Mental Health and Palestinian Citizens in Israel

Minorities face particular social strains, and these are often manifested in their overall mental health. In Israel, just under a quarter of the citizens are Arab Palestinians, yet very little has been published exploring the spectrum of mental health issues prevalent in this population. The work collected here draws on the first-hand experience of experts working with Israeli Palestinians to highlight the problems faced by service users, their families, and their communities. Palestinians in Israel face unique social, gender, and family-related conditions that also need reliable research and assessment. Mental Health and Palestinian Citizens in Israel offers research and observation on three central topics: socio-cultural determinants of mental health, mental health needs, and mental health service utilization. From suicidal behaviors and addiction to generational trauma and the particular concerns of children and the elderly, this broad and careful collection of research opens new dialogues on treatment, prevention, and methods for providing the best possible care to those in need.

Sarah Abu-Kaf is Senior Lecturer in Cross-Cultural Psychology in the Conflict Management and Resolution Program at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Israel.
Nohad A'li is Co-director of the "Arabs-Jews-State" Unit at Samuel Neaman Institute, Technion, and Senior Lecturer in Sociology at Western Galilee Academic College and University of Haifa, Israel. He is author of Between Ovadia and Abdallah: Jewish and Islamic Fundamentalism in Israel and Islam in Israel: Muslim Communities in Non-Muslim State.
Alean Al-Krenawi is Professor of Social Work, and Director of the Centre for Bedouin Studies and Development at Ben-Gurion University, Israel, and Dean of the School of Social Work at Memorial University, Newfoundland, Canada. He is editor (with John Graham) of Multicultural social work in Canada: Working with diverse ethno-racial communities and author of Building peace through knowledge: The Israeli-Palestinian case.
Raghda Alnabilsy is Researcher and Lecturer in the Department of Social Work at Ruppin Academic Center, Israel.
Yael Bar-Zeev is Director of the Centre for Smoking Cessation and Prevention at Ben-Gurion University, Israel.
Amir Birani is clinical social worker in private practice, and a fellow researcher with Wahiba Abu-Ras, School of Social Work, Adelphi University, New York, USA.
Anat Brunstein-Klomek is a clinical psychologist and Associate Professor of Psychology at the Baruch Ivcher School of Psychology at the Interdisciplinary Center in Herzliya, Israel. She is also Adjunct Associate Research Scientist in the Division of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry at Columbia University/New York State Psychiatric Institute, New York, USA.
Raida Daeem is Director of Maghar Child and Adolescent Mental Health Clinic, and senior clinical psychologist at Ziv Medical Center, Safed, Israel.
Marwan Dwairy is Professor at Oranim Academic College, Israel. He is author of From psycho-analysis to culture-analysis.
Haneen Elias is Researcher and Lecturer in the Department of Social Work at Ruppin Academic Center, Israel.
Anat Fleischman is Director of Addiction Treatment Services and Dual Diagnosis Unit at Yaffo Community Mental Health Center, Israel, and Clinical Instructor in the Department of Psychiatry of Sackler Faculty of Medicine, Tel Aviv University, Israel.
Paula Garber-Epstein is a clinical social worker and Lecturer at the Bob Shapell School of Social Work, Tel Aviv University, Israel.
Nabil Geraisy is Deputy District Psychiatrist, Northern District, Ministry of Health, Israel.
As'ad Ghanem is Professor in the School of Political Science at the University of Haifa, Israel.
Sfaa Ghnadre-Naser is a clinical psychologist and Lecturer at Oranim-Academic College of Education, Kiryat Tiv'on, Israel.
Nehama Goldberger is Coordinator in the Health Statistics Unit, Health Information Division, Ministry of Health, Israel.
Muhammad M. Haj-Yahia is Gordon Brown Chair and Professor of Social Work, Paul Baerwald School of Social Work and Social Welfare, the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Israel. He is author of Violence against women in the Palestinian society.
Ziona Haklai is Director of the Health Information Division, Ministry of Health, Israel.
Giora Kaplan is Director of Research on Psychosocial Aspects of Health Unit at the Gertner Institute for Epidemiology & Health Policy Research, Tel Hashomer, Israel.
Lital Keinan-Boker is Deputy Director of the Israel Center for Disease Control, Ministry of Health, Israel. She is Associate Professor of Epidemiology at the School of Public Health at University of Haifa, Israel.
Rabia Khalaila is Associate Professor of Nursing and Gerontology and Head of the Department of Nursing at Zefat Academic College, Israel.
Anwar Khatib is a clinical social worker and Lecturer of Department of Community Mental Health at the University of Haifa and Department of Social Work of Zefat Academic College, Israel.
Ibrahim Khatib is a doctoral candidate of the Berlin Graduate School of Social Sciences at Humboldt University, Berlin, Germany.
Mona Khoury-Kassabri is Professor in the School of Social Work and Social Welfare at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Israel.
Itzhak Levav is Affiliated Professor in the Department of Community Mental Health, Faculty of Social Welfare and Health Sciences, at the University of Haifa, Israel. He is editor of Psychiatric and behavioral disorders in Israel: From epidemiology to mental health action, and editor (with Jutta Lindert) of Violence and mental health: Its manifold faces.
Ido Lurie is a psychiatrist and Director of the Kfar Saba Adult Psychiatric Clinic/ Shalvata Mental Health Center of the Clalit Health Service Fund, Israel. He is also Lecturer in the Department of Psychiatry of the Sackler School of Medicine, Tel Aviv University, Israel.
Adel Manna is a historian and Senior Research Fellow at the Jerusalem Van Leer Institute, Israel. He is author of Nakba and Survival.
Ivonne Mansbach-Kleinfeld is Senior Research Fellow of the Feinberg Child Study Center at the Schneider Children's Medical Center, Petah Tikva, Israel.
Mahmoud Mi'ari is Professor Emeritus of Sociology of Birzeit University, Palestine. He is editor of Arab Teaching Curricula in Israel.
Ora Nakash is a clinical psychologist and Professor in the School for Social Work at Smith College, Northampton, MA, USA, and Baruch Ivcher School of Psychology at the Interdisciplinary Center in Herzliya, Israel.
Ahmad Natour is Associate Professor in the Law School at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Israel. He is also a judge in the Sharia' Court System and President of the High Sharia' Court of Appeals of the Country.
Nazeh Natur is Dean of Students and Senior Lecturer in the Department of Psychology at Al-Qasemi Academic College of Education, Baqa, Israel.
David Roe is a clinical psychologist and Professor in the Department of Community Mental Health at the University of Haifa, Israel, and Adjunct Professor at Aalborg University, Denmark. He is author (with Patrick W. Corrigan and Hector W. H. Tsang) of Challenging the stigma of mental illness: Lessons for advocates and therapists, and author (with Abraham Rudnick) of Serious mental lllness: Person-centered approaches. Samir Zoabi is Lecturer in the Department of Social Work at Tel Hai College, Israel. He is also director of counseling for elderly people in the greater Nazareth region of the National Insurance Institute, Israel.