Julia Mirsky

The description of Israel as an “overburdened polity” was coined by Dan Horowitz and Moshe Lissak in their seminal book Trouble in Utopia (1989). More than 30 years after the book appeared, the description still holds true. In June 2021, a new government was formed in Israel, Naftali Bennett replacing Benjamin Netanyahu after 12 years in power. The new government coalition is an unlikely combination of right-wing, religious right, liberals, left-wing and even an Arab party, united by their desire to replace Netanyahu. While it remains to be seen whether this government can last, its formation and opposition exposed once again the deep cleavages and contentions – ideological, national, ethnic, religious and economic – that have made governance all but impossible.

Research on immigration underscores the importance of language acculturation in successful adjustment to life in a new country. However, the profound impact of different levels of language proficiency between immigrant spouses on their married life is an understudied topic. The current study explores whether differences between immigrant spouses in host language proficiency predict marital satisfaction in their first four years in the host country. Using a three-wave longitudinal study, with intervals of one to two years, we collected data from 316 married couples who immigrated from the Former Soviet Union to Germany and Israel. Language proficiency and marital satisfaction were measured via self-report questionnaires. We conducted an Actor-Partner Interdependence Model analysis to control for dyadic and time data dependencies. The results indicate that differences between spouses in their host language proficiency predict marital dissatisfaction, and that this effect is exacerbated over time. These associations held across gender and host country. The findings are discussed in light of the gap-distress model.

This study explored the self-perceptions of individuals with mental illness who immigrated from the Former Soviet Union (FSU) to Israel. In particular, we examined the double stigma borne by these individuals as new immigrants and psychiatric patients, which may threaten their identity and render them at risk for social marginalization. We interviewed 12 FSU immigrants diagnosed with severe mental illness (SMI), who had been hospitalized in psychiatric facilities in the past and, at the time of the interview, were residing in community rehabilitation centers. Their narratives revealed that they constructed multiple identities for themselves: as bearers of Russian culture, as Soviet Jews, as normative immigrants, and only lastly as consumers of mental health services. In the case of FSU newcomers with mental illness immigration may serve as a normalizing and positive experience. Study findings suggest that stressing patients' identity as mentally ill may be counterproductive in their rehabilitation; instead, clinicians may consider working to mobilize patients' personal and cultural assets and helping them reinstate a more complex self-perception. Further research is needed to explore how immigration may affect self-perceptions of individuals with SMI from other cultural groups.

The study examined the association between immigrants’ adaptation—as reflected by host-country language proficiency (based on self-ratings)—and their children’s psychological well-being in two countries: Germany and Israel. The findings stressed the importance of children’s gender in the study of parent–child dyads. Our separate analyses of boys’ and girls’ subsamples revealed results that were undetected when we analyzed the subsamples of both genders together. Specifically, we found that self-reported paternal proficiency in the German language was positively associated with their daughters’ psychological well-being, whereas maternal proficiency in German was positively associated with their sons’ well-being. No association was found in our Israeli sample between immigrant language proficiency and their children’s psychological well-being during the first 3.5 years following migration. Further analyses demonstrated that in Germany, the quality of father–daughter communication mainly accounted for the association between paternal language proficiency and their daughters’ psychological well-being, while maternal psychological well-being mediated at least partially the association between maternal language proficiency and sons’ psychological well-being. The results are discussed in light of the differences and similarities in the settings of the two countries.

Twenty-two percent of households in Israel experience food insecurity, and it is especially widespread in socio-economically distressed strata. Although their low socio-economic status renders psychiatric patients at risk for food insecurity, this issue has thus far been ignored in both practice and research. To explore food insecurity among psychiatric patients in comparison with welfare-services clients in order to raise awareness of food insecurity in this population. 114 respondents were recruited from among patients admitted to the emergency room and hospitalized in a mental health center in Beer Sheva; 555 respondents were recruited from among low-income clients of welfare service agencies in the Beer Sheva area. All respondents were surveyed with a self-report questionnaire and with the Food Security Core Survey Module (FSCSM). Forty percent of psychiatric patients and 59% of welfare-services clients reported food insecurity. The use of formal and informal support systems was lower among food-insecure psychiatric patients than among food-insecure welfare clients. Psychiatric patients appear to be a risk population for food insecurity; therefore planned interventions and specific food programs are called for.

This paper describes the adjustment problems of immigrant adolescents from the former Soviet Union (FSU) in Israel and discussed risk factors for these problems. Adolescents from FSU immigrant families, native- and foreign-born, comprised in the last decade between 11% and 10% of their age-group in Israel. Presented are recent public data on education-related problems, substance abuse and delinquency among these adolescents. The data indicate that: a) FSU immigrants are highly over-represented among maladjusted students in schools and among those who drop out of school; b) the use of alcohol and cigarettes is more common among FSU immigrant youth than among Israeli non-immigrant adolescents as is the use of ecstasy; c) the rate of involvement of FSU immigrant adolescents in criminal activity is considerable and surpasses their relative weight in the population. Economic hardships and difficulties to integrate into the new society combine as risk factors for maladjustment and delinquency among FSU immigrant adolescents. However, the decisive factor that determines the extent of their maladjustment is the quality of family functioning – family cohesion and relationships, parental functioning and the support extended to immigrant youths by their parents. Este trabajo describe los problemas de adaptación de los inmigrantes adolescentes de la antigua Unión Soviética (AUS) en Israel y comenta los factores de riesgo relacionados con estos problemas. En la pasada década, los adolescentes de familias inmigrantes de la AUS, nacidos en su país y en el extranjero, constituían entre el 11 y 10% de su grupo de edad en Israel. Se presentan datos recientes sobre los problemas relacionados con la educación, el abuso de sustancias y la delincuencia entre estos adolescentes. Los datos indican que: a) los inmigrantes de la AUS están sobre-representados entre los estudiantes inadaptados en las escuelas y entre los que la abandonan; b) el uso de alcohol y cigarrillos es más común entre los jóvenes inmigrantes de la AUS que entre los adolescentes israelíes no inmigrantes, así como el uso de éxtasis; c) la implicación de los adolescentes inmigrantes de la AUS en actividades criminales es considerable y supera su peso relativo en la población. Las dificultades económicas y de integración en la nueva sociedad se combinan como factores de riesgo para la inadaptación y la delincuencia entre los adolescentes inmigrantes de la AUS. Sin embargo, el factor decisivo que determina el alcance de su inadaptación es la calidad del funcionamiento familiar - cohesión y relaciones familiares, estilo parental y apoyo que los jóvenes inmigrantes reciben de sus padres.

Israel being a multicultural society with a variety of ethnic groups, the delivery of culturally competent services is a crucial issue in social work practice. This paper describes the outcomes of a training model for cultural competence applied with social work graduate students in Israel. The model, based on work with immigrants' narratives, increased the cultural self-awareness of the trainees. Presented are conceptual and technical aspects of the training model as well as outcomes of an evaluation study. Fifty-one trainees submitted a short account of their personal experiences following the training. The reports indicated expansion in the trainees' cultural self-awareness: awareness of their own and their families' immigration experiences as well as of other transitions in their lives. Training elements that made this outcome possible are discussed.