Kashmir and Palestine: archives of coloniality and solidarity

ABSTRACT

What features of contemporary coloniality emerge if we examine geopolitical alliances across settler and ‘post’ colonial contexts? What forms of solidarity become necessary in the context of these colonialities? Referencing the historical and contemporary features of the occupations of Kashmir & Palestine, the introduction to this special issue makes the case for naming the states of India and Israel as part of a contemporary geocolonial formation. Naming and framing require understanding present forms of coloniality and reflexive solidarity. The essays in this special issue form an archive of coloniality and solidarity through which the authors examine the minutiae of living and of dying, of assembling archives from below, and of building and decolonising solidarities across Kashmir & Palestine.     

Unmet patient need in home care under managed care

Social workers in home care agencies obtained through a national random sample responded to a mail questionnaire that examined the relationship between the frequency of discharge with unmet patient need and patient/family characteristics, agency auspice, and practice activities when social workers' assessment of patient needs and managed care payment limits conflict. Regression analysis found that the importance of social work financial planning with clients and intra-agency advocacy were significant negative contributors, and patient cognitive impairment, inadequate family care, and agency auspice were significant positive contributors to a regression model explaining 31 percent of the variance in the frequency of discharge with unmet need. Implications for practice, education, and research are discussed.     

Ultra-orthodox women in Israel: A pilot project in social work education

The Hebrew University School of Social Work initiated a 2-year BSW program for ultra-orthodox women with a prior BA degree from a recognized university. This program adhered to the curriculum of the school and courses were taught by university faculty and field instructors. To encourage enrollment and show sensitivity to the needs of this population, classes were held on the campus of an ultra-orthodox women's seminary. The culture of social work consists of professional beliefs, values and behaviors. This program enabled an interface of students entrenched in the ultra-orthodox world, as encoded in the halacha (Jewish law representing beliefs and values, and dictating behaviors), with that of the social work profession. We were confronted with the challenge of integrating these two cultures. The main objective was to make the knowledge and skills of social work available to these women. Because of the two different systems, there are inherent conflicts which are bound to arise. An ongoing educational challenge was to resolve these conflicts. Minda Garr, lecturer at the Paul Baerwald School of Social Work, is the academic coordinator of the program described, and Goldie Marans of the Baerwald School of Social Work, is the field coordinator of this program.     

Kashmir and Palestine: itineraries of (anti) colonial solidarity

ABSTRACT

This paper explores the itineraries of anti-colonial solidarity between India & Palestine and argues for placing Kashmir’s anti-colonial struggle for sovereignty in these itineraries. Examining routes of solidarity through transnational and translocal assemblages, the essay highlights the need for critical reflection on anti-colonial solidarity. The paper is also an argument for the need for anti-colonial solidarity with Kashmir and Palestine to take account of the context of contemporary geopolitical alliances within global capitalism, which indicates a (settler/post) colonial formation.