Conflicting identities of Israeli social workers during the forced relocation of Gaza Strip settlers

The Israeli withdrawal from the Gaza Strip in 2005 involved the uprooting of 7,000 Israeli settlers from their homes and the physical destruction of the Gaza settlements. Some 100 social workers volunteered to work with the residents during the 6 months before the eviction. In their intervention, the social workers faced many dilemmas associated with their professional identities, their roles, and their personal political ideologies. This article is based on 19 in-depth interviews that were conducted with the volunteer social workers several months after the eviction. The study identifies three coping strategies for dealing with the conflicts: ambivalence, splitting, and integration.