5 Settlement houses and the emergence of social work in Mandatory Palestine
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John Gal
Abstract
The two settlement houses established in Mandatory Palestine were part of efforts by Jewish social workers to both address poverty among immigrant populations and to strengthen their integration into the Zionist project, which sought to establish a Jewish state in that country. The first settlement house was established in Jerusalem by a Zionist women’s organization in 1925. Drawing upon settlement house models in the UK and those developed in Jewish communities in Eastern Europe, the settlement house sought to combine community level and casework interventions, led by a social worker, in working with poor immigrant Jewish families primarily from Yemen. A decade later a second settlement house was established by social workers employed by Jewish social services. Here again a range of community and family-focused interventions were combined with efforts to integrate poor immigrant Jewish families into the wider Jewish community and to strengthen their affiliation with the Zionist values that dominated this community.
Abstract
The two settlement houses established in Mandatory Palestine were part of efforts by Jewish social workers to both address poverty among immigrant populations and to strengthen their integration into the Zionist project, which sought to establish a Jewish state in that country. The first settlement house was established in Jerusalem by a Zionist women’s organization in 1925. Drawing upon settlement house models in the UK and those developed in Jewish communities in Eastern Europe, the settlement house sought to combine community level and casework interventions, led by a social worker, in working with poor immigrant Jewish families primarily from Yemen. A decade later a second settlement house was established by social workers employed by Jewish social services. Here again a range of community and family-focused interventions were combined with efforts to integrate poor immigrant Jewish families into the wider Jewish community and to strengthen their affiliation with the Zionist values that dominated this community.
Chapters in this book
- Front Matter i
- Contents vii
- List of boxes, figures and tables ix
- Notes on contributors x
- Acknowledgements xiv
- Introduction 1
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The transnational transfer of the settlement house idea
- A brief transnational history of the Settlement House Movement 15
- Berlin’s municipal socialism: a transatlantic muse for Mary Simkhovitch and New York City 35
- The French maisons sociales, Chicago’s Hull-House scheme and their influence in Portugal 51
- Settlement houses and the emergence of social work in Mandatory Palestine 73
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The interface between the Settlement House Movement and other social movements
- University extension and the settlement idea 91
- Between social mission and social reform: the Settlement House Movement in Germany, 1900–30 109
- To be an Englishman and a Jew: Basil Henriques and the Bernhard Baron Oxford and St George’s Settlement House 129
- The English settlements, the Poor Man’s Lawyer and social work, circa 1890–1939 145
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Research in settlement houses and its impact
- Putting knowledge into action: a social work perspective on settlement house research 163
- Animating objectivity: a Chicago settlement’s use of numeric and aesthetic knowledges to render its immigrant neighbours and neighbourhood knowable 181
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Final reflections
- ‘The soul of the community’: two practitioners reflect on history, place and community in two community-based practices from 1980 to 1995: St Hilda’s Community Centre in Bethnal Green and Waterloo Action Centre in Waterloo, South London 201
- Conclusion 221
- Index 231
Chapters in this book
- Front Matter i
- Contents vii
- List of boxes, figures and tables ix
- Notes on contributors x
- Acknowledgements xiv
- Introduction 1
-
The transnational transfer of the settlement house idea
- A brief transnational history of the Settlement House Movement 15
- Berlin’s municipal socialism: a transatlantic muse for Mary Simkhovitch and New York City 35
- The French maisons sociales, Chicago’s Hull-House scheme and their influence in Portugal 51
- Settlement houses and the emergence of social work in Mandatory Palestine 73
-
The interface between the Settlement House Movement and other social movements
- University extension and the settlement idea 91
- Between social mission and social reform: the Settlement House Movement in Germany, 1900–30 109
- To be an Englishman and a Jew: Basil Henriques and the Bernhard Baron Oxford and St George’s Settlement House 129
- The English settlements, the Poor Man’s Lawyer and social work, circa 1890–1939 145
-
Research in settlement houses and its impact
- Putting knowledge into action: a social work perspective on settlement house research 163
- Animating objectivity: a Chicago settlement’s use of numeric and aesthetic knowledges to render its immigrant neighbours and neighbourhood knowable 181
-
Final reflections
- ‘The soul of the community’: two practitioners reflect on history, place and community in two community-based practices from 1980 to 1995: St Hilda’s Community Centre in Bethnal Green and Waterloo Action Centre in Waterloo, South London 201
- Conclusion 221
- Index 231
