Death, bereavement and traumatic loss in Israel: a historical and cultural perspective

In the present article, we focus on the experience of bereavement and traumatic loss in Israel and examine the main influences that continue to shape them. For the Jewish population the main features are: religious aspects stemming from Jewish tradition and its variants; the secular and contemporary traditions, the ethos of the Israeli state, and the influence of the struggle to reestablish the Jewish people in its homeland. In an increasingly multicultural society, significant changes are occurring. A series of vignettes of grief and mourning illustrate current issues and practices among religious, secular, kibbutz, Russian and Ethiopian segments of society. The remainder of the article discusses emerging patterns of response to bereavement that are socially constructed and historically situated. We follow the variations in these patterns, from shifting forms of memorialization on the collective level to changes in expressive mood on the individual level, which are mediated by the cultural mosaic of the society. Mental health professionals would benefit from an understanding of the multifaceted fabric of beliefs and cultural-specific customs that shape the mourning rituals and their meanings for the bereaved.