PTSD presentation, Psychology Seminar

At the end of the fall semester, each student in my Honors Psychology seminar gave a final presentation on a research topic of her choice. My four classmates chose fascinating subjects: leadership psychology in the IDF; eating disorder prevalence among ethnic groups in Israel; attitudes towards pre-natal screening in Israel; coping strategies in response to trauma.

My presentation was entitled "Exposure to Terrorism and the Development of PTSD: Contemporary Israeli research on Risk factors, Protective factors, and Coping strategies". For my presentation I prepared a handout for my classmates, which you can view on Adobe by clicking on the title of this blog entry ("PTSD presentation, Psychology Seminar"). The handout (which is basically an outline of my presentation) is not as polished as a paper would be; for a complete list of references feel free to contact me at DeborahHemel@yahoo.com.

Hanukkah in Haifa

This week is the height of the holiday season in much of the Western world, yet life in Israel continues more or less as usual. Although Hanukkah is a major cause for celebration among young Jews living in Christendom, Hanukkah is nevertheless a holiday of relatively minor religious significance. Israelis do celebrate Hanukkah of course: menorahs, latkes, gelt, dreidle, sufganiyot...etc., but there are no lavish Christmas celebrations to compare with. Hanukkah in Israel is not a particularly commericialized holiday; nor is Christmas for that matter. The small Christian minority in Israel is primarily Orthodox, and Orthodox Christians celebrate Christmas on January 7. I have to admit that as an American it felt a little unusual not to see any signs of Christmas, but it was also a big relief not to have to do any holiday shopping or feel like I was missing out on something.

Although New Year's is celebrated in Israel, for most Israelis it is considerably less significant than Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year. New Year's Eve is called "Sylvester" in Israel to distinguish it from Rosh Hashanah. (Why "Sylvester"? Well, in the Catholic Church, Saint Sylvester's Day is celebrated on December 31st. Of course it seems pretty strange that Israelis would name a holiday after a Catholic Saint, but there's a twist: in the 4th century A.D., Saint Sylvester - who was reportedly a vicious anti-Semite - convinced Constantine to prohibit Jews from living in Jerusalem. Israelis therefore call New Year's "Sylvester" as a way to mock, not to honor, Saint Sylvester).

Happy Holidays!

crunch time

The end of the semester for Overseas students is quickly approach- ing, which means it's crunch time for everyone, including myself. Next week I have two PTSD-related presentations and a final exam in Hebrew. Although none should require semi-heroic efforts a la Williams, I nevertheless had a lot of work ahead of me this week and therefore have chosen to post three photos and briefly describe them.
The top photo is a distant view of the University of Haifa campus. The tower in the upper left hand corner, known as Eshkol Tower, is the highest point in Haifa and can be seen for miles around. The photo to the right was taken from the opposite perspective - it is the view of Haifa as seen from the University campus. The third photo is a random shot of a rooftop garden in Haifa. As in many urban areas, property is tight in Haifa, so people make the most of any spare space!

Wadi Nisnas

This afternoon I went downtown with an Israeli friend who mentors me in Hebrew (in theory I mentor her in English as well, although her English is nearly perfect). We went to Wadi Nisnas, a densely-populated, historic Arab neighborhood in the center of Haifa. Within the last several years, the area has been rejuvinated by a public art campaign intended to attract visitors as well as wealthier tenants. Murals, modern sculptures, and other works of art blend into the scenery; it takes a discerning eye to notice many of them. Haifa has the reputation of being the most pluralistic of Israeli cities, and relations between Jews and Arabs are cordial if not necessarily warm. Wadi Nisnas must have a large Christian Arab population given how many Christmas items I saw in the area. This weekend I plan to go to a festival there known as HaChag Shel HaChagim (i.e."The Holiday of Holidays" - Hanukah, Christmas & Ramadan). Apparently the festival has been going on for 10 years, which is pretty impressive given how rough the last five years have been in terms of Jewish-Arab relations.

Research

Research and writing have consumed much of my time this past week: By Friday I plan to give my advisor a rough draft of the review article I am writing about the relationship between physical injury and the development of posttraumatic stress disorder. I find the research to be very interesting but the writing process to be much less so.

Coincidently, this week the subject of my psychology seminar is combat stress reactions. Although combat stress reactions are certainly detrimental from a military standpoint, and although post-combat stress reactions can interfere negatively with a person’s functionality, I wonder to what extent such reactions are normal (verses to what extent they are actually pathological). I mean, what should be considered a normal/appropriate reaction to combat (or any other type of intensely traumatic experience)? Could it be possible that certain situations/events are so inherently psychologically traumatic that those who emerged unscathed are the ones who should be considered psychologically unsound? The more I read about the psychological effects of war and terrorism, the more thoroughly appalled I am by both, and the more respect I have for my Israeli peers who have almost universally served in the military and coped with the threat of terrorism.

Grand Canyon

Saturday night is a popular time to go shopping in Israel since many stores, which are closed during shabbat, re-open after sunset and stay open late. So tonight a couple of friends and I decided to head to the “Grand Canyon” (canyon = mall, in Hebrew), to do some much-needed clothes and food shopping. Although it would be considered mid-size by American standards, the Grand Canyon is the largest mall in Israel, and it is a notable attraction in Haifa. Superficially, the Grand Canyon looks pretty much like any mall anywhere, but spending a couple of hours there on a Saturday night proved to be a distinctly Israeli cultural experience.

Mall outings appear to be whole-family ventures for many Israelis, and while women wander through the stores, wayward husbands can find collective refuge around a huge TV screen that airs Saturday-night soccer games. Soccer is almost pathologically popular in Israel, and Haifa is the proud home-base of Maccabi Haifa (the first-place soccer team in Israel). During a previous trip to the Grand Canyon, I froze in fear when I heard a massively loud roar emanate from one side of the mall, only to realize moments later that Maccabi Haifa had just scored a game-tying goal against Maccabi Tel-Aviv.

I quickly discovered that searching for suitable pants in the Grand Canyon would be a fruitless endeavor on my part. Although many Israeli women are quite slight, apparently even those who aren’t are willing to pretend otherwise for fashion purposes. My friends and I also determined that we are at least one clothing-size larger in Israel than in America, even for sweatshirts and the like. A penchant for tight-fitting clothes and a dearth of obese Israelis have clearly made their marks on the Israeli clothing industry.

The Grand Canyon has an unexcitingly transnational food court (i.e. McDonalds, Sbarros, etc.), so my friends and I went to a sushi bar in the mall instead. There were no English menus, but we successfully navigated the menu in Hebrew! I was quite excited – after all, being able to order food from an entirely Hebrew menu is something of a milestone for me.

Our last stop was the supermarket, which is in the basement of the mall (supermarkets in Haifa are housed in larger commercial complexes; stand-alone supermarkets don’t appear to exist). I wound up standing in line for the registrar behind several young ultra-Orthodox men, who appeared to be shopping for a considerably large number of people. They haggled over the price of nearly every item with an exhausted-looking clerk and then proceeded to pay with a complicated combination of cash, credit cards, and food-stamps. After they finally complete their purchases, they attempted to sell me their left-over food-stamps; I politely declined the offer. I realized that they are probably among the thousands of unemployed yeshiva students in Israel who opt out of army service but, to the frustration of many Israelis, nevertheless depend on government assistance.

weekend in Jerusalem

I spent the weekend in Jerusalem on a trip organized by the Overseas Department. The weather was unbelievably warm! I love spending time in Jerusalem since there are so many sights to see, and so many interesting people to observe.

We arrived in Jerusalem on Friday morning. Out first stop was Armon HaNatziv (trans: the Commissioner's Palace. During the mandate period, Armon HaNatziv was the location of the British High Commissioner's house). Armon HaNatziv affords visitors a beautiful view of the old-city of Jerusalem (see above photo). We spent the rest of the morning touring around the Jewish quarter of the old city. In the afternoon we went to Mea Shearim, a densely populated, ultra-Orthodox neighborhood in Jerusalem. The ultra-Orthodox of Mea Shearim include the Mitnagim (European traditionalists) and the Hasidim. Mea Shearim is something of a world unto itself. The residents dress the way their ancestors did hundreds of years ago in the ghettos of Europe. Before entering the neighborhood, the females in our group changed into long skirts and sleeved-shirts in order to comply with modestly standards. Photographs are not allowed, and tour groups are not particularly welcomed by the residents.

We did some pre-shabbat food shopping at Jerusalem's outdoor market, which was totally chaotic. As shabbat nears, the vendors drop their prices in order to get rid of perishables that will not last through to Sunday, when the market re-opens. The vendors shout out their prices as customers push and shove in the search for last-minute bargains.

Shabbat starts early in Jerusalem in December since the sun sets around 4:30. After sunset we walked to the Kotel (i.e. the Western Wall) which was packed with worshippers. Because men and women pray separately at the wall, I was only able to observe other women closely, although I could certainly hear men chanting furiously on the other side of the mehitzah (i.e. prayer partition). The women at the wall ranged from secular to ultra-Orthodox, from infant to elderly, from very pale to very dark. I am continuously amazed by the diversity of my co-religionists.

On Saturday we walked around some of the newer parts of Jerusalem and then headed to the Christian quarter of the old city. We toured the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, which is built on the place where Jesus is believed to have been crucified. The Church was interesting, but very crowded, and unfortunately I wasn't able to fully grasp its significance. I think that the Eastern Orthodox and Roman Catholic Churches share dominion over the church, which is beautiful and quite ornate on the inside.

We spent part of the afternoon in the Arab shuk, which extends through the Christian and Arab quarters. The shuk mostly consists of long, narrow alleyways lined with vendors selling colorful items. The vendors can be somewhat aggressive in selling their wares, and buyers are expected to bargain. I think it's fair to say however that I am not a good bargainer. Since the items are already quite cheap by American standards, and since I imagine that the vendors have a hard time earning a living, I feel badly trying to bargain for a lower price.

One of the most fascinating aspects of the shuk is how capitalism seems to be a much more powerful force than regional politics. For example, t-shirt vendors commonly display Israeli Army shirts next to Free Palestine shirts, and Muslim vendors sell menorahs, crosses, and plenty of other Jewish and Christian religious items. Politically-incorrect humor also abounds, as these two t-shirts clearly demonstrate!

click on the link below to view my photos of Jerusalem (you will need to log in. username: deborahhemel@yahoo.com, password: deborahhemel).
http://www.snapfish.com/thumbnailshare/AlbumID=32857943/a=34757088