Abstract:The social work profession is committed to the promotion of peace and social justice. It is often assumed that peacetime enables diverting resources and attention to the promotion of disadvantaged groups. However, little is known about the mechanisms. This study of the Israeli experience following the Oslo Peace Accords suggests that one potential mechanism is the development of social change organizations (SCOs) in the wake of peace. Findings indicate growth in SCO establishment in the periphery and small tow… Show more
“…Against this national‐historical background and moves, growing activity of oppositional Israeli NGOs, including Bimkom, may be explained as natural counter‐reaction (Kaufman, ). Marchetti and Tocci () support this theoretical‐logical explanation:In democracies with a strong military presence and militarized culture, civil society is often associated with the push for democratization and civilizations of politics.…”
Section: Mechanisms and Origins Of Bimkom Strategiesmentioning
confidence: 99%
“…Marchetti and Tocci () labeled the organizations that are leading this critical counter‐reaction as Conflict Society Organizations (CoSOs). Kaufman (), who described a similar type of civic activities in the Israeli context, called them Social Movement Organizations (SMOs), whose basic motivation of the organization is to “challenge the status quo in the community and society” (Kaufman, , p. 2).…”
Section: Mechanisms and Origins Of Bimkom Strategiesmentioning
confidence: 99%
“…An additional condition that has likely contributed to the emergence of CoSOs/SMOs has to do with the level of class and social disparities. Since the early 1990s, Israeli society has been undergoing substantial transformations, such as increasing integration into the global economy and a move toward neoliberalization—a process that widened socio‐economic gaps and shaped the Israeli residential and housing environment as a highly segregated one (Kaufman, ; Ram, ; Rosen & Razin, ). From a Neo‐Gramscian perspective, Pauly et al () argue that such transformations unavoidably reorganize the relationships between the state and civil society, leading to a greater tension and increasing the chances for the emergence of conflictual NGOs as a counter‐hegemony that aims to challenge the neoliberal order.…”
Section: Mechanisms and Origins Of Bimkom Strategiesmentioning
The study discusses the relationship between NGO strategy (both toward government and community), contextual conditions, and the sociological and political-philosophic background of the leaders of the organization. The empirical section focuses on a specific Israeli NGO (Bimkom) led by a radicalintellectual leadership whose aim is to promote the interests of poor communities. The organization under research activated a dual complex strategy, one that both criticizes and negotiates with the government, at the same time advocating for and empowering communities. The study points to a clear linkage between that strategy and leaders' own background. In fact, the latter served as a source from which the leaders carved out guidelines, perceptions, policy tools, and abstract resources (which in turn also affected outcomes). On a basis of these findings, the study suggests a model designed to improve the analysis of strategic management.
“…Against this national‐historical background and moves, growing activity of oppositional Israeli NGOs, including Bimkom, may be explained as natural counter‐reaction (Kaufman, ). Marchetti and Tocci () support this theoretical‐logical explanation:In democracies with a strong military presence and militarized culture, civil society is often associated with the push for democratization and civilizations of politics.…”
Section: Mechanisms and Origins Of Bimkom Strategiesmentioning
confidence: 99%
“…Marchetti and Tocci () labeled the organizations that are leading this critical counter‐reaction as Conflict Society Organizations (CoSOs). Kaufman (), who described a similar type of civic activities in the Israeli context, called them Social Movement Organizations (SMOs), whose basic motivation of the organization is to “challenge the status quo in the community and society” (Kaufman, , p. 2).…”
Section: Mechanisms and Origins Of Bimkom Strategiesmentioning
confidence: 99%
“…An additional condition that has likely contributed to the emergence of CoSOs/SMOs has to do with the level of class and social disparities. Since the early 1990s, Israeli society has been undergoing substantial transformations, such as increasing integration into the global economy and a move toward neoliberalization—a process that widened socio‐economic gaps and shaped the Israeli residential and housing environment as a highly segregated one (Kaufman, ; Ram, ; Rosen & Razin, ). From a Neo‐Gramscian perspective, Pauly et al () argue that such transformations unavoidably reorganize the relationships between the state and civil society, leading to a greater tension and increasing the chances for the emergence of conflictual NGOs as a counter‐hegemony that aims to challenge the neoliberal order.…”
Section: Mechanisms and Origins Of Bimkom Strategiesmentioning
The study discusses the relationship between NGO strategy (both toward government and community), contextual conditions, and the sociological and political-philosophic background of the leaders of the organization. The empirical section focuses on a specific Israeli NGO (Bimkom) led by a radicalintellectual leadership whose aim is to promote the interests of poor communities. The organization under research activated a dual complex strategy, one that both criticizes and negotiates with the government, at the same time advocating for and empowering communities. The study points to a clear linkage between that strategy and leaders' own background. In fact, the latter served as a source from which the leaders carved out guidelines, perceptions, policy tools, and abstract resources (which in turn also affected outcomes). On a basis of these findings, the study suggests a model designed to improve the analysis of strategic management.
“…Social work as a profession, in principle, is committed to the promotion of peace and social justice (Cowger, 2013; International Federation of Social Workers, 2016; Sullivan, 1993). Social workers are enjoined to further both peace and social justice by promoting international and intergroup conflict resolution and conflict management activities, and by initiating activities that further peacebuilding, education, and social justice (Kaufman, 2016). Yet few social workers are involved in such activities, and few schools of social work offer any training in these domains of practice (Elliott & Segal, 2008; Estes, 2010; Gamble, 2012; Kafula, 2016).…”
Section: Social Work’s Engagement With Peacementioning
Objectives: Our aim in this article is to understand the nonprofit organizations that declared to promote social good by focusing on peace and coexistence activities and assess why some survived under challenging contexts while others became inactive. Method: The study is based on a database of peace and coexistence organizations obtained from the registrar of associations in Israel. The nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) were divided into active and inactive organizations. Results: Our key findings suggest that Israeli-registered sustained peace/coexistence NGOs are those that do not focus on meetings between people from the conflicting sides, are centrally committed to peace/coexistence, and are anchored in the Jewish sector of the state. Conclusion: Our findings pave the way for social work entrepreneurs aiming to work toward peace and coexistence to better plan the establishment and sustainability of peace and coexistence NGOs.
“…The involvement of social workers in policy design processes (‘policy practice’ [PP]) is seen as a central component of social work. Social work discourse (Gal and Weiss-Gal, 2022; Jansson, 2014; Kaufman, 2018) and its professional codes of ethics (Australian Association of Social Workers [AASW], 2020; British Association of Social Workers [BASW], 2021; Israel Association of Social Workers [ISASW], 2018) emphasize the obligation of social workers to analyze, challenge, and influence the promotion of social policy in order to advance social justice. In the past two decades, fruitful research has been conducted on PP that provides insight into the strategies and ways in which social workers can impact policy (e.g.…”
The present article presents empirical evidence regarding factors that explain the involvement of social workers from minority groups in policy practice based on data from an extensive survey of social workers from the Arab minority group in Israel ( n = 218). The findings revealed that the sociopolitical context of an ethnic minority significantly affects their involvement in policy practice. In order to increase the involvement of minority social workers in policy arenas in multicultural societies, professional bodies and social work training frameworks should provide social workers with knowledge resources and professional skills, including tailored organizational support.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.
