Translating Anthroposophical Curative Education to Israel: Challenges and Adaptations
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Abstract
This paper tracks anthroposophical social initiatives in Israel in the mid-20th century. It follows the migration and transfer of anthroposophical ideas, people, and texts and the transnational translation of social work knowledge and practice from European culture to Israel in its first decades.
Archival material was collected from official, institutional, and private archives in Israel, Switzerland, Britain, and Germany, and some data was obtained through oral history interviews. Transnational correspondence between anthroposophists in Palestine, later Israel, and those in Europe and Britain up to the late 1960s reveals efforts to tackle the newly founded state’s most burning struggles in order to adjust, realize, and embed an anthroposophical practice of care. The paper proposes that transnational translation of anthroposophical curative education played a significant role in the reception of anthroposophy in Israel, through a process in which European cultural aspects of anthroposophy were adjusted, and its universal human aspects were prioritized.
Presenter Biography
Ron Eilon is a clinical social worker and Ph.D. candidate at the Paul Baerwald School of Social Work and Social Welfare at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. He holds a master’s degree in clinical social work, with a focus on trauma therapy, and has worked in psychotherapy and psychiatric rehabilitation for young adults. His research interests include anthroposophy, social work history, disability studies, and the adaptation of social work practices across cultures. His doctoral research looks at the development of anthroposophical social care institutions in Israel, exploring their clinical approaches and their unique understanding of disability.