TORONTO — Holocaust survivors in Israel cope better with trauma than survivors in the Diaspora, says the author of a Haifa University comparative study on the long-term effects of the Holocaust.
Efrat Barel
“It was found that living in Israel rather than in other countries can serve as a protective factor for psychological well-being,” Efrat Barel told The CJN in an interview.
Barel, a research fellow at the Center for the Study of Child Development, also discovered that survivors adapted to Israel just as well as non-survivors, even though they had to deal with more problems.
“Survivors’ attempts to reach [Palestine] were met with resistance by the British mandatory government,” she said. “Next were the struggles associated with immigration: unemployment, personal and social adaptation and assimilation.”
Finally, survivors had to cope with the perception that the Holocaust should be suppressed from Israel’s national consciousness.
Nevertheless, survivors adapted no less well to Israel than non-survivors, reported Barel, who conducted her study under the supervision of Avi Sagi-Schwartz, a professor at Haifa University’s department of psychology.
Asked to account for this phenomenon, Barel pointed to two possible explanations.
“The first may be found in the strains and stresses inflicted on Israelis… by the Arab-Israeli conflict. Constant existential threats may contribute to lower psychological well-being in both groups, which would explain the absence of differences between them.
“The second explanation is based on the notion of man’s search for meaning, which emphasizes the healing power rooted in the desire to find meaning, even in anguish. This notion is relevant in particular to Israel’s postwar reality.
“Survivors who immigrated to Israel were part of a large community with a shared vision – building and shaping the Jewish state. Perhaps this served as a protective factor that helped them achieve a new sense of meaning in their lives. This was not the situation for survivors who settled in countries other than Israel.”
Scarred as they were by their terrible experiences, survivors exhibited remarkable resilience in their daily lives, noted Barel, currently a lecturer at the Max Stern Academic College of Emek Yezreel.
Barel added that they still bear the pain of their past in the form of various psychiatric symptoms, particularly post-traumatic stress.
“Our findings are especially relevant for child survivors,” she said.
“Most survivors were children during the Holocaust. Special attention should be paid to them. As they approach old age, they encounter new challenges, including loss of spouse, retirement and health care problems that may reactivate their extreme early stress.
“Therapeutic interventions are, therefore, sometimes needed for coping with the reactivated stress.”
The psychiatric needs of survivors tend to be overlooked because their resilience has masked vulnerabilities and difficulties, she observed.
In general, they develop more frequent symptoms such as depression and anxiety.
Yet in other areas relating to functionality – physical health, psychological welfare and cognitive functioning – there were no significant differences between survivors and non-survivors.
Nor were there disparities in their longevity rates, she noted.
In short, she said, her findings underscore the fact that survivors in Israel display both vulnerability and resilience.
Barel’s study is based on 59 earlier studies encompassing 71 sample groups and 12,746 survivors.
“I am interested in trauma and stress, especially in resilience from trauma,” she said of her decision to explore this topic.
“I am not personally connected to the Holocaust, but this dimension of Jewish history is part of my identity. I believe that through studying Holocaust survivors we will be able to uncover the enduring effects of massive trauma and extreme stressful experiences.”