Further to the Unholy Alliance Between Social Workers and State

An article in the 30/11/07 edition of the local Tzfat, Israel newspaper קול
העיר ("Kol HaIr", meaning "Voice of the City") that opened full of hope and humanity ends on an ominous note.

There is a branch of Bar Ilan University here in Tzfat. It is not really on the academic level of the University, more like a small college, but they do offer BA's (no no BSc's or higher degrees are granted, neither is research conducted there).

Be that as it may, the opportunity for single parents, at least 90% of whom are women, to earn a BA is a very bright ray of hope for a population that is characterized by 25% being under the poverty line. No figures are given for the remaining 75%. Knowing the population as I do, I should say that about 50% are at the poverty level. The remainder are able to get help from the parents' families or enjoy other sources of income.

A new program has been instituted by one of the deacons at the college. It is an academic program geared for single parents. They are provided with a substantial scholarship as well as a living allowance. There are support services which are not the run-of-the-mill psycho-social services that make people feel one down in an uneven power relationship at best and "sick" at worst, but rather support services that encourage a positive self and family image and empower the parents. Tutoring is likewise made available to those who need it.

How beautiful! What promise!

Enter the gummint.

Before I go on, I should explain that single parents in Israel are entitled to a good deal of aid. They are entitled to basic equipment for the baby: Crib, carriage, disposable diapers, formula when they stop nursing, a 1/3 discount on public transportation and a rent subsidy.

In order to obtain those services they must turn to the Welfare authority, i.e., the social workers. Thus, they must submit to the assessment of the social workers as to whether or not they are "fit" parents. They must show up to the social workers' offices regularly, where they are quite obviously scrutinized.

The social workers are not satisfied with reports that they receive from our equivalent of La Leche. Oh, no. It is the social workers who determine if a parent is "fit" and a child "at risk". Of course, the social workers are all assumed to be ideal parents, who are in a position to determine the parenting skills of others. Statistically, it simply cannot be that all social workers are good parents, but never once have I heard of a social worker being investigated by child welfare officers.

Even the best parent is made to feel, um, uncomfortable by that ongoing scrutiny, which, they know full well, is not always well-intended or completely objective.

With all the aid they receive, as I have said and feel should reiterate, 25% of single parents are below the poverty line. Some 50% more are at the poverty line, according to my personal observations. They rest have parents who are in a position to help or have other sources of income.

It is every single parent's dream to get out from under the thumb of the welfare services.

A program like the one being offered by the Tzfat Regional College, an accredited institution of higher learning, is a tremendous boon and holds out great promise of economic independence as well as emancipation from the social workers and the welfare system.

It transpires that the government has passed a law which stipulates that any single parent enrolling in the program loses all his or her benefits.

Even given the fact that they receive a modest living allowance and a substantial scholarship, being a student in a college or university in Israel is far more expensive than in many countries. Students here are notoriously poor - I mean poor.

The parents who are dependent upon the aid simply cannot afford to forfeit it.

This keeps them in the thrall of the social workers and in the welfare loop.

There are 150,000 single parent households in Israel today. The percentages are growing every year as women decide that they do not need to accept the bonds and strictures of Jewish marriage (which only allows the men the right to grant divorce and makes a deserted wife unable to marry again) or to remain in miserable marriages "for the kids".

Clearly, there is a nefarious programme being implemented - a meticulously planned programme of povertization and perpetuation of dependence - and all that the misery of poverty leads to (there is no need to elaborate, the insightful will understand).

I have said before and I will say again unless I am shut up and away by the authorities, which is a very real possibility when one speaks the truth in the State of Israel, the social workers are the government's front line in its war on wealth, health and happiness.

Doreen Ellen Bell-Dotan, Tzfat, Israel
DoreenDotan@gmail.com