Israel abounds with organizations with missions to safeguard the health and happiness of its children.That vital mission is the mantra of a highly inclusive and multi-faceted child protection organization in Israel known as ELI: Israel Association for Child Protection. Founded in 1979 by its internationally acclaimed leader Dr. Hanita Zimrin, ELI is recognized by the Israeli Government as well as other human service agencies as the only organization in Israel that deals specifically and exclusively with all aspects of child abuse. From increasing awareness of the problem by educating the public, by lobbying policy decision makers and by providing vital information to potential victims and parents, ELI is determined to decrease the incidence of the all-too-prevalent child abuse by establishing multiple preventive projects. Once the abuse has been perpetrated, ELI offers the gamut of emotional and therapeutic services to alleviate the pain of the victim and the surrounding family.

ELI’s staff of professionals and trained volunteers offer comprehensive services to victims and their families including therapy, which is the most important;legal support and other indicated support services, eliminating the onerous task of going from agency to agency at times of great distress. ELI complements other human services agencies throughout Israel not only for children who have been abused and neglected, but also for adults who were childhood victims of abuse and for abusive parents who need help to overcome their problem. Individual, group and family therapy sessions are offered throughout Israel.

Through a network of preventive educational programs as well as clinical and therapeutic services ELI’s accomplishments are ever-increasing and reactive to the situation on the ground. During the past six months, ELI has been bombarded with calls reacting to the atmosphere of tension and fear permeating the air in Israel as a result of wanton stabbings and random attacks. ELI has responded quickly and effectively to these daily traumas by beefing up their services. In 2015 alone ELI clinically treated over 4,000 abused children and their family members.

The Hotline

In 2015 alone, 7,500 families, including many more children, were referred to ELI services for sexual, physical and emotional abuse as well as neglect. Thirty-five percent of the children were under the age of five and 50 percent under the age of nine.

The Safe House

The Safe House is ELI’s quintessential example of rehabilitation. Through its family-inclusive program, parents who were unable to provide safe and abuse-free environments for their children, and were in danger of having their children removed from home, are intensively trained with 16 hours per week of parenting skills, parental mentoring, training, support and therapy. They are also provided with training to develop an ability to support themselves and their children, which increases their self-esteem and independence. By 2015, 196 children out of 200 who were temporarily removed from their homes were returned to resume healthy and functioning lives.

School Outreach and Prevention Program Through ‘Edutainment’

ELI travels to schools around Israel with 10 plays as part of its highly effective “edutainment” program. Plays touch upon issues of improper behavior and abuse. In 2015 alone, 90,000 children participated in the program in more than 900 schools and kindergartens. Emerging from these presentations were 1,250 disclosures of abuse resulting in hundreds of preventions. ELI has also launched a successful Internet Safety Program through “edutainment” focused upon teaching children and guiding parents in safeguarding their children in the use of the internet.

Safe-Parenting Schools for the Prevention of Child Abuse and Neglect

This is ELI’s newest program. It is the ultimate prevention program, consisting of free weekly, non-judgmental meetings held throughout the country for at-risk parents to learn about safe and effective parenting and to answer questions, to help solve dilemmas and to demonstrate joyful parenting. Babysitting is provided as well as simultaneous sessions for older children.

IDF/ELI Partnership

ELI partners with Ma’hot, the IDF unit that provides support for victims of sexual abuse, by training their team of professionals and army mental-health officers regarding the use of therapeutic intervention. ELI also provides counseling for specific cases and intervention in difficult cases. In keeping with their vital mission of prevention, ELI provides counseling to all IDF officers so that they can detect the indicators of abuse and deal proactively with suspected abuse. Most importantly, ELI provides therapeutic intervention to soldiers sexually abused in the army itself or at home, either in the past or currently. ELI is the only civil organization allowed to treat soldiers.

Multiculturalism

Sadly, child abuse cuts across cultural lines. ELI has extensively researched the parental behaviors of the many cultures inhabiting Israel for the purpose of better understanding and more effective interventions. The Immigrant Help Center provides counseling, education and therapy to the Russian and Ethiopian communities as well as vital training to Ethiopian social workers. Six Orthodox mental-health therapists work closely with rabbis and spiritual leaders to meet the special needs of abuse victims in their communities. This partnership allows ELI to provide therapeutic intervention to abuse victims in that population. ELI trains Arab social workers to address the nuances of their population as well so that they can provide therapy to help heal the victims of abuse.

Children With Special Needs

In 2013, ELI began a therapeutic program for children with disabilities. In 2014, they advanced the program through the addition of holistic intervention by involving teachers and other educational staff, in addition to parents, in the therapeutic process. By the end of 2015, more than 100 children with special needs who had been abused benefitted from ELI’s therapeutic interventions.

At the helm of ELI is the illustrious Dr. Haniita Zimrin, the first person in Israel to receive a PhD in Social Work, which she earned in 1978. A native of Jerusalem, Dr. Zimrin served as a Professor at Tel Aviv University from 1970 until 1988 where she headed the Children and Youth Unit at the School of Social Work. She served as a member of the editorial board of The International Journal of Child Abuse and Neglect published in the US and circulated internationally. She has chaired international forums and has successfully brought about significant improvement in Israel’s child-protection laws by the passing of many of her suggestions through the Knesset. Dr. Zimrin has represented Israel in the United Nations General Assembly and participated in Middle East Peace talks. Her numerous public recognition awards include the 1980 Henrietta Szold Award, the 1989 President’s Award for Volunteer Work and the 2008 honor by the Prime Minister of Israel for her extraordinary contributions to Israeli society. In 1996, she was awarded the prestigious Distinguished Career Award from the International Society for Prevention of Child Abuse and Neglect.

Zimrin assesses that “the services afforded to Israeli children far surpasses that of other countries. The Israeli mindset in approaching cases of child abuse [is] that the child must be protected at all costs, even sometimes to the detriment of the parents and extended family. At the same time we do not dismiss the family but work on the backgrounds, cultures, economic tensions and societal influences to bring the entire family back to a functioning and healthy unit. ELI provides the professionalism and sensitivity to accomplish this enormous task.”

To learn more about the work of ELI go to www.eli-usa.org or email Wendy Borodkin, Director of American Friends of ELI, at [email protected].

By Pearl Markovitz