; The Israeli Center for Cult Victims, 2019). Typically, the cult had clear-cut authoritative characteristics, including the women’s utter devotion to Ratzon and the community in all aspects of their  lives. Ratzon instituted an all-inclusive set of rigid conduct rules laid out in a cult document (known as “the family rules”). The document regulated the children’s discipline, daily management of the cult, and his sexual relations with his wives. The police investigation revealed that Goel Ratzon used to compel his own biological daughters and his wives’ daughters to observe the “wifely” duties of the cult once they turned 14, which included sexual relations with Goel as well as regulating their menstrual cycle in order to give birth. Most of his sexual and incestuous abuse of minors was kept secret from the rest of the women in the community and came to light at the time of his arrest on January 12, 2010. He was charged, convicted and sentenced to 30 years imprisonment for sexual offenses and incest. The disclosure and arrest were experienced and described as a trauma by the participating family members due to the social context involved. In recounting the arrest, one woman said: One day, when I was the ‘duty mom’ [the cult’s infants stayed with a ‘duty mom’ while the other women went out to work at cleaning jobs], the whole street suddenly came to a standstill. It was so terrible. The whole street filled with police cars. All the neighbors were looking at us from their windows. The disgrace… a policeman entered the house along with seven social workers. I was appalled. I understood that there was one social worker to apprehend each child.

Up until the inter-organizational operation, which was followed by a clandestine police investigation of Ratzon’s crimes, it had not been known that the children had been abused as part of the cult’s life. No child had ever told anybody about any abuse that they suffered. His older daughters all bore the same huge tattoo of his face on their arms, as did all of his wives. They had to take their place in the cult’s working and “normative” life, which included sexual relations with him and giving birth to his children. After childbirth, the girls claimed that the children were the fruit of casual relations with men who were to remain outside of the picture, since they wanted to raise the children within the cult and did not need another man in their lives; they only wanted the children. One young woman, a former wife of Goel, spoke of the secrecy surrounding the cult and the fact that the girls did not tell anyone what they had gone through. After discovering the truth at the police station, she said that, in retrospect, there were all sorts of warning signs of the girls’ abuse: When the affair was over, the police revealed an ideology to us that he had never voiced to us. This happens a lot in cults. Not everything is out in the open. His ideology was that he had to have as many children as possible for his lineage. He would tell his daughters that he had to multiply, in order to preserve and clone his genes. He could not do this with our children [offspring from women who were not his biological daughters] because our children had mixed genes that are not good. He therefore had to have children with his own

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daughters… We didn’t know at all. He concealed it completely. His daughters did not talk about it at all. He apparently instructed them… nor did their mothers know because he kept them apart. He moved them [the girls], to live together with us… in the same apartments. They were really a part of us … they developed very strong symptoms of sexual abuse. One of them for instance, for a long time would come to school bundled up in a large overcoat. She would not take it off; she wore it all day long. At school, they suspected sexual abuse because it is a known symptom. There was an intervention; both the girl and the mother were called in. The mother didn’t know and the girl concealed [it], and he [Ratzon] got away with it. The whole subject is distressing.

One salient story in the affair was a woman in the cult who began her life there at the age of five and married Ratzon after her mother had joined the cult and allowed her three daughters to marry him, one after the other. G. had to marry him at a certain point and consequently, have regular sexual relations with him. After suffering in the cult for a few years, she decided to leave that life, and ran away in early 2009, before she had even turned 18. G. in fact, was the only woman to run away and leave the cult. Her sisters and mothers spurned her, refused to stay in touch, and she had to build a new life for herself on her own. Shortly afterwards, the police and the Israeli Center for Cult Victims located her and asked her to give evidence in Ratzon’s trial, to the effect that he had raped her from the age of 14. After much persuasion she agreed, and thanks to her disclosure and testimony, the clandestine investigation began. She was one of the main witnesses in Ratzon’s trial. Years later, she disclosed the story of her abuse in a documentary series about her and her sisters: He told me… no matter how much I resisted… in the end the act takes place, and I said, ‘Goel, I don’t want to, I am shy.’ So he took a pillow. Put it on my face and said: ‘So don’t be shy, you don’t have to see’ as if… somehow that helped. Not seeing.

In the same episode of the documentary, she spoke with her sisters, S. and I., about her abuse, and how they supported it as part of the cult’s ideology. The cult and family members’ support of the abusive act according to the cult’s ideology made it normative and hence, hindered the disclosure process. The following is an excerpt from that conversation: I.: After we knew that Goel slept with G. it [went] like this. Wow, that’s great… (Saying to the director: ‘You get how horrible that line that I said is?’) We all said to her… Such fun, how great. Now you are becoming a woman. Soon you will be pregnant. You understand the purpose? Galit: The women prepare you… Ilanit: How great is it that a 14-year-old girl is sleeping with a 50-year-old man…

Continuing with the interview, G. tells the director about her feelings and how she felt abused, which was not at all consistent with the perception prevailing in the cult: At least until age 17, you feel that you’re being raped, until you begin to understand… the brain ultimately resigns itself. Because you have no choice. Because it [happens] every time. At least once a week, you know that you’re getting into a situation with someone you don’t want to. … As if it’s lucky that I’m with Goel. That’s what the women tell me. What luck you have that you are with him from a very young age; you didn’t need to go through all that suffering on the outside. If it’s abuse—I was always told that if I were to be with

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other guys, they would humiliate me terribly and hurt me terribly, and it’s as if… you understand that you’re his wife, you don’t have much choice.

These and numerous other quotes taken from the media over the years exposed the life in the cult; mainly the story of the women but also of some of the children. It exposed the communal life of an isolated community that put its trust in a single man who had the sole power to make decisions including what is right and wrong, what is abuse and what is normative. Law, justice, care, help, and salvation were all embodied by a single figure: Goel Ratzon. In normative society, we are witnesses to the difficulty of personal and interpersonal barriers to a victim coming forward and exposing abuse, and in cults the difficulty is compounded by the social layer. Just as Bronfenbrenner described the social layers (Bronfenbrenner, 1979) in the theory of ecosystems—the ecosystem enters the picture. A cult’s environment and society allow the leader to render the abuse normative, and the community is too isolated to understand that the actions are in fact abuse; one cannot appeal to the family for it is part of the cult, while the external society is too out of reach for a child. As a result, by the time that the abuse is exposed, it is exposed publicly, with broad reverberations throughout the media; in front of everyone, as a sensational public story. This brings into focus two main elements: the first is the cult’s ideology which gives justification to child sexual abuse, and the second is the sharp contrast between the hidden abuse and the public sensational disclosure, which may cause additional trauma to the survivors themselves.

15.6  Discussion The complexity of the sexual abuse disclosure story has been widely presented in the empirical literature (for reviews see Alaggia et  al., 2019; McElvaney, 2015; Tener & Murphy, 2015). However, there are still many layers that need to be examined thoroughly. The purpose of this chapter was to share some unique viewpoints about disclosure in the context of religious communities in Israel, which play a major part in our research or field experience, as a group aimed at promoting a unique knowledge of the complexity of the phenomena of child sexual abuse. We wanted to emphasize the complexity that exists for the abused child even before the disclosure, as well as during the initial disclosure of the abuse. We sought to describe the important role of the parents in the process, and the difficulty that parents experience during the processes. We also strived to address the delicate process of disclosure that takes place between the researcher and the research participants and to look at the meaning of social and personal child sexual abuse disclosure in the online space, its advantages, its weaknesses and its disadvantages. Finally, we wanted to view the public social dimensions of the story of disclosure, emphasized by the story of child sexual abuse within a cult. All of these aspects become nuanced and at times even more complicated in cases of closed religious societies. Yet, one

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should also remember that some of the experiences concerning child sexual abuse disclosure in religious communities in Israel may reveal similarities to other communities. This raises a debate regarding how SA disclosure may be a universal experience (Marmor et al., 2019). One should also take into account that child sexual abuse disclosure also has an intersectional nature (National Association of Social Workers, 2015), including intersecting aspects such as the survivor’s personal world, his or her relationship with the perpetrator, the family and the community, the external secular world, and the interactions with the secular authorities (Al’Uqdah, Maxwell, & Hill, 2016; Burnette, 2015). Last, we are grateful to have the opportunity to disclose and share our research and field stories to the readers of this book, and alleviate some of the loneliness felt by those involved in this difficult area of research.

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Chapter 16

An Ultra-Orthodox Researcher: Oxymoron or Opportunity? A Typology of Appearances of Conflicting Identities of an Insider Researcher Netanel Gemara

16.1  Background Segregation and protection of values from outside influence is one of the basic fundamental characteristics of the Ultra-Orthodox community. The origins of this tendency can be traced back to the Book of Genesis. Sarah the Matriarch demanded that Avraham the Patriarch isolate Ismael from Yitzchak so that he would not have a  negative influence  on him (Genesis, 21:10). In the following generation, the Matriarch Rivka carries on this heritage by isolating Jacob form Esav’s negative impact (Genesis, 28). When the family of Jacob goes into exile in Egypt, they live in a separate area, the land of Goshen (Genesis, 46), so that their unique values are preserved against the influences of Egyptian culture. The rabbis praise the Jewish people for “not changing their names, their apparel, and their tongue” (Passover Hagaddah) while in Egypt, and highlight this attribute as an instruction for later exiles. After the Jewish people settled in the Holy Land (1272 BCE), the safeguarding of the Jewish culture in face of the Philistines, Hellenistic, and other cultures is described extensively in the writings of the prophets and the rabbis. The beginning of Ultra-Orthodoxy is commonly attributed to the beginning of the Emancipation and Enlightenment as a response to secularism and assimilation in Europe (Samet, 1988). Rav Moshe Sofer (1762–1839), a prominent Hungarian Rabbi and a leading force in the segregation trend, borrowed the Halachic concept “new is forbidden” in order to intensify the fortification of Judaism’s walls against these new winds of change (Kaplan, 2004). The segregation intensified against the different movements that evolved in Europe before the Second World War, N. Gemara (*) NEVET- Greenhouse of Context-Informed Research and Training for Children in Need, The Paul Baerwald School of Social Work and Social Welfare, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem, Israel e-mail: [email protected] © Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2020 D. Roer-Strier, Y. Nadan (eds.), Context-Informed Perspectives of Child Risk and Protection in Israel, Child Maltreatment 10, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-44278-1_16

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particularly against  the Zionist movement that had eroded Ultra-Orthodox youth (Ravitzky, 1996). After the Holocaust, segregation intensified due to the new and central role of rehabilitating the wounded remains of the Ultra-Orthodox community. The community received special governmental approval not to be drafted into the army due to the “value provision” rational. At the same time the “kollel movement,” which encouraged men to study religious texts full time instead of working, gained popularity and was granted the nickname the “society of learners” (Friedman, 1991; Stadler, 2012). The segregation of the Ultra-Orthodox population from the general society is conveyed in almost all realms of life: residing in separate cities or neighborhoods, education, media, apparel, language, and independent communal social services (Cahaner & Shilhav, 2012; Valins, 2000; Zanbar & Itzhaky, 2014). Nevertheless, Ultra-Orthodox society is not completely disconnected from the general secular society, and it utilizes its services in matters of health, finance, welfare, and other essential services that cannot be provided by the community itself (Edelstein, Band-­ Winterstein, & Bachner, 2016). A central area of safeguarding against external influence takes place in the community’s attitude towards external knowledge sources. Schools in the Ultra-­Orthodox community do not commit themselves to complying with the requirements or regulations of Israel’s Ministry of Education. Boys are barely exposed to secular studies during elementary school, and in high school there is no access to any subject other than Talmudic texts. Girls are granted more exposure, but there is tight supervision and a censoring of the contents of the subjects being studied (Krakowski, 2008). Academia is perceived as a stronghold of secular values and there is widespread opposition to attaining higher education or to coming in contact with its representatives. The opposition of the Ultra-Orthodox community to academia relates to the general opposition to the scientific paradigm. Although in the past many rabbinical authorities valued and encouraged the studying of the sciences (Efron, 2007), since the time of the enlightenment, and even more so after the holocaust and the determination to rehabilitate the perished Torah world, the Ultra-Orthodox community’s attitude towards the integration of Torah and science is, by and large, negative (Dodick & Shuchat, 2014). One of the implications of the opposition to academic research is the difficulty in accessing the community for research purposes (Freund, Cohen, & Azaiza, 2014; Rier, Schwartzbaum, & Heller, 2008). In the past few years, some parts of the Ultra-Orthodox community have begun to open up the community’s external confines in areas such as leisure activity, army service and academic studies. Zicherman and Cahaner (2012) call this sub-society “the new Ultra-Orthodoxy,” and see this phenomenon as a testimony for the changes that have been taking place in  Ultra-Orthodox society as a whole. Some of the causes of this openness to the external world may be attributed to the society reaching a more mature and established stage of development, a decrease in the feelings of external danger, the weakening of its leadership’s strength, financial hardship, and the elevation in the status of women (Fass & Lazar, 2011; Kaplan & Stadler, 2012). Nevertheless, the dominant voice in the Ultra-Orthodox community still opposes the academic world and makes claims for the need to strengthen the segregation (Kalagy, 2016).

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16.1.1  D  ifferent Expressions of a Dual Identity: The Ultra-Orthodox Researcher Among the many parts that comprise the identity of the Ultra-Orthodox researcher, two central dominant components are: the Ultra-Orthodox component and the researcher component. Although there are common attributes within these two elements, they are for the most part based on different and even opposing value systems. As an Ultra-Orthodox researcher, I have found that these two parts of my identity expressed themselves during the course of my research in various ways. The experiences described here took place during two research projects that I conducted; one with Ultra-Orthodox fathers, and one with social workers who work with the Ultra-Orthodox community. Despite the complexity, interconnectedness, and difficulty in setting clear borders between the different categories, I would like to suggest a classification of four types of expressions of these two elements: (1) one element of the identity enables the other element to express itself more fully (empowerment); (2) one element of the identity is diminished because of the other component (partially diminished); (3) Both elements are diminished (mutually diminished); and (4) both identity parts become empowered and get expressed more fully (mutual empowerment). The following grid (see Fig. 16.1) summarizes these four types of appearances:

researcher +

both parts grow

researcher part grows Ultra-Orthodox part decreases

Ultra-Orthodox +

– Ultra-Orthodox part grows researcher part decreases

both parts decrease

Fig. 16.1  The typology emanating from the interplay between the researcher identity (axis Y) and the Ultra-Orthodox identity (axis X)

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16.2  O  ne Part of the Identity Enables the Other Part to Express Itself in a Fuller Way 16.2.1  T  he Ultra-Orthodox Part Empowers the Researcher Part Being part of the Ultra-Orthodox community provided many advantages for me in conducting research in this community throughout the different stages of the research project. Researchers who are outsiders to the group they study face different challenges in conducting research because of their lack of knowledge of the culture’s values, norms, and nuances. Among the different benefits was my ability to construct an interview guide sensitive to the cultural nuances of the interviewees, have easier access to this difficult to reach community, connect better with the interviewees, and have the ability to use the cultural language of the interviewees and pay attention to the cultural nuances while analyzing the data. I will present two examples to demonstrate the way the Ultra-Orthodox part of my identity empowered my research (i.e., the researcher part): Construction of the Interview Guide  I based the interview guide for my research on a generic format created by researchers who are not part of the Ultra-Orthodox community. Part of the interview guide included scenarios of risk towards children and asked the participants to comment on hypothetical situations. A minor but illustrative example for the way my Ultra-Orthodox knowledge assisted in the creation of the research guide was based on knowing the significant weight Ultra-Orthodox members put on words. In this community, even talking about hypothetically dangerous situations is considered to be unsafe. Being aware of this concern, I suggested that the words “Chas v’shalom” (G-d forbid) should be added to the hypothetical scenarios. This minor correction built trust and encouraged cooperation. Data Analysis  In order to achieve better reliability, I attended regular group discussions regarding the data analysis. In one of these meetings, a discussion arose regarding an issue that came up in several interviews in which parents referred to the risk factor that they called “child kidnappers.” My secular supervisors understood the words of the interviewees literally (i.e., the risk of children being abducted) and classified this risk as an example of “physical risk.” My cultural familiarity with the Ultra-Orthodox community informed me that this was actually a cultural way of referring to pedophiles. Because of the community’s tendency to refrain from talking about sexuality openly with children, calling pedophiles “child kidnappers” is a cultural mechanism used to warn children to be cautious upon meeting strangers. This cultural understanding demonstrates how my Ultra-Orthodox part of my identity strengthened my ability to perform better research.

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16.2.2  T  he Researcher Part Empowers the Ultra-Orthodox Part Studying and teaching sacred texts is a central and valued part of Ultra-Orthodox religious life. Parallel to the time I started carrying out my PhD research, I started to teach Talmud1 in my community. I noticed that my methodological skills as a researcher enabled me to produce a more coherent and organized teaching style. I received feedback from the students at the religious lectures that this unique format was beneficial to their understanding of the material. In this case, my academic researcher skills enhanced my Ultra-Orthodox teaching abilities.

16.3  One Part of the Identity Diminishes In this type of expression, one of the identity parts is diminished. The diminishing of one part may occur either by the other part becoming more fully expressed or without the growth of the part. Another subtype of this category is when the interviewees choose to diminish one part of the identity of the interviewer while giving greater importance to the other.

16.3.1  The Researcher Part Is Diminished Blind Spots  The Ultra-Orthodox culture encourages its members to refrain from speaking openly about sexuality. Being Ultra-Orthodox myself and having a similar tendency, I felt uncomfortable raising issues pertaining to sexuality (for example, sexual abuse) with my interviewees. In addition, I felt that talking openly about sexuality would make the Ultra-Orthodox interviewees feel uncomfortable. When I shared my concerns with my supervisors, they encouraged me to overcome my difficulty with this and attempt to raise the relevant issues relating to sexuality more openly. I was surprised to see how the participants responded with a wealth of information on the topic. In this case, being Ultra-Orthodox prevented me from tackling an important topic for our research thus diminishing my researcher identity part. Participant Recruitment  The Ultra-Orthodox community is difficult to access for research purposes because of the suspicion toward the academia. Being part of the Ultra-Orthodox community myself granted me easier access because I was perceived to be an insider. Nonetheless, being Ultra-Orthodox created a disadvantage for me as well. I felt uncomfortable approaching rabbinical figures (who were an important 1  The Talmud is the central text of Rabbinic Judaism and the primary source of Jewish religious law and theology. It is commonly learned/studied by men in the Ultra-Orthodox community.

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part of the sample) because in my eyes it was inappropriate to take away from their sacred time. A secular researcher probably would not have been affected by this consideration. In this case, being Ultra-Orthodox inhibited my research abilities. Publication  Reporting and publishing the findings presented another complexity for me. I found it difficult to publicize controversial aspects of a community of which I am part of. In one of the interviews for example, a father described his view regarding what I saw as abuse. I felt that including such a quotation in a published article would portray the Ultra-Orthodox community in a negative light. As a result, I thought about omitting this citation from the final report. In this case, the Ultra-­ Orthodox part of me diminished my duty as a researcher to be loyal to the findings. After consulting with my supervisors, they helped me to understand the importance of including this view, and it was included in the report.

16.3.2  The Ultra-Orthodox Part Is Diminished Sexuality  During the research I had to talk openly and frequently about issues pertaining to sexuality, particularly around interview questions that dealt with sexual abuse. As I mentioned above, the Ultra-Orthodox norm is to refrain from speaking openly about sexuality. The constant talk about sexual matters was uncomfortable for me, and made me feel that I was compromising my Ultra-Orthodox values in order to carry out the research properly. Status in the Community  During the period of carrying out my research, my oldest daughter was in the process of getting into an Ultra-Orthodox high school. The principal of the new school invited my wife and me to an interview. During the interview, I was asked about my profession, and upon ‘revealing’ my academic status, the principal explained that their high school views academia as a negative route, and therefore, she was not sure that our home life fits the school’s profile. This is an example in which being a researcher diminished my Ultra-Orthodox status.

16.3.3  P  articipants Diminish One Part of the Identity by Emphasizing the Other Part Another example of one part of the identity diminishing and the other part expanding arose when the interviewees chose to emphasize one part of their identity at the expense of the other. In an interview with an Ultra-Orthodox social worker, the interviewee mentioned a cultural protective factor for children that he called Siyata Dishmaya (help from G-d):

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In addition to that (other protective factors) there is Siyata Dishmaya (help from G-d). What does it mean? A person who creates a family, he deserves it (protection from above). This is for them (smiling and pointing at the recorder).

The voice recorder represents the outside group, the secular, and academia. When the interviewee mentioned a detail that may not be respected by the outsider ear, he recruited me into his circle and referred to the secular group as “them,” thus stressing my Ultra-Orthodox belonging, and diminishing my role as a researcher. In another interview, an Ultra-Orthodox father gave me feedback about the interview: I suggest that you make the interview more alive, when you ask a question, not a wink, but a flow, in terms of your body language, to flow more. You understand what I mean, even someone who is a police investigator, if you smile at him, it will do something to him.

The interviewee felt that I was too formal, cold, and not friendly enough. The integration of being both Ultra-Orthodox and a researcher presented a quandary for the interviewee. On the one hand, I was a member of the community, a friend, while on the other hand, I behaved like an outsider, a professional researcher. In dealing with this tension, the interviewee suggested that I diminish my researcher part which is more formal and distant and act in a more insider (as  a member of the Ultra-­Orthodox community) way.

16.4  Two Parts Are Diminished There are instances in which I, as an Ultra-Orthodox researcher, found both the Ultra-Orthodox part and the researcher part of my identity to be diminished. This type of “double reduction” took place in situations where there was an overwhelming feeling of threat towards one or both parts of my identity, making it difficult for me to perform my research and damaging my feelings of comfort in being Ultra-Orthodox. In one of the interviews with a secular social worker, he spoke in a very oppositional and antagonistic way against Ultra-Orthodox social workers. I was taken aback (being an Ultra-Orthodox social worker myself), and my ability to concentrate (my researcher part) became impaired. I was not able to protect my UltraOrthodox stance, because of my role as an interviewer, and I felt that this part was also damaged. A similar experience took place when I was interviewing another secular social worker who had many nude statues in his home where the interview took place. Being a religious Ultra-Orthodox member myself, who has quite a restrictive attitude towards non-modest portraits, I felt uncomfortable being in such a situation (Ultra-Orthodox part impaired), and as a result my ability to conduct the interview was damaged (I had a hard time fully concentrating).

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16.5  Both Parts of the Identity Are More Fully Expressed There were some rare times during the course of my research in which both the Ultra-Orthodox part of my identity, as well as the researcher part were both more fully expressed. An example of this experience is being part of the NEVET-­ Greenhouse (NEVET). At the ceremony held upon completing my master’s thesis at NEVET, I said: “I know that it is a challenge for many of my Ultra-Orthodox colleagues to walk around campus with a hat and jacket (the traditional outfit of Ultra-Orthodox men), because of feeling different and stigmatized. The special thing about NEVET was my feeling of being proud to walk around the university in my traditional garb, since NEVET always encouraged me to not give up my identity.” In addition to improving my research abilities, the atmosphere at NEVET, where being an Ultra Orthodox researcher was regarded as an esset and the encouragement I received from my supervisors and colleagues, strengthened my cultural identity as an Ultra-Orthodox man.

16.6  Discussion This chapter deals with different types of appearances that stem from the intersection of two central components of the Ultra-Orthodox researcher’s identity. These two components emanate from different and repudiating worlds of contents, conceptions, and values. The chapter describes four types of appearances: the strengthening of one component (the researcher or the Ultra-Orthodox), the diminishing of one component, the strengthening of both components, and the weakening of both. A body of knowledge that may help to shed light on the typology described in this article is the theoretical models dealing with the intersection of the two worlds, which the Ultra-Orthodox and the researcher components emanate from: religion and science. There has been a long drawn-out tension between these two worlds for many centuries, and the different appearances described in this article correspond to different theoretical and practical approaches that have evolved in face of the complex encounter between them. Polkinghorne (1998) and others (Barbour, 2002) describe four perspectives for dealing with the tension between religion and science: (1) Conflict: Contradictions between religion and science cannot be resolved; (2) Independence: Religion and science deal with different realms and therefore do not come in contact; (3) Dialogue: Religion and science have many common areas that are approachable from different perspectives; and (4) Integration: Religion and science are very connected and can contribute to one another. The various approaches that are found in the literature regarding the resolution of the two different, and at times contradicting worlds of religion and science, shed light on the typology described in the article. The Ultra-Orthodox researcher finds himself struggling with a similar tension, and an understanding of the diverse theological approaches for

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settling this conflict can aid in developing mechanisms that might be adopted by the religious researcher. The “insider-outsider” discourse in qualitative research is an additional body of theoretical knowledge that can contribute to the understanding of the typology presented in this article. The locality of the researcher in relation to the researched population is an important element in qualitative research (Hockey, 1993). An “insider” is a researcher who belongs to the researched community while an “outsider” is a researcher who does not. The advantages and disadvantages of each position have been described at length in the literature (Berger, 2015; Cassell & Symon, 2004). Over time, the theoretical discourse moved away from the dichotomous description of the two positions. Adler and Adler (1987) added a third dimension to the twosome, and described three levels of connection to the researched community. They are: (1) a distant membership: no involvement with the activity of the researched group; (2) researchers who take part in the activities of the researched group, but have no commitment to its values and goals; and (3) maintaining full membership in the researched group. Postmodern approaches continued to challenge the restricted outlook regarding the locality of the researcher by relying on theories that question the constancy of the construct “identity,” for example social identity theory (Onorato & Turner, 2004). Crenshaw (1991) introduced the theory of intersectionality, which emphasizes the importance of taking into account the different parts of one’s identity and not just to one salient aspect. She attaches special importance to the intersection of the different aspects. These ideas bring forth the notion that every researcher has many different facets and parts, and some inevitably place him as an outsider while others place him as an insider, and therefore it is erroneous to attribute a binary description to the researcher’s location. Dwyer and Buckle (2009) advocate for the usage of a hyphen between the term insider-outsider in order to illustrate the possibility of being in the in-between space. The typology described in this chapter corresponds to the continuum of intersectionality paradigm of the researcher’s insider-outsider identity. The intersection of the Ultra-Orthodox component and the researcher component (amongst many other which comprise the researcher’s identity), bring about a rich and complex encounter with the researched community that places the researcher in many different localities; at times making him an insider, an outsider or both. Future research is needed in order to enhance our understanding regarding what contexts and conditions contribute to the positioning of the researcher as an insider or an outsider. The case of the Ultra-Orthodox researcher, described in this chapter, highlights the importance of reflexivity in qualitative research. Berger (2015) defines reflexivity as the process of a continual internal dialogue and critical self-evaluation of the researcher’s positionality as well as active acknowledgement and explicit recognition that this position may affect the research process and its outcome. This chapter introduces the significance of reflecting on one’s intersecting conflictual parts, and their influence on his locality during the research project. As shown in this chapter, different contexts bring about different identity parts, thus affecting the research process. Being reflective regarding one’s conflicting identity expressions and their implications on the research can aid researchers in successfully completing their work.

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References Adler, P., & Adler, P. (1987). Membership roles in field research. Newbury Park, CA: Sage. Barbour, I. (2002). Nature, human nature, and God, theology and the science. Minneapolis, MN: Fortress. Berger, R. (2015). Now I see it, now I don’t: Researcher’s position and reflexivity in qualitative research. Qualitative Research, 15(2), 219–234. https://doi.org/10.1177/1468794112468475 Cahaner, L., & Shilhav, Y. (2012). From ghetto to suburb—Changes in the Ultra-Orthodox space in Israel. In K. Kaplan & N. Stadler (Eds.), From survival to consolidation: Changes in Israeli Haredi society and its scholarly study (pp. 252–272). Jerusalem: Van Leer. [Hebrew] Cassell, C., & Symon, G. (Eds.). (2004). Essential guide to qualitative methods in organizational research. London: Sage. Crenshaw, K. (1991). Mapping the margins: Intersectionality, identity politics, and violence against women of color. Stanford Law Review, 43(6), 1241–1299. https://doi.org/10.2307/1229039 Dodick, J., & Shuchat, R. B. (2014). Historical interactions between Judaism and science and their influence on science teaching and learning. In M. R. Matthews (Ed.), International handbook of research in history, philosophy and science teaching (pp. 1721–1757). Dordrecht: Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-7654-8_54 Dwyer, S.  C., & Buckle, J.  L. (2009). The space between: On being an insider-outsider in qualitative research. International Journal of Qualitative Methods, 8(1), 54–63. https://doi. org/10.1177/160940690900800105 Edelstein, O. E., Band-Winterstein, T., & Bachner, Y. G. (2016). The meaning of burden of care in a faith-based community: The case of ultra-Orthodox Jews (UOJ). Aging & Mental Health, 21(8), 851–861. https://doi.org/10.1080/13607863.2016.1175418 Efron, N. (2007). Judaism and science: A historical introduction. Westport, CT: Greenwood. Fass, H., & Lazar, R. (2011). Social work and the Haredi community in Israel: From rejection to acceptance as reflected in the narrative of a Haredi social worker. Reflections, 17(4), 32–38. Freund, A., Cohen, M., & Azaiza, F. (2014). The doctor is just a messenger: Beliefs of ultraorthodox Jewish women in regard to breast cancer and screening. Journal of Religion and Health, 53(4), 1075–1090. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10943-013-9695-0 Friedman, M. (1991). The Haredi Ultra-Orthodox society: Sources trends and processes. Jerusalem: The Jerusalem Institute for Israel Studies. [Hebrew] Hockey, J. (1993). Research methods—researching peers and familiar settings. Research Papers in Education, 8(2), 199–225. https://doi.org/10.1080/0267152930080205 Kalagy, T. (2016). Three approaches to the connection between modernization and traditionalism: A case study of the acquisition of academic education among ultra-Orthodox and Bedouin women. Culture and Religion, 17(3), 312–331. https://doi.org/10.1080/14755610.2016.121789 8 Kaplan, Z. J. (2004). Rabbi Joel Teitelbaum, Zionism, and Hungarian Ultra-Orthodoxy. Modern Judaism, 24(2), 165–178. https://doi.org/10.1093/mj/kjh012 Kaplan, K., & Stadler, N. (2012). From survival to consolidation: Changes in Israeli Haredi society and its scholarly study. Jerusalem, Israel: Van Leer. [Hebrew] Krakowski, M. (2008). Dynamics of isolation and integration in Ultra-Orthodox schools: The epistemological implications of using Rabbeim as secular studies teachers. Journal of Jewish Education, 74(3), 317–342. https://doi.org/10.1080/15244110802418377 Onorato, R. S., & Turner, J. C. (2004). Fluidity in the self-concept: The shift from personal to social identity. European Journal of Social Psychology, 34(3), 257–278. https://doi.org/10.1002/ ejsp.195 Polkinghorne, J. (1998). Belief in God in an age of science. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press. Ravitzky, A. (1996). Messianism, Zionism, and Jewish religious radicalism. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press.

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Rier, D. A., Schwartzbaum, A., & Heller, C. (2008). Methodological issues in studying an insular, traditional population: A women’s health survey among Israeli Haredi (ultra-Orthodox) Jews. Women & Health, 48(4), 363–381. https://doi.org/10.1080/03630240802575054 Samet, M. (1988). The beginnings of Orthodoxy. Modern Judaism, 8(3), 249–269. https://doi. org/10.1093/mj/8.3.249 Stadler, N. (2012). A well-worn tallis for a new ceremony. Brighton, MA: Academic Studies. Valins, O. (2000). Institutionalised religion: Sacred texts and Jewish spatial practice. Geoforum, 31(4), 575–586. https://doi.org/10.1016/s0016-7185(00)00020-8 Zanbar, L., & Itzhaky, H. (2014). The contribution of macro-intervention social workers to the success of volunteer community activists. VOLUNTAS: International Journal of Voluntary and Nonprofit Organizations, 25(1), 92–108. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11266-012-9333-6 Zicherman, H., & Cahaner, L. (2012). Modern Ultra-Orthodoxy: The emerging Haredi middle class in Israel. Jerusalem: The Israel Democracy Institute. [Hebrew]

Chapter 17

A Context-Informed Approach to the Study of Child Risk and Protection: Lessons Learned and Future Directions Yochay Nadan and Dorit Roer-Strier

17.1  Deconstructing Myths in the “Risk” Discourse As the first step in conceptualizing a context-informed approach to the study of risk and protection of children and the deriving professional practices, three prevalent myths that we identified in the “risk” discourse will be outlined and deconstructed in the first part of this chapter.

17.1.1  F  irst Myth: Child “Risk” and “Protection” as Essentialist Categories “Risk” and “protection” of children can be seen and understood from two theoretical perspectives—essentialism and constructivism. In short, essentialism views phenomena as having an objective indwelling essence, a sort of “true nature.” Therefore, a category is viewed as a natural entity, possessing a specific essence that sets it apart from other categories. This essence automatically and unambiguously places the phenomena into specific, predetermined, and unchanging categories. The main task of science, therefore, is to observe and discover the true nature of things, i.e., their essential qualities (Lincoln & Guba, 1985). From this perspective, “risk” is approached as if it is a thing that exists in the world and the job of professionals is to understand and deal with this thing in order to keep children safe (Smeeton, 2020). Our findings indicate that this essentialist perspective dominates Y. Nadan (*) · D. Roer-Strier NEVET-Greenhouse of Context-Informed Research and Training for Children in Need, The Paul Baerwald School of Social Work and Social Welfare, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem, Israel e-mail: [email protected] © Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2020 D. Roer-Strier, Y. Nadan (eds.), Context-Informed Perspectives of Child Risk and Protection in Israel, Child Maltreatment 10, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-44278-1_17

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professional discourse and influences how practitioners tend to think  about and assess “risk.” This is evident as professional discourse is filled with professional terms with essentialist flavor such as “indicators” or “factors” that suggest an expert position of discovering the “true nature” of risk, as well as a linear causality, that there is a “thing” that can harm a child or increase the probability of harm. Constructivism, however, views phenomena such as child “risk” and “protection” as subjective, socially constructed, and context-dependent. From this perspective, social constructs are dynamic and can only be meaningful within a specific context (society, culture, history, language, etc.) (Gergen, 2015). Therefore, categories or constructs are a matter of definition and construction, and cannot be understood as existing outside human consciousness (Nadan, 2017). People experience and construct their different realities in their contexts. Along this line of thinking, we follow Holland’s (2004) argument that “risk” is not a concrete concept but is socially constructed, and therefore, cannot be a technical calculation but a way of thinking, rather than a “thing” or set of realities. Social context is a concept that originated in social constructionism. A social context is created by people, and people are formed by their social contexts. A person never exists in a void, always in a context. Contexts are complex as they change constantly over time, as do human beings. Context means a set of circumstances or facts that surround and contribute to the full meaning of an event or situation (Askeland & Døhlie, 2015). The different contexts that surround an event or a category such as “risk” construct the meaning it is ascribed. Therefore, a category is constructed and meaning is attributed to it through different contexts such as place, time, culture, professional discourses, power relations, etc. Based on our findings, we refer to “risk” and “protection” of children as socially constructed and contextually derived categories. We rely on Young’s (1995) conceptualization that sees such categories as a “product of achievements” of practitioners, and as the result of complex relations between knowledge, culture, subjectivity, and politics (Plotkin Amrami, 2018). Instead of examining whether or not the categories of “risk” and “protection” of children are “real,” we adopted the stance of asking how it became real in the professional context, as well as in the broad social discourse (Young, 1995). The concepts of context and contextualization are not new to social work literature (e.g., including physical, social, psychological, historical, cultural, political and economic contexts), and are frequently used to explain the psycho-social interaction of human beings and their environment (Askeland & Døhlie, 2015). Therefore, we would expect a constructivist, context-informed approach to dominate the professional discourse of child “risk” and “protection.” However, our findings indicate this is not the case. Several explanations—that are related to the contexts of the child welfare services—can be given for the essentialist view taken by professionals on the constructs of “risk” and “protection.” First, the context of social workers and child protection officers in Israel having enormous caseloads; they are forced to almost exclusively deal with emergency situations. This situation is the result of extreme neo-liberal ideologies and its ramifications on the daily operations of social services (Strier & Feldman, 2017).

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Second, the concept of “risk” is used to inform decisions regarding actions that should be taken with families where there are concerns about the safety of a child. This causes anxiety for professionals and services searching for tools, such as assessment protocols, risk indicators, scales, etc., to reduce this anxiety and feel more confident in taking action (Smeeton, 2020). Moreover, in recent years in Israel we have witnessed a growing trend of the personal shaming of social workers and child protection officers, especially on weblogs and Facebook pages, for their erroneous child protection decisions (Kagan, Orkibi, & Zychlinski, 2018). Social workers and child welfare agencies have suffered shaming either when children were taken out of their homes for “no reason,” or when children were severely harmed by their parents and the system failed to protect them. We believe this trend has intensified the anxiety of dealing with the issue of children at risk and intensified professionals’ search for evidence and strengthened the essentialist professional discourse, leading professionals to feel and believe they are more skillful, knowledgeable, and have control of the situation. One of the dangers of social work’s preoccupation with assessing risk from an essentialist standpoint is that it often leads to describing children and families as fixed, knowable objects. Smeeton (2020) argues that the stance taken by social workers of being able to objectively describe families from the outside is an attempt by social workers to take themselves out of the world they are attempting to understand. Therefore, they fail to realize that they are not describing passive creatures but people capable of bringing meaning to their own lives rather than have that meaning externally imposed. Whereas risk and protection are mostly perceived and practiced in the professional (and public) discourse as having an essentialist nature, we prefer to view them as socially constructed and contextually dependent—as categories that are created in different contexts including inter-personal and inter-group power relations between the one who defines and the one who is defined (or labeled), between hegemony and margins of society. Our findings regarding parents of Ethiopian origin and social workers serving this community (see Chap. 5) indicate that risk is constructed in a circular process. The construction of risk for Ethiopian children involves two essential components: in the first, professionals label and apply the image of “at risk,” embedded in broader dominant societal discourses, to Ethiopian children; and in the second, parents and children in the community internalize these images. This internalization, in turn, reinforces professional (and societal) images of “risk,” etc. Stemming from its circular nature, this dynamic escalates over time, causing the category of “risk” to be increasingly perceived in essentialist terms, as if indicating the “true nature” of Ethiopian children (Engdau-Vanda, 2020). This process leads to the establishment of hundreds of projects, special programs, non-­ profit organizations, and a host of research projects regarding children of Ethiopian origin—what has become known as the “risk industry” (Engdau-Vanda, 2019). All of the projects share a desire to “save” the Ethiopian community by facilitating its absorption into Israeli society (see Chap. 4).

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17.1.2  S  econd Myth: “Risk” and “Protection” of Children Are Universal Categories In line with the thinking about child risk and protection in essentialist terms, these categories also tend to be perceived and practiced as universal. The “universal” notions of these categories dominate the professional and public discourse in Israel, and quite possibly in other Western countries as well. When it comes to child protection practice, “risk” tends to be assessed and determined by social workers based on universal indicators (Barry, 2007). This is not surprising as the literature on risk tends to focus on factors such as: large family size (Murray & Farrington, 2010), low level of parental education (Sonego, Llácer, Galán, & Simón, 2013), parental unemployment (Pissarides & Wadsworth, 2013), corporal punishment (Gershoff & Grogan-Kaylor, 2016), the lack of access to educational and enrichment activities (Marchetti, Wilson, & Dunham, 2016) among others, which are all mainly void of context. We think of this “universalistic” discourse as stemming from two main sources. The first is the professional body of knowledge regarding child development that underrepresents of the majority of the world’s children living in non-Western countries (e.g., Arnett, 2008; LeVine, 2017). The seminal paper titled The Weirdest People in the World (Heinrich, Heine, & Norenzayan, 2010) reported the over-­ representation of Euro-centric samples in psychological journals and coined the term “WEIRD” as signifying Western, Educated, Industrialized, Rich, and Democratic societies. While children growing up in Western countries only comprise about 10–12% of the world’s population of children, approximately 96% of child development research in the leading peer-reviewed psychology journals in the United States is based on samples from what have come to be called “WEIRD” societies. Therefore, there is a concern that knowledge on “WEIRD” samples (i.e., Western) will be viewed as “universal” and will be generalized from “WEIRD” samples to humanity at large (Heinrich et al., 2010). One good example might be attachment theory (Bowlby, 1969) that was formulated based on empirical research and clinical experience conducted largely in Western countries, and is now perceived as a “universal” theory of child development. As a “universal” theory, attachment serves as a central lens through which social workers and child protection officers asses “risk” and make decisions in cases of alleged child maltreatment in Israel, as well as in other Western countries (e.g., Keddell, 2017; Skivenes & Skramstad, 2013). Attachment theory as a focal point for risk assessment can result in an intense focus on a particular form of parenting (or a deficit, thereof) as the main source of emotional safety or cause of children’s problems, rather than the outcome of complex interrelationships between the individual, family, and contextual issues such as cultural values, poverty, political violence, unemployment and discrimination, and available services (Taylor, 2004). Moreover, “risk” may be falsely inferred from different cultural practices of childrearing following the prevailing logic that differences are equivalent to deficits

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(Morelli et al., 2018). Inherent problems of attachment theory, i.e., imprecise concepts and false assumptions (Keller, 2018), result in different interpretations, often combined with oversimplifications (Keddell, 2017). Moreover, attachment theory has been substantially criticized as ethnocentric and as only representative of Western middle class families (e.g., Vicedo, 2013). As demonstrated in Chap. 7, in large Ultra-Orthodox families there are underlying dimensions of a multi-layered network of relations that are not yet reflected in classical developmental theories on family relations, e.g., relationship formations at the group and subgroup levels. Consequently, we argue that adopting a “universal” (and Western) set of criteria when assessing “risk” in non-Western families is not only morally and ethically problematic, but was found to be counterproductive for effective child protection. In addition, it runs the risk of viewing normative cultural practices as abuse or neglect (a false positive) (Korbin & Spilsbury, 1999). After taking another look at the wider context, it is apparent that this Western set of criteria became “universal” due to the power imbalance between the global North and the global South, which was a result of Western countries’ cultural, economic and political power. The second source of the “universalistic” discourse of child “risk” and “protection” is related to values. Child protection services in Western countries tend to be based on values such as rights, equality, individualism, change, empowerment, the right to self-definition, and autonomy (Banks, 2012; NASW, 2015). NonWestern societies share various value systems that sometimes run counter to these values. For example, in collectivist societies, the community and the family take precedence over the individual; in other societies, instead of the value of change, stability and continuity are viewed as preferable values (Rokeach, 2008). The value of equality is also challenged in patriarchal religious societies (Gemara & Nadan, 2020; Kreitzer, 2012; Yip, 2004). This gap and value mismatch may intensify the “deficiency approach” (Park, 2005) taken by professionals vis-à-vis diverse populations when assessing “risk,” in which poverty, race, and minority status serve as a marker of “risk” and maltreatment for social workers. This was prominent in the findings of the current study. For example, in Chap. 6 professionals regard unemployment in Ultra-Orthodox families as a risk factor, whereas the Ultra-Orthodox community views one’s total devotion to religious studies as admirable and desirable. In Chap. 5 for example, allowing a child to walk barefoot outside is considered by professionals to be a sign of parental neglect, whereas the Ethiopian community views walking barefoot outside as a liberating and joyful experience. We argue that one ramification of this deficiency approach embedded in “universal” standards for risk assessment is the over-representation of children from minority groups in the child welfare agencies and in out-of-home placements. In all of the chapters, our findings clearly demonstrate that treating the categories of risk and protection as “universal” is a myth. We view risk for children as particular, local, context-dependent, and related to the social positioning of children and their families. Viewing risk as “universal” ends in oppressive child

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protection practices that are ultimately not in the best interest of children and their families.

17.1.3  T  hird Myth: “Risk” and “Protection” of Children as Distinct, Polarized, Binary Categories “Risk” and “protection” tend to be constructed in the professional as well as public discourse as two distinct, binary opposite categories. A binary opposition is a pair of related terms or concepts that are opposite in meaning. It seems that such a categorization within the “risk” discourse invites unidimensional and simplistic images, and ignores the complexity of the phenomenon. Nevertheless, a closer examination of the research findings demonstrate that “risk” and “protection” are not either/or categories, but rather both/and, as demonstrated in different chapters. In Chap. 14, for example, young children ages 3–6  years old were interviewed regarding their perceptions of risk and protection in their environments. We learned from the children that risk and protection are not dichotomous issues or separate entities, but rather context-dependent constructs; under certain conditions, something that is seen as dangerous could become protective and vice versa. For example, a slide in a playground could be a source of risk if children are not careful, but it also creates a sense of enjoyment that is considered to be protective. Although the researchers presented the children with dichotomous questions regarding risk and protection, the children taught the researchers that risk and protection may not be dichotomous. They manifested complex, mentally flexible, and creative thinking regarding a range of topics. This finding put into question risk assessment practices that are based on rigid predetermined indicators (Barry, 2007). The fact that certain circumstances were described as both posing a risk and as being protective,  depending on the context, raises serious questions regarding risk assessment and child protection practices. It further emphasizes the need to include contextual elements in assessments of risk and protection vis-à-vis families and children in general, and regarding minority groups in particular.

17.2  The Stance of the Observer and the Issue of Power The stance of the observer had a strong effect on the ways in which “risk” and “protection” were perceived by professionals in the different studies. Interviewees from within the communities tended to view certain circumstances as protective whereas the professionals who are “outsiders” and belong to the hegemonic groups tended to view the same circumstances as posing a risk. The research base of the insider/

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outsider debate regarding the pros and cons of caseworkers from the same or different cultural group focuses primarily on the efficacy of treatment and the preferences of clients (Cabral & Smith, 2011). The literature tends to overlook the interpretive nature of the observer with regard to the subjective approach to definitions of risk and protection (Garb, 1997). As seen in our findings, differences in perceptions between insiders and outsiders may create bias, thus negatively affecting the ways in which social workers assess and intervene in cases of children at risk. The observer’s subjective nature vis-à-vis risk and protection inevitably involves the dynamics of power relations. The findings indicate that the interviewees’ perceptions regarding risk and protection affected their practice in essential areas, such as out-of-home placement, resource allocation, enforcing mandatory legislation, and clinical intervention. In all of these areas, whereas the client’s opinion may have been considered, the final decision was in the hands of the social worker. The ecological model and other environmental models have been criticized for undertheorizing the roles of power relations in the child’s environment (Houston, 2017). As a result, Shalhoub-Kevorkian and Roer-Strier (2016) incorporate counter-hegemonic theories into the ecological model to achieve a more critical view of social phenomena. Nadan, Weinberg-Kurnik, and Ben-Ari (2013) also assert that multicultural practice requires critical awareness of the social-political context. Our findings reinforce the need to consider issues of power in the contextual assessment of child risk and protection, especially regarding minority groups. Social workers possess significant power to influence the well-being of children and their families. Their encounter with clients is characterized by an uneven balance of power, giving them precedence in terms of whose definitions regarding risk and protection are valued and enforced. As a result, we highlight the importance of professionals developing reflexivity toward their own often privileged social locations, attitudes, beliefs, and perceptions, as well as toward the potential gaps between them and their clients. This reflexivity can aid in professionals’ efforts to avoid abusing their power against communities that possess different contexts and value systems. This is of particular importance when dealing with families of minority groups that suffer institutionalized and severe human rights violations and social exclusion, such as a Eritrean refugees who suffer temporary legal status, lack of human rights and access to services, and the ongoing threat of deportation (see Chap. 12), or Palestinian families from East Jerusalem in the context of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict (see Chap. 13), or in the case of Bedouin families who live in villages unrecognized by the state of Israel (see Chap. 9).

17.3  Value Mismatch The two chapters (Chaps. 5 and 7) that focus on perspectives of Ethiopian and Ultra-­ Orthodox parents vs. perspectives of professionals working with them demonstrate a complex picture. On one hand, in many respects, there is congruence between professionals and parents, who perceive risk and protection for children in similar ways, mostly

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in regard to child abuse. For example, child sexual abuse was viewed as offensive and unacceptable in both communities, by parents and professionals alike. On the other hand, the chapters demonstrate discrepancies between parents’ and professionals’ perceptions and constructions of “risk” and “protection” for children as the product of differences in the values, norms, and contexts of these two groups, especially regarding child neglect. This may include discrepancies and contradictions concerning the meanings of central cultural elements, such as the number of children in the family, the availability of financial resources, employment, external appearance, physical closeness, corporal punishment, and spiritual risk. In some cases, what professionals perceive as posing a risk for children may not necessarily be perceived in this manner by parents, and that what parents perceive as a risk factor for their child may not be perceived as such by professionals. For example, social workers may regard physical closeness between children who share the same sleeping space in an Ethiopian family as undesirable sexual behavior without taking into account that this closeness may be considered normative according to the values of the minority group. On the other hand, Ultra-Orthodox parents may perceive spirituality as a major concern for their children, while professionals do not consider “spiritual risk” to be a risk factor at all. The tension is made more complex by the power differentials stemming from the professional’s role (client vs. practitioner) and social location (minority individuals vs. representative of the hegemonic majority). Regarding power, studies conducted in Israel indicate that social workers expect the populations with which they work to adapt themselves to the values and methods of their profession, and that some embrace biased and stereotypical assumptions regarding the Ethiopian population (Ben-Eliezer, 2008) and Ultra-Orthodox Jews (Baum, 2007), among others. This discrepancy can become a source of tension between families and professionals and can lead to hostility or poor cooperation (Schmid & Benbenishty, 2011), which is typically not beneficial to the child. These contradictions affect the relationship between the communities and the professionals, leading to parental fear regarding arbitrary and harmful intervention by the social service agencies and a preference for receiving assistance from within the community, which professionals sometimes view as an obstacle to their intervention (Nadan, Roer-Strier, Gemara, Engdau-Vanda, & Tener, 2018). As mentioned above, our findings demonstrate that there is a general consensus regarding child abuse between parents in the different communities and the professionals working with them, with the exception of corporal punishment that is perceived by parents in many groups  as a normative child rearing practice (e.g., Ultra-Orthodox, French immigrants, Ethiopians, Eritreans, and Bedouins). Nevertheless, in all of these groups, parents indeed differentiate between physical punishment for educational means and physical violence that involves malice, or the beating of children in a fit of anger—which is considered parental abuse. In the case of child neglect, the assessment is closely related to the cultural context, as well as to the context of poverty and the fact that they live in impoverished residential areas (see Chap. 11). The assessment of neglect is very elusive and confusing. The parents interviewed in communities living in poverty (e.g., Ultra-Orthodox, Bedouin,

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Ethiopian and other parents living in impoverished neighborhoods) persistently implored upon social workers to distinguish between child neglect and socio-­ cultural and environmental conditions.

17.4  On the Merits of Complexity One of our main insights that emerged from the different case studies and chapters of this book has to do with complexity. Complexity characterizes the behavior of a system whose components interact with each other in multiple ways and follows local rules. It therefore rejects reductionist linear thinking and prefers holism—the view that the whole is greater than the sum of its parts (Byrne, 2002). One element of complexity is related to the dynamic nature and sometime instability of the different contexts in which we operate when exploring child risk and protection. It is clear that cultures are constantly changing and are not static, therefore parenting is also changing. The way in which risk is perceived and conceptualized by children, parents, and communities changes over time and according to  place. One good example is related to how parenthood and perceptions of “risk” and “protection” of children are constructed by immigration. Chapter 10 focuses on perceptions of risk among one-and-a-half generation former Soviet Union (FSU) immigrant parents and Israeli social workers. The authors demonstrate that “risk” perceptions among parents from the one-and-a-half generation are complex and hybrid and stem from two sources of socialization: the first are the values, norms, and ways of socialization from the FSU, by which they were socialized by their parents (the first generation of immigration), and the second are the values, norms, and educational concepts acquired in Israel. Therefore, we see complexity and hybridity as interrelated. As for hybridity, we relate to identities, childrearing practices, and socialization goals, whereas in the history of immigration to Israel (and the “absorption” policy) such hybridity was seen as problematic and even viewed as posing risks for children. Based on our studies, we believe hybridity is a source of children’s resilience and protection. Another very confusing aspect involving complexity is related to the macro structural level of child risk and protection. On one hand, the state is responsible to protect children, and employs different systems, laws, and professionals to implement this commitment, while on the other hand, from our studies with children (see Chap. 14) we have learned that they regard the state as one of main causes for risk in their lives. This is a mostly evident in the context of political violence in areas of political conflict, where both Israeli and Palestinian children are exposed to armed attacks, missile attacks, terrorism, injuries, and death (see Chap. 14). Moreover, this becomes extreme in cases of house demolition in the Bedouin villages unrecognized by the state (see Chap. 9) and in cases of child arrest by the Israeli security forces in East Jerusalem (see Chap. 13). This is also the case of refugee children that are void of social services and are in constant threat of deportation (see Chap. 12). The findings demonstrate that the state aspires to protect children but at the same

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time provokes risk through its security and welfare policies, and through its extreme inequality and discrimination in providing services.

17.5  Methodological Insights Looking back at the process of inquiry, we have gathered several methodological understandings for the study of child risk and protection and for context-informed research. Our first insight is that context-informed research is transformative for the people who take part in it. We realized that the researchers who conducted the research, including primary investigators, postdocs, doctoral and MA students, were all deeply influenced and transformed by the process. The exploration and deconstruction of “given” constructs such as “risk” and “protection” through the research process has deeply impacted the people involved. Many of the researchers involved had previous experience in social services and child protection and joined the research groups with very solid ideas regarding the subject matter. Through meeting with the study participants, opinions began to shift and became more complex. Definite stances became more vague and the complexity of the phenomenon under study became more evident. In some cases, researchers found themselves feeling that they must take action. Some researchers felt they could not stay in their current position at social services, and others actually decided to join the system in managerial and other influential positions. Interestingly, we discovered that many of our participants have also undergone a transformation through their participation, as the interviews enabled reflectivity and raised new questions for them. Another methodological issue that came up repeatedly in our extensive discussions in the research group is the inherent contradiction between two views of identity. On the one hand, we prefer to see identity (or better yet identities) as socially constructed, dynamic, changing, multiple, hybrid, and context-related, and from an intersectionality perspective. On the other hand, in our studies, and as also reflected in this book, we focused on a group level, and used “demographic” frameworks to categorize our participants (e.g., Bedouin from the unrecognized villages, Ultra-­ Orthodox, immigrants from different countries, and so on). This inherent contradiction stands at the heart of a context-informed study. We wanted to be able to say something about the different contexts and the way child “risk” and “protection” are constructed in specific contexts, but we also wanted to avoid essentializing the concept of identity. This is definitely one limitation of this approach. Our way to deal with this limitation was to avoid treating the “demographic” categories in an essentialist way and always stressed the right to self-identification of our participants—as individuals, families, and communities. It is the open dialogue about, and the exploration of identities that makes all the difference. A central aspect of any qualitative study that achieves critical importance in context-­informed research is the issue of reflectivity. Reflection is generally referred to as an active, persistent and careful consideration of any belief or supposed form of knowledge of the researchers involved in a study (Dewey, 1933). More recent

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definitions suggest that reflectivity involves the constant movement between being in the phenomena and stepping outside of it—involving active, conscious processes that emphasize the researcher’s dual position both within and outside the phenomenon (Ben-Ari & Enosh, 2011). In our research groups in the “risk” project, we developed and employed several mechanisms to further enhance the process of reflectivity regarding our own values, experiences, interests, beliefs, and political attitudes. Aditionally, we increased our awareness of our own contexts and social locations. We found that one of the most influential elements was the unique composition of the research group—which included experts in the field of qualitative analysis, child welfare practitioners, and people with differing levels of familiarity with the studied communities, including researchers who are members of those communities. The multiplicity of perspectives enabled both self and group exploration and provided multiple perspectives for analyzing the raw data and served as a basis for interpreting the findings. Currently, we consider conducting research “about” minority groups without having co-researchers who themselves belong to the studied group as being extremely problematic, and even oppressive—in terms of both methodological aspects (e.g., erroneous interpretation by outsiders) and ethical considerations (e.g., the risk of causing harm to a community). Lastly, we found that our research instruments do not always fit the groups we work with and a lot of flexibility and creativity is required. We started this research project with a fancy and very complicated interview guide aimed at tackling the concepts of “risk,” “protection,” “abuse,” “neglect,” and the “well-being” of children, as well as with the mission to apply it to the different groups in order to be able to have more consistent and comparable findings. As we piloted it in the different groups we realized that different groups reacted differently to the same interview guide. For example, in interviews we conducted with mothers from the Ethiopian community we realized that the semi-structured nature of the interview guide utilized very limited, closed responses. Once we decided to “give up” the interview guide and started to ask more open, narrative questions on the topic, rich stories started to emerge. We are currently thinking about developing interview guides that are more simple and based on more open, narrative questions, with less pre-defined concepts; questions that are intended to elaborate on the participants’ experiences and meanings.

17.6  Implications for Social Policy and Social Work Practice Our findings call upon professionals to re-visit the three myths outlined in this chapter: that child “risk” and “protection” are essentialist, universal and binary categories. The context-informed perspective invites professionals to take into account the different relevant contexts such as: culture, ethnicity, religiosity, spirituality, socioeconomic status, citizenship status, and community life when assessing risk and treating children and families of minority communities. Such an approach can be a first step in challenging the prevalent nature of risk and protection as essentialist,

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universal and binary categories. We see social workers who belong to minority communities themselves as key agents in this process as they foster a deeper understanding of the contextual elements. Yet, some showed an internalization of the “universal perspective” of risk and protection according to which they were trained. This implication is related to both policy and direct practitioners. On the micro level, one way of incorporating a broader approach to the understanding of risk and protection is through including the professional stance of “inductive learning” proposed by Lum (2011). He proposes that professionals must transcend cultural descriptions (and stereotypes) and listen to the meanings that clients assign to their lives and their experiences within their unique life contexts. In the realm of the current study, professionals should gain crucial knowledge from their clients, including, for example, the meanings clients ascribe to their immigration and the country of origin or to the importance of the cultural or community values. This shift, from knowing about clients to learning from clients, reflects an essential and ethical step in the understanding of risk and protection. The study’s findings shed light on the need for prevention and intervention programs that are context-informed. Many criticisms regarding prevention and intervention programs arose claiming that they  were either “universal” or culturally specific, and actually relied on cultural stereotypes (see Chap. 5). One of the ways to begin to tackle this problem is by involving parents and community members in the development of these programs in order to meet their needs, as well as professionals who themselves belong to the communities. Nevertheless, discourses of “cultural adaptation” in general focus on fundamental and indispensable cultural aspects (e.g., language, values, worldviews, social norms, etc.); such processes tend to not be politically informed, and might even reinforce socio-political power relations between hegemonic social groups and social minorities (Reisch & Andrews, 2014), thereby exacerbating oppression. It might also be claimed that cultural adaptation practices tend to use therapeutic and educational discourses that reinforce compliance with dominant ideology. Adaptation practices should combine the cultural and the political dimensions that might help minority groups to express their claims for autonomy and foster their agency. In terms of education and the training of practitioners, we emphasize the need to educate and train social workers and child protection workers working with minority groups in context competency. Context competency is not a set of tools but it is mostly related to reflectivity and ethics. One aspect in this direction would be “zooming out”—looking beyond “culture” at other, broader contextual elements, especially concerning the situation of disadvantaged minority groups in society, who live under personal, institutional, legal, and structural forces that restrict, oppress, humiliate, and prevent them from obtaining equal access to resources and opportunities (Sisneros, Stakeman, Joyner, & Schmitz, 2008). When working with families where children are at risk of abuse or neglect, a broader view can foster deeper understanding of the complexity of their situation, as well as encourage empathy rather than judgmental attitudes. Another aspect of reflectivity is related to practitioners’ exploration of their own identities and (largely privileged) social positions, and the ways in which these shape their assumptions, attitudes, and images with

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regard to the “other” (Nadan & Stark, 2017). Such reflection can facilitate the acknowledgement of the ways in which fears, ignorance and the “isms” (racism, sexism, ethnocentrism, heterosexism, ageism, classism, etc.) influence practitioners’ attitudes, beliefs, and feelings in both their personal and professional lives. Such exploration urges a shift in attention from the “other” to the “self” and calls for the exploration of the power relations and privileges involved in the construction of the “other” (Jeyasingham, 2012).

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