Social Workers from Oppressed Minority Group Treating Majority Group's Clients: A Case Study of Palestinian Social Workers.
This article discusses minority-majority practice relations on the basis of a case study analysis of the dynamics and strategies reported by 32 Palestinian social workers living in Israel regarding their practice with Jewish clients. The described encounters reflect the charged political reality and are loaded with many tensions, fears, anger, and hatred. The results indicate five major categories, reflecting perceived mutual reactions: avoidance, power reversal, confrontation and anger, minimizing differences, and exploiting differences. The article discusses the need for a context-informed practice theory as well as training and supervision to change the emotional encounters from a potential battleground to a growth-enhancing experience within minority-majority practice relations.
Sameer Kadan, MSW, is a doctoral student and Dorit Roer-Strier, PhD, is a professor, Paul Baerwald School of Social Work & Social Welfare, Hebrew University, Jerusalem. Zvi Bekerman, PhD, is a senior lecturer, School of Education, Hebrew University, Jerusalem.
Sameer
S
Kadan
Sameer Kadan, MSW, is a doctoral student and Dorit Roer-Strier, PhD, is a professor, Paul Baerwald School of Social Work & Social Welfare, Hebrew University, Jerusalem. Zvi Bekerman, PhD, is a senior lecturer, School of Education, Hebrew University, Jerusalem.
Dorit
D
Roer-Strier
Sameer Kadan, MSW, is a doctoral student and Dorit Roer-Strier, PhD, is a professor, Paul Baerwald School of Social Work & Social Welfare, Hebrew University, Jerusalem. Zvi Bekerman, PhD, is a senior lecturer, School of Education, Hebrew University, Jerusalem.
Zvi
Z
Bekerman
D018912:Arabs; D006801:Humans; D016139:Martial Arts; D008913:Minority Groups; D012947:Social Work
context-informed practice; minority–majority practice relations; political conflict; power reversal; status contradiction