מאמרים בכתבי עת
1. Benatov, J., Nakash, O., Chen-Gal, S., Abu-Kaf, S., & Brunstein Klomek, A. (2016). Religious-Ethnic differences in prevalence and correlates of suicidal ideation and attempts among Israeli vocational education students. Israel Journal of Psychiatry and Related Sciences, 53(3), 40-46.
The current study is the first to examine serious suicidal ideation, suicide attempts and psychological distress among students belonging to different religious-ethnic groups attending VET high schools.
METHOD: 3,553 students studying in the VET high schools completed a self-report survey. The survey evaluated serious suicidal ideation, suicide attempts, depression, anxiety, somatization, self-efficacy, belonging and sociodemographic variables.
RESULTS: Students coming from minority groups (Arab Muslim, Bedouin Arab Muslim, Druze) are more likely to have seriously considered suicide or attempted suicide compared to their Jewish counterparts, with the exception of Christian Arabs. Bedouin Arab Muslim students were more susceptible to suicide ideation and attempts upon high depression levels.
CONCLUSIONS: Minority youth at VET schools are at greater risk of experiencing suicidal ideation and attempting suicide compared to non-minority students. The education system must be highly alert to depressive symptoms among Bedouin Arab Muslim students since they may pose a greater risk to develop into suicidal ideation and attempt.
- Abu-Kaf, S., Braun-Lewensohn, O., & Kalagy, T. (2017). Youth in the Midst of Escalated Political Violence: Sense of Coherence and Hope Among Jewish and Bedouin Arab Adolescents. Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Mental Health 11(42).
Background: During stressful events, individuals (particularly adolescents) from minority groups are often more vulnerable to distress. This claim will be examined in terms of coping resources and stress reactions to escalated political violence. This study aimed to compare coping resources and stress reactions among adolescents from two ethnic groups in southern Israel—Jews and Bedouin Arabs—during a period of escalated political violence (November 2012). The Bedouin Arab group is the ethnic minority of the sample and thus may be more at risk compared to the Jewish group. Methods Data were gathered from 78 Jews and 91 Bedouin Arabs (14–18 years old) by using convenience sampling method. Adolescents were contacted via the Internet or in person by the research team and they completed self-report questionnaires including the Sense Of Coherence Scale (SOC), Hope Index, State Anxiety Inventory, and State Anger Inventory. After a preliminary χ2 analysis of the sample characteristics, three main sets of analyses were conducted including a two-way MANOVA, zero-order correlations between study variables, and hierarchical multiple regressions. Results Bedouin Arab adolescents reported lower levels of SOC (F(1, 158) = 3.88, p = 0.04) and higher levels of individual and collective hope (F(1, 158) = 3.94, p = 0.03; F(1, 158) = 17.41, p = 0.001, respectively), as compared to Jewish adolescents. The Bedouin adolescents also reported higher levels of state anger (F(1, 158) = 5.58, p = 0.02). We identified cultural similarities related to the predictive power of coping resources (SOC and individual hope) in explaining state anger (β = −0.29, p = 0.001; β = −0.18, p = 0.045, respectively). However, cultural differences were found to affect the ability of SOC to predict state anxiety; SOC contributed significantly to state anxiety only among the Jewish adolescents (β = −0.45, p < 0.001). Conclusion These results emphasize the significance of addressing cultural/ethnic factors in attempts to understand mental-health issues among youth during periods of escalated political violence.
3 .Kalagy, T., Braun-Lewensohn, O., & Abu-Kaf, S. (2017). Youth from Fundamentalist Societies: What are Their Attitudes Toward War and Peace and Their Relations with Anxiety Reactions? Journal of Religion and Health, 56(3), 1064-1080.
The present study was conducted during “Protective Edge," a long-lasting military operation between the State of Israel and Hamas in Gaza, during which hundreds of rockets were fired from Gaza into various regions across the country. At the same time, Israeli forces bombed Gaza and sent in ground forces. The military operation ended after 50 days of fighting, with a cease-fire between the warring sides. The aim of this study was to compare attitudes and perceptions of youth from different religious fundamentalist societies, toward the war and their readiness for peace during this specific violent struggle, and attitudes toward the Israeli–Palestinian (I–P) conflict in general. Furthermore, we wanted to examine the links between these attitudes, personal sense of coherence and state anxiety. We compared two groups of adolescents who belong to religious minorities in Israel: ultra-Orthodox and national religious. The sample included a total of 107 subjects from both groups. The young people responded to a questionnaire, distributed during the military operation, while they were still under rocket fire from the Gaza Strip. The questionnaire included: socio-demographic characteristics; attitudes toward the military operation; ways to resolve the Israeli–Palestinian conflict; sense of coherence and state anxiety. Results indicate that both groups thought that the I–P conflict would not be resolved peacefully and that there were more wars to come. Furthermore, both national religious and ultra-Orthodox adolescents thought that this operation would have limited success for only a limited time. Regarding the differences between the groups, sense of coherence was higher among the ultra-Orthodox and this group also believed more than their counterparts that everything was in God's hands. Interesting results emerged with peaceful resolution being linked to more anxiety among the national religious group, while among the ultra-Orthodox group no relationships were indicated on these two variables. The results of the study underscore the implications of ongoing political conflicts, alongside the growing global power of religion, which minimizes opportunities for world peace.
1. Gilboa-Negari, Z. S, Abu-Kaf, S., Huss, E., Hain, G., & Moser A. (2017). Medical clowning in cross-cultural perspective: Comparison of its effectiveness in reducing anxiety and pain among hospitalized Bedouin and Jewish Israeli children. Journal of Pain Research, 10, 1545-1552.
Purpose: Medical clowning has proven effective for reducing pain, anxiety, and stress, however, its differential effects on children from different cultures have not yet been researched. This study evaluated the effects of medical-clowning intervention on anxiety and pain among Jewish and Bedouin children, and anxiety among their parents, in southern Israel.
Patients and methods
The study was conducted in hospital pediatric departments and employed a pre–post design involving quantitative and qualitative methods. The study included 89 children whose ages ranged from 7.5 to 12 years (39 Jewish and 50 Bedouin) and 69 parents (19 Jewish and 50 Bedouin). Questionnaires assessing pain, anxiety, and demographics were used at the pre-intervention stage and pain, anxiety, and enjoyment of different aspects of the intervention were evaluated following the intervention. The intervention stage lasted for 8–10 minutes and included the use of word play, body language, and making faces, as well as the use of props brought by the clown. Semi-structured interviews were also conducted at the post-intervention stage.
Results: The intervention reduced pain and anxiety among both groups of children and reduced anxiety among both groups of parents. However, anxiety levels were reduced more significantly among Bedouin children. The nonverbal components of the clowns' humor were most central, but it was the verbal components that mediated the reduction in anxiety among the Bedouin children.
Conclusion: This study underscored the effectiveness and importance of medical clowning in reducing pain and anxiety among children in different cultural contexts. Moreover, the issue of culturally appropriate humor was underscored and implications for intercultural clown training are discussed.
מאמרים בכתבי עת
1. Kalagy, T., Braun-Lewensohn, O., Abu-Kaf, S. (2017). Youth from fundamentalist societies: What are their attitudes towards war and peace and their relations with anxiety reactions? Journal of Religion and Health, 56(3), 1064-1080.
The present study was conducted during ''Protective Edge,'' a long-lasting military operation between the State of Israel and Hamas in Gaza, during which hundreds of rockets were fired from Gaza into various regions across the country. At the same time, Israeli forces bombed Gaza and sent in ground forces. The military operation ended after 50 days of fighting, with a cease-fire between the warring sides. The aim of this study was to compare attitudes and perceptions of youth from different religious fundamentalist societies, toward the war and their readiness for peace during this specific violent struggle, and attitudes toward the Israeli–Palestinian (I–P) conflict in general. Furthermore, we wanted to examine the links between these attitudes, personal sense of coherence and state anxiety. We compared two groups of adolescents who belong to religious minorities in Israel: ultra-Orthodox and national religious. The sample included a total of 107 subjects from both groups. The young people responded to a questionnaire, distributed during the military operation, while they were still under rocket fire from the Gaza Strip. The questionnaire included: socio-demographic characteristics; attitudes toward the military operation; ways to resolve the Israeli–Palestinian conflict; sense of coherence and state anxiety. Results indicate that both groups thought that the I–P conflict would not be resolved peacefully and that there were more wars to come. Furthermore, both national religious and ultra-Orthodox adolescents thought that this operation would have limited success for only a limited time. Regarding the differences between the groups, sense of coherence was higher among the ultra-Orthodox and this group also believed more than their counterparts that everything was in God's hands. Interesting results emerged with peaceful resolution being linked to more anxiety among the national religious group, while among the ultra-Orthodox group no relationships were indicated on these two variables. The results of the study underscore the implications of ongoing political conflicts, alongside the growing global power of religion, which minimizes opportunities for world peace.
2. Braun-Lewensohn, O. & Bar, R. (2017). Coping and quality of life among military wives following military operation. Psychiatry Research, 254, 90-95.
The aim of this study was to evaluate the relationships between coping strategies and four dimensions of quality of life (QOL) (physical, psychological, social relations and environment) among military wives. We examined these links six months after the military operation termed Protective Edge. Data were collected from 100 wives (mean age=30.56 SD=5.50) of soldiers who had participated in the military operation and who had been in the front lines. These women filled out self-reported questionnaires including demographics, Brief COPE and WHOQOL-BREF. Results showed that the most prevalent strategy was active coping. Women with no children reported better QOL. Some coping strategies were significantly different in consonance with religiosity and economic status. The demographics and coping scales explained 42%, 23%, 31%, and 28% of the variance of physical, psychological, social and environmental quality of life. The most salient explanatory variables were having children and the maladaptive coping scale. Both of these variables had a negative effect on all scales. The results are discussed based on the stress and coping theory of Lazarus and Folkman.
3. Abu-Kaf, S., Braun-Lewensohn, O., Kalagy, T. (2017). Youth in the midst of escalated political violence: Sense of coherence and hope among Jewish and Bedouin Arab adolescents. Child & Adolescent Psychiatry and Mental Health. DOI 10.1186/s13034-017-0178-z
Background: During stressful events, individuals (particularly adolescents) from minority groups are often more vulnerable to distress. This claim will be examined in terms of coping resources and stress reactions to escalated political violence. This study aimed to compare coping resources and stress reactions among adolescents from two ethnic groups in southern Israel—Jews and Bedouin Arabs—during a period of escalated political violence (November 2012). The Bedouin Arab group is the ethnic minority of the sample and thus may be more at risk compared to the Jewish group.
Methods: Data were gathered from 78 Jews and 91 Bedouin Arabs (14–18 years old) by using convenience sampling method. Adolescents were contacted via the Internet or in person by the research team and they completed self-report questionnaires including the Sense Of Coherence Scale (SOC), Hope Index, State Anxiety Inventory, and State Anger Inventory. After a preliminary χ2 analysis of the sample characteristics, three main sets of analyses were conducted including a two-way MANOVA, zero-order correlations between study variables, and hierarchical multiple regressions.
Results: Bedouin Arab adolescents reported lower levels of SOC (F(1, 158) = 3.88, p = 0.04) and higher levels of individual and collective hope (F(1, 158) = 3.94, p = 0.03; F(1, 158) = 17.41, p = 0.001, respectively), as compared to Jewish adolescents. The Bedouin adolescents also reported higher levels of state anger (F(1, 158) = 5.58, p = 0.02).
We identified cultural similarities related to the predictive power of coping resources (SOC and individual hope) in explaining state anger (β = −0.29, p = 0.001; β = −0.18, p = 0.045, respectively). However, cultural differences were found to affect the ability of SOC to predict state anxiety; SOC contributed significantly to state anxiety only among the Jewish adolescents (β = −0.45, p < 0.001).
Conclusion: These results emphasize the significance of addressing cultural/ethnic factors in attempts to understand mental-health issues among youth during periods of escalated political violence.
5. Braun-Lewensohn, O., Sewasew, D. Kassa, E. (2017). The contribution of guardian care and peer support for psychological resilience among orphaned adolescents in Ethiopia. Contemporary Social Science. (Sewasew & Braun-Lewensohn share first authorship).
The main purpose of this study was investigating the contributions of guardians' care, and peer support to psychological resilience. Three hundred orphan adolescents (OA) living in Dessie, Ethiopia, aged 12-20 (M= 15.5+1.23), of which 165 (55%) were boys, filled out self-reported questionnaires which included resilience, guardian care, and peer support scales. Results show that the majority of the OA living in Dessie town are resilient. Older adolescents are more resilient than younger ones and girls obtain more support from their peers compared to the boys. Age, guardian care, and peer support were significantly positively related to resilience and together they accounted for 35.6% of the explained variance. More specifically, peer support accounted for the highest proportion, followed by guardian care and age. The results of this study are discussed based on the cultural competence theory. The unique cultural context in which Ethiopian children grow up, places many responsibilities on them, and thus moves them forward to become adults at a very early age. The experience of orphanhood could be an additional contributor to life experience which also serves as a strong resilience factor for the older group children. Practical implications will be offered to foster resilience among orphan and vulnerable adolescents in deprived areas.
6. Gliko, I., Braun-Lewensohn, O. (2016). התמודדות מורים עם תלמידים משולבים בחינוך הממלכתי, הממלכתי דתי והחרדי – השוואה באמצעות סקירת ספרות. Teachers' coping with special education children in different sectors – secular, religious, and ultra orthodox: A comparison through literature review. מניתוק לשילוב, 19, 203-228.. Minituk Leshiluv, 19, 203-228 (Hebrew).
מטרתו של המאמר הנוכחי היא לעמוד על הקיים בנושא התמודדות מורים עם "תלמידי שילוב" בכיתתם. עד כה נבדק במחקרים השונים יישום חוק השילוב מפרספקטיבות שונות, למשל: מנקודת מבטם של התלמידים וצורכיהם, ביחס לשילובם החברתי של התלמידים אלו, ביחס לתפיסות המורים ולעמדותיהם בנוגע לשילוב תלמידים עם צרכים מיוחדים בכיתות הרגילות בבתי הספר. כמו כן נבחנו דילמות שונות שהעלו מורים בכל הנוגע לשילוב.
במאמר זה נסקרו המחקרים שנעשו בנושא התמודדות מורים עם " תלמידי שילוב " בכיתתם בהתייחס לתיאוריה האינטראקציונית של לזרוס ופולקמן Lazarus & Folkman, 1984) ) והמודל הסלוטוגני של אנטונובסקי, (.(Antonovsky1979 כמו כן, הודגשו החסרים הקיימים להבנת דרכי ההתמודדות של מורים עם תלמידים משולבים בקרב מגזרי חינוך שונים. בתום הסקירה יוצג מודל תיאורטי שנועד להבהיר את התהליך המשלב דפוסים ומשאבי התמודדות של מורים שבכיתתם תלמידים עם צרכים מיוחדים.
7. Kalagy, T., Braun-Lewensohn, O. (2017). משמרנות מתגוננת לשמרנות מתמודדת: אסטרטגיות תרבות של חרדים אקדמאיים במרחב התעסוקתי. From defensive conservatism to a conservatism of adaptation: Acculturation strategies of ultra-Orthodox academics in the workplace. כתב העת לחקר החברה החרדית, 4, 28-54 (Hebrew).
שינויים משמעותיים פוקדים את החברה החרדית בשני העשורים האחרונים בכל הנוגע לרכישת השכלה גבוהה ומקצועית וכניסה לעולם התעסוקה. נוכח שינויים אלה התמקדנו בבחינת של חרדים אקדמאים בהשתלבותם במשק הישראלי. אסטרטגיות התִרבות ניסינו להתחקות אחר גיבוש מתווה מאוזן ומוסכם בין רצונה של החברה החרדית להמשיך להתבדל, לבין דרישות המשק ונתוני סביבת העבודה שמחוץ לקהילה. מבחינה מתודולוגית בחרנו לבחון את אופן השתלבותם של חרדים אקדמאים במשק הישראלי באמצעות מחקר משולב שכלל איסוף וניתוח כמותני ואיכותני של נתונים. במחקר השתתפו 547 חרדים אקדמאים בוגרי מגוון מוסדות להשכלה גבוהה בארץ, הנמנים על זרמים שונים בחברה החרדית, שהשיבו על שאלון אינטרנטי הבוחן את הסוגיה הנחקרת מהיבטים שונים: שאלון סוציו-דמוגרפי; שאלון השתייכות חברתית ושאלון פתיחוּת וסגירוּת לסביבה. כמו כן כונסו ארבע קבוצות-מיקוד ובהן התקיים דיון מעמיק ובירור סוגיות מרכזיות שנבדקו בשלב הכמותני. ממצאי המחקר משקפים את אופן התמודדותם של המשתלבים באמצעות טיפולוגיה של אסטרטגיות תִרבות שונות: א. המשך ההתבצרות והבדלנות בתוך הקהילה ב. השתלבות מנטלית מתבדלת מחוץ לקהילה ג. השתלבות מנטלית ומרחבית מתבדלת מחוץ לקהילה.
*המחקר המלא מומן ופורסם על ידי המכון הישראלי לדמוקרטיה
8. Kalagy, T., Braun-Lewensohn, O. (2017). השתלבות מתבדלת: חרדים אקדמאיים במשק הישראלי. Integrating from a Distance: Ultra-Orthodox Academics in the Israeli Job Market. מחקר מדיניות 115, המכון הישראלי לדמוקרטיה, אייר תשע"ז, מאי 2017. Policy Research, 115, Israeli Democracy Institute, May 2017.
בחברה החרדית רכישת השכלה אקדמית היא מעשה שמבחינה ערכית טרם ניתנה לו הסכמה פומבית גורפת ומבחינה מעשית הוא רצוף קשיים. אחד הנושאים המרכזיים שהחברה החרדית מתלבטת בהם בהקשר זה הוא היחס הראוי לרכישת השכלה אקדמית כללית, משום שהשכלה אקדמית — שהיא אחד המאפיינים של החברה ה"חיצונית" — משמשת גם מקור יצירה והפצה של ערכי המודרניות ונתונה במתח עם ערך השימור העצמי של הקהילה החרדית. אף שרכישת השכלה גבוהה בידי חרדים, ובעיקר בידי נשים חרדיות, נהנית היום מלגיטימיוּת כלשהי בקהילה, רבים מן הרבנים וחלק גדול מן הציבור החרדי עדיין מחרימים אותה. מן ההיבט של המדינה ורשויותיה התהליך מורכב מפני שבתכנון מדיניות לטווח ארוך, השתתפותה של החברה החרדית במשק הישראלי ממש גורלית ואף נדרשת בשביל מהלך כזה היערכות מיוחדת ההולמת את עולם הערכים החרדי. התאמה זו נדרשת בכמה וכמה מעגלים חברתיים–כלכליים: בצבא, במסגרות ההכשרה האקדמית ובמקומות העבודה השונים. כמובן, מצד ההכשרה האקדמית יש גם צורך לגשר בין פערי השכלה לבין הדרישות בשוק העבודה. איננו מתיימרות לדון כאן במכלול תהליך האקדמיזציה של החברה החרדית הישראלית. במקום זה אנו מתמקדות בבחינת ההבדלים בין ההשתלבות של אקדמאים חרדים במקומות עבודה שמחוץ למובלעת החרדית לבין המשתלבים בתוך המובלעת, במטרה לעמוד על משמעות ההבדל. להלן נדוּן במשמעויות הרחבות של התהליך ונתעכב על השאלה אם רכישת השכלה אקדמית והשתלבות במקום עבודה חוץ–קהילתי מובילות בהכרח למודל שמרני חדש. גורם נוסף שהיה חשוב לנו לבחון הוא שיעור המועסקים החרדים ביחס למסלולי ההכשרה שהם עברו, כבסיס להערכת התועלת של תכניות ההכשרה האקדמיות והמקצועיות הפועלות במשק זה שני עשורים.
הממצאים והמלצות המדיניות הם תוצר של התבוננות פרטנית בקבוצת המחקר ומבוססים על קולם של המשתתפים בקבוצות המיקוד השונות, ובקצרה: שילוב של ממצאי מחקר כמותי עם ממצאי מחקר איכותני.
במחקר השתתפו 745 חרדים אקדמאים ממגוון מוסדות ההשכלה בארץ, שהשיבו על שאלון )באינטרנט(. נוסף עליהם כינסנו ארבע קבוצות מיקוד )שתיים לגברים ושתיים לנשים( לדיון מעמיק בסוגיות מרכזיות שנבדקו בשלב הכמותי, המוקדם יותר. ממצאי המחקר שלהלן מסודרים לפי שאלות המחקר המרכזיות ומציגים תמונת מצב המשקפת את השתלבות החרדים האקדמאים במשק הישראלי.
המחקר שלפנינו מתאפיין בעיצוב מדיניות ציבורית אינטרדיסציפלינרית ומציג פרספקטיבה השוואתית כדי להבין את משמעות ההבדלים בין נשים לבין גברים בהשתלבותם במעגל העבודה הישראלי.
מאמרים בכתבי עת
1. Harel-Shalev, A., and Daphna-Tekoah, S. 2016. Bringing Women's Voices Back In: Conducting Narrative Analysis in IR. International Studies Review Vol 18(2): 171-194.
In exploring wars and conflicts, Critical Security Studies and Feminist International Relations (IR) use various methodologies, including nontraditional avenues of inquiry. This study follows these theoretical and methodological perspectives and suggests a methodology that will contribute to contemporary debates in IR. Specifically, the study offers an innovative application of Carol Gilligan's method, the “Listening Guide" (LG). The research demonstrates the utility of the LG analysis in uncovering additional forms of knowledge regarding armed conflicts. The context for analysis is women in combat. The implementation of the LG assists us in uncovering various voices, representing different aspects of the women combatants' experiences in a conflict zone. In this study, this analytical tool, applied to conduct narrative research, enabled the researchers to hear both multiple and silenced voices. We suggest that this methodology should continue to be used in future studies and incorporated into the Security Studies and IR toolkit.
2. Harel-Shalev, A., and Daphna-Tekoah, S. 2016. The Double Battle - Women Combatants and Embodied Experiences in Warzones. Critical Studies on Terrorism Vol 9(2): 312-333.
Our study contributes to the ongoing debate about women in combat by exploring women combatants' experiences of war through interviews with women soldiers in the Israel Defense Forces who served as combatants or in combat-support roles in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. We proffer that the bodily experiences of women combatants disturb conventional international relations and hegemonic masculine metanarratives that either abstract or glorify combat. These otherwise silenced narratives reveal juxtapositions of feelings of competence and vulnerability and shed light on the women's struggle for gender integration in the military. We conclude the article with a reflection on the challenges facing researchers investigating war and terrorism.
3. Harel-Shalev, A. 2017. Gendering Conflict analysis - The case of Minority Women and Muslim Women's Status in India. Ethnic and Racial Studies. 40(12): 2115-2134.
This article explores the practical and theoretical significance and long-term consequences of the failure to incorporate women's interests in post-conflict negotiations by examining the case of Muslim women in India. Analyses of deeply divided societies must recognize that political competition and political violence do not affect all citizens equally. Also, the “larger picture" depicted by inter-community conflicts should not overshadow the effects of intra-community conflicts, which are no less important. Evident within each community conflict are the winners and the losers of the political accommodation process, in which the marginalized and weaker sections of each “side" of the conflict may be the real “losers". Gendered analysis of ethnic conflicts and ethnic conflict resolution demands a reorientation of the concepts of conflict and security – Whose conflict is being solved and who is being secured?
4. Daphna-Tekoah, S. and Harel-Shalev, A. 2017. The Politics of Trauma Studies - An Analysis of Women Combatants' Experience of Traumatic Events in Conflict Zones. Political Psychology 38(6)
Wars, combat, and political developments triggered the study of trauma. Knowledge about trauma initially emerged from the experiences of men combatants in the battlefield. At a later stage, the study of trauma focused on women and children subject to violence and abuse. The current research suggests that additional aspects of trauma can be understood through the study of competent women exposed to traumatic events and not merely as victims of war or abuse. The study offers an analysis of women combatants' narratives of their exposure to traumatic events in conflict zones. Data were obtained from two focus groups and a series of 30 personal interviews of women veterans who served in the IDF. Interviewing women combat soldiers revealed a variety of narratives of their war experiences, including the intertwining of the emotional and the physical. The window to understanding the trauma was opened by analysis of the responses of the women combatants to potentially traumatic events rather than by focusing on post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) per se. We emphasize the need for a critical perspective in the study of trauma and combat trauma and propose that there is value in engaging with and listening to diverse narratives of trauma.
5. Harel-Shalev A., Huss, E., Daphna-Tekoah, S., and Cwikel, J. 2017. Drawing on Women's Military Experiences and Narratives – Women Soldiers' Challenges in the Military Environment. Gender, Place and Culture, 24(4): 499-514
This article utilizes arts-based methods as a feminist methodology for understanding women's experiences in military service, according to theories of feminist security studies. It explores how non-combatant women in the army retrospectively narrate stressful situations that happened during their military service. Using arts-based methods, we examine how they derive meaning from their experiences in a masculine, military environment, affected by ongoing conflict. This article analyzes twenty images drawn by Israeli women who served in the army in the previous 2–4 years. The women drew a stressful event from their military service, explained the image, and elaborated on how they coped with the situation. A content analysis of the pictures and the narratives produced three themes: the responsibility for others in life threatening situations, the military as a first professional work experience and the interaction between military and gender hierarchies. In general, women soldiers experienced the army as complex as they encountered their first adult work space in which they learned responsibility and skills of the 'adults' world'. However, they were also exposed to a rigid hierarchy and to stressful security situations typical of army contexts. While non-combat women soldiers were allegedly protected from the violence of the army, they are also indirectly exposed to the danger inherent in an army context. This analysis goes beyond the hero narrative, and moves into taboo territories of young women's narratives and experiences in the military.
6. Stein, A. and Harel-Shalev, A. 2017. Ancestral and Instrumental in the Politics of Ethnic and Religious Conflict. Ethnic and Racial Studies. 40(12): 1981-2000.
Ethnicity, like race, religion, and nationality, is a feature of group identity that is contested. There are literatures devotes to each, and in each there are those who see the origins of identity and affiliation in ancestry and deeply-rooted affect and those who see these as socially constructed and instrumentally used by elites. Yet all recognize that the ancestral is socially constructed and that social constructions make use of existing cultural features, and that the vertical cleavages of race, religion, ethnicity, and nationality dominate the horizontal ones of class. This generates implications for institutional changes, for the pursuit of extraterritorial interests, for the selection of explanatory narratives for conflict when multiple attributions are possible, for intra-communal conflict, and for policies for ethnic conflict regulation.
7. Daphna-Tekoah, S. and Harel-Shalev, A. 2017. Beyond Binaries: Analyzing Violent State Actors in Critical Studies. Critical Studies on Terrorism 10(2): 253-273.
This article discusses the importance of including the voices of violent state actors in critical research about security and terrorism. Critical Studies tend to avoid narrative research about such actors or to give them “face" and place. However, to understand violence, scholars should listen to, and explore, the narratives of those who are committing violence. The article seeks ways to produce emancipatory knowledge and to be critical without being exclusionary. It discusses the difficulties in deciding who merits the researchers' listening and research focus, and who does not. These issues are explored and contested by presenting an analysis of women combatants' experiences.
מאמרים בכתבי עת
1. Lazar, A., Braun-Lewensohn, O., & Litvak Hirsch, T. (2016). Positive weighing of the other's collective narrative among Jewish and Bedouin-Palestinian teachers in Israel and its correlates. International Journal of Psychology, 51(3), 205-212.
Teachers play a pivotal role in the educational discourse around collective narratives, and especially the other's narrative. The study assumed that members of groups entangled in a conflict approach the different modules of the other's narrative distinctively. Jewish and Palestinian teachers, Israeli citizens, answered questionnaires dealing with the narrative of the other, readiness for interethnic contact, negative between-group emotions and preferences for resolutions of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Positive weighing of the other's narrative among Jewish teachers correlated with high levels of readiness for interethnic contact and low levels of negative between-group emotions, across the various modules of the Palestinian narrative. Preferences for a peaceful resolution of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and rejection of a violent one were noted in two of the modules. Among Palestinian teachers, positive weighing of the other's collective narrative was exclusively noted for the Israeli narrative of the Holocaust, and this stance negatively related to negative between-group emotions and preference for a violent solution of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, and positively related to readiness for interethnic contact and preference of a peaceful resolution of the conflict. Practical implications of these findings for peace education are discussed.
2. Lazar, A., & Litvak Hirsch, T. (2017). Informal intercultural learning online: Yahoo! Answers community and students' homework questions about the lessons of the Holocaust. Trauma and Memory, 5(1), 10-16.
This investigation suggests that apart from the discussions taking place within classrooms engaged in intercultural education, students' modes of learning are also potentially influenced informally by the reactions of members of social Questions and Answering (Q&A) communities, where advice is sought by students attempting to
address their intercultural educational homework assignments. The analysis focuses on questions dealing with the lessons to be learnt from the Holocaust, answered by Yahoo! Answers community. While few of these answerers denied the existence of the Holocaust, the majority attempted to provide what they considered to be helpful comments, stressing mainly that the lessons of the Holocaust have not been learnt. Respondents point out that other cases of genocides and persecutions have occurred since 1945, that prejudice is alive and well, that by nature humans are cruel, that the world doesn't want to learn the lessons of the Holocaust and that it is important to be cautious of individual leaders. A smaller number were positive, and suggested that some Holocaust lessons have been learnt. Intercultural educators are called upon to familiarize themselves with Q&A communities, and help their students to become critical of the views shared on these platforms.
3. Lazar, A., & Litvak Hirsch, T. (2017). No laughing matter: Film advisory boards' evaluations of award considered comedies. Comedy Studies, 8(2), 116-125
Humor research has not addressed the treatment of comedy movies by film advisory boards, the panels informing local moviegoers of the inappropriateness of contents in these comedies. This is especially true for films subsequently nominated for best comedy of the year by various organizations. The assigned age classifications and their justifications by the Motion Picture Association of America, the British
Board of Film Classification and the Australian Classification Board (ACB) for films nominated by voters of the Teen Choice Award (TCA) and the Broadcast Film Critics Association (BFCA), as best comedy movies of the year were analyzed. Three findings stand out. First, there is very little agreement among the voters on these panels of films they consider prime examples of comedies. Second, the majority of TCA and BFCA chosen comedies are evaluated more leniently by the ACB in terms of age restrictions. Finally, the film boards consider profanity and sexual references, but hardly mention humor as a justification for their decisions, regardless of the type of award considered.
4. Lazar, A., & Litvak Hirsch, T. (in press). Online answers dealing with the internment of Japanese-Americans during World War II. Journal of International Social Studies.
The internment of Americans of Japanese descent during World War II lies at the heart of ongoing discussions in American social studies. We analyzed inputs of members of the Yahoo! Answers Q&A online community following students' questions dealing with differential treatment of Japanese and German and Italian American citizens during World War II, and whether the internment of Japanese Americans was justified. The questions were submitted to the community by students struggling with their coursework. The majority of responses to the first question justified the differential treatment, citing national security and presenting Japanese Americans as a threat. The dominant position in the case of the second question negates internment legitimacy and views it as a gross violation of justice and as a racially motivated act. These stances, likely to make their way into submitted assignments by students, necessitate the familiarization of teachers with such discussions as they take place within Q&A communities.
5. Litvak Hirsch, T., Lazar, A., & Braun-Lewensohn, O. (2016). Sense of coherence during female Holocaust survivors' formative years. Journal of Loss and Trauma: International Perspectives on Stress & Coping, 21(5), 360-371.
Four female Holocaust survivors were interviewed in order to investigate how they coped prior to the Holocaust, during the Holocaust years, following the end of World War II, and during integration within emerging Jewish society prior to the establishment of the State of Israel. Antonovsky's (1987) concept of sense of coherence (SOC) and thematic analysis were employed. The analysis suggests that their ability to navigate these life-changing circumstances as young women was the result of the elasticity of the SOC components and the meanings ascribed to them, depending on the situations encountered.
6. Litvak-Hirsch, T., Galily, Y., & Leitner, M. (2016). Evaluating conflict mitigation and health improvement through soccer: a two-year study of Mifalot's 'United Soccer for Peace'programme. Soccer & Society, 17(2), 209-224.
War not only has a direct impact on health through its direct physical consequences but also through the stress experienced by all those directly and indirectly affected by it. Therefore, conflict mitigation efforts can make a significant positive impact on health. In Israel, a country that has experienced a great deal of conflict, utilizing sports to foster peaceful relations and coexistence is an idea that has gained popularity in recent years. The aim of this article is to examine in-depth, using social psychological theoretical lenses one project, Mifalot's 'United Soccer for Peace' soccer coaching certification course. The course trains adult Arab and Jewish soccer coaches in mixed groups, as well as to teach them peace education values and tools. This study examined the successes and challenges of this project in contributing to conflict mitigation and health improvement. Some of the specific questions addressed were: Why did many Arab participants leave the project in its early stages? What can be done to improve this project and similar projects like this in the future? There were 63 coaches, Israeli Arabs and Jews interviewed. In general, the results provide evidence that sports can contribute to coexistence and improved health with the right theoretical understanding, planning and organization. Achievements as well as challenges of the project are discussed and recommendations for improvement and implementation to other conflict areas are suggested.
7. Yahya, S., Boag, S., Munshi, A., & Litvak-Hirsch, T. (2016). 'Sadly, not all love affairs are meant to be…'Attitudes towards interfaith relationships in a conflict zone. Journal of Intercultural Studies, 37(3), 265-285
This study examines attitudes towards interfaith relationships between individuals living in the conflict state of Israel. An exploratory method was used and interviews were conducted with Jewish Israeli, Christian Palestinian, and Muslim Palestinian students currently living in Israel. Thematic analysis was used to identify key themes that emerged from the interviews. Four main themes were identified: (i) negative attitudes towards interfaith relationships, (ii) importance of familial approval, (iii) societal pressure in Israel, and lastly, (iv) preservation of cultural identity. These findings demonstrated that overall, participants were adamantly opposed to engaging in interfaith relationships; the main concern was pleasing their parents. Another concern was adhering to religious teachings, which forbid such relationships. Participants also stated that conserving one's religious and cultural identity in a conflict state was of utmost importance and interfaith relationships were perceived as fraternising with the 'enemy'. This paper demonstrates that attitudes towards interfaith relationships may be uniquely shaped by living in the conflict zone of Israel, whose citizens are particularly concerned with preserving their cultural identity – whether they were Muslim, Jewish, or Christian. For a society such as Israel where religion and culture intermingle, this paper suggests that interfaith relationships may not be readily welcomed.
