Cultural Diversity and Clinical Neuropsychology in Israel: Neuropsychological Rehabilitation within a Cultural, Religious, and Political Melting Pot

Cultural diversity is deeply rooted in Israel's history and current existence. The country's population comprises of two major societies—Jewish (80%) and Arab (20%), each of them divided again into a variety of ethnical, cultural, and religious subgroups. In addition, for more than a century, Israel's social melting pot has experienced constant internal and external political tensions, strongly exemplified by the fact that Israel is the only western democracy that is seriously and explicitly threatened to be alienated. Put together, these two aspects: cultural diversity and geopolitical tensions, are the source and the main cause for the development of Israel as a welfare country, with a very strong emphasis on social solidarity, especially with regard to its armed forces. Within this context, Israeli clinical neuropsychology focuses more on psycho-social support and rehabilitation than on forensic evaluation, and on the involvement of patients' specific socio-cultural communities in the process of rehabilitation. These trends are demonstrated in four clinical case-presentations of patients with traumatic brain injuries (TBI) or stroke that the authors have treated during their careers as rehabilitation neuropsychologists in Israel.