Israel’s expertise in post trauma is in high demand

Lessons from Kassams: Israel’s expertise in post trauma is in high demand
By Andrea Waxman
of The Chronicle staff


Professor Orit Nuttman Shwartz’s expertise is in high demand these days.

A social worker and senior lecturer at Sapir College near Sderot and Ben Gurion University of the Negev in Be’er Sheva, Nuttman Shwartz has published widely and presented internationally on trauma and post traumatic stress disorder.

But she is not an expert purely because of her academic work. Rather, her hands-on experience helping traumatized students in the south of Israel, who live under a continuous barrage of Kassam rockets fired by Hamas-led Palestinians from Gaza, particularly informs her work.

This week, she spoke with groups in Milwaukee as part of a visit sponsored by the Milwaukee Jewish Federation’s Israel Center.

On Sunday, Sept. 14, speaking to a general audience of some 35 at the Harry & Rose Samson Family Jewish Community Center, Nuttman Shwartz, discussed “Living Under Fire: Individuals and Communities near the Gaza Border.”

Monday, Sept. 15, she led a seminar for some 40 mental health professionals at Jewish Family Services, on “Traumatic Events: The Shared Reality for Individuals, Communities and Helping Professionals.” That event was co-sponsored by the Jewish Community Mental Health Education Project, a collaborative project of the Greater Milwaukee Jewish community that is coordinated by Jewish Family Services.
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