גל הטרור, ששטף את ישראל במהלך השנים האחרונות, חשף את כלל אזרחי המדינה למציאות של איום, אבדן ושכול. הטרור אינו מבחין בין אדם לאדם ופוגע ללא כל קשר לגיל, למין, לדת או ללאום. האלימות, שהופנתה כלפי מדינת ישראל, לא פסחה גם על אזרחיה הערביים ולראייה – הפגיעות החוזרות ונשנות בערים ישראליות מעורבות כדוגמת חיפה וירושליים, שם נרצחו ונפצעו אזרחים ערביים לצד אזרחים יהודיים. פרט לחשיפה ישישרה לפיגועי טרור, כלל האוכלוסיה הישראלית נתונה תחת איום מתמשך, וזוהי מציאות בעלת השלכות משמעותיות על מידת המצוקה של האוכלוסיה ועל בריאותה הנפשית.

למאמר המלא לחץ על הלינק למטה

Using telephone surveys, we examined exposure to terror, coping, and mental health response in randomly selected Jewish-Israelis (n 5 100) and Arab-Israelis (n 5 100) living in five Israeli cities affected by terrorism. Jewish-Israelis and Arab-Israelis were randomly selected for study participation and completed telephone surveys in May 2002, following an extended string of terror attacks and hostilities. Although terrorism is designed to target Jewish-Israelis, the rates of exposure were similar in the two groups. Arab-Israelis reported using a wider array of coping strategies, yet also endorsed more frequent PTSD and more severe depression symptoms than Jewish-Israelis. We examined a variety of demographic, ethnic, and religious predictors of
different coping styles and found varying results. For example, acceptance coping was best predicted by Arab-Israeli ethnicity, being female, greater religiosity, and lower education. Predictors of mental health response to terror were also examined, with Arab-Israeli ethnicity, being female, adaptation coping and collaborative coping
best predicting PTSD and depression symptoms. Arab-Israelis may not have the same access to overarching sources of patriotic support that are readily available to their Jewish compatriots, and civilian and economic inequity experienced by the Arab minority may add to a sense of diminished resources. Our findings justify outreach efforts to overlooked minorities at risk for posttraumatic distress. Women seem to be at particular risk for the development of mental health symptoms following terrorism, which should also be noted for outreach purposes.

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This study investigated the influence of the belief in reincarnation
(BR) and in the power of fate (BPF) as potential coping resources
in the shadow of loss and bereavement. Ninety bereaved parents,
Jews and Druze (a sect that diverged from Islam in the 11th
century), whose sons were killed in military action participated
in this study. Druze respondents endorsed a belief in reincarnation
more strongly than Jews. Druze were also far more fatalistic than
their Jewish counterparts and expressed a stronger belief in the
power of fate. More Jews than Druze expressed difficulties accepting
their son’s death and believing he was gone. Druze parents
reported experiencing significantly less helplessness, guilt, and
anger compared to Jewish controls. The value of enhanced cultural
awareness during psychotherapy in a rapidly changing, multicultural
world is discussed.

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The Israeli culture in the shadow of the Holocaust

• 274,000 survivors of the Holocaust
• 400,000 second-generation survivors

How has the legacy of the Holocaust impacted the value system of 2nd generation survivors?

German-Israeli 2nd generation research project

• Alice Salomon University of Applied Sciences, Berlin
• University of Haifa, Israel

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