September 9, 2009 / 20 Elul 5769
The conference was organized by the Jewish Agency’s Fund for Victims of Terror and the New School of Psychology at the Interdisciplinary Center (IDC) Herzliya, and took place on September 13th-15th at the Center’s campus in Herzliya.
An international conference dedicated to the subject of treating terror victims was held on September 13th-15th in Herzliya. The conference was initiated by the Jewish Agency’s Fund for Victims of Terror and the New School of Psychology at IDC Herzliya, and featured experts and professionals from Israel and around the world. This marked the first academic conference focusing on terror victims and their families. The conference began on Sunday morning, September 13th, in the presence of Jewish Agency Chairman Natan Sharansky and President of the IDC, Professor Uriel Reichman.
The conference addressed a wide range of topics, including: assisting terror victims, bereaved families and orphans in Israel; how youths in Northern Israel deal with the threat posed by Hezbollah; how new immigrants to Israel deal with the threat of terror; how terror acts influence the victims’ health and the link between terror incidents and sleeping disorders; how survivors of 9/11 terror attacks in New York and American soldiers wounded in Iraq deal with trauma.
Additionally, a special presentation revealed the results of a new study evaluating the psychological, economic, bureaucratic and therapeutic needs of terror victims. The study was conducted by IDC Herzliya’s New School of Psychology at the initiative of the Jewish Agency’s Fund for Victims of Terror. The purpose of the study is to provide the Jewish Agency with practical tools to assist terror victims in areas that are not covered by the official government agencies.
The Jewish Agency’s Fund for Victims of Terror provides supplementary assistance to victims of terrorism and war, or to their families, in a variety of areas. Since its founding, the fund has helped 1,300 victims or family members of victims, distributing a total sum of over 35 million NIS. Among those assisted by the fund are victims of the Second Lebanon War and Israeli residents who suffered damage from Kassam rocket attacks. The fund is supported by the United Jewish Communities of North America and other donors throughout the world.
The New School of Psychology at IDC Herzliya is led by Dean Mario Mikulincer, one of the world’s leading and highly regarded researchers in the field of social psychology. The school was founded in the spirit of innovation and excellence, with the goal of creating, disseminating and implementing psychological scholarship. Its faculty is comprised from the leading lecturers and researches from universities in Israel and around the world. The school’s unique, innovative academic program is based upon exposure to the newest fields in psychology already during undergraduate study, such as positive, organizational and political psychology, the psychology of the internet and business psychology. The goal is to give students’ tools and firsthand experience that will familiarize them with the various fields of psychology and the intersection between psychology and other social sciences.
Lecturers at the conference included: Professor Mario Mikulincer, dean of the New School of Psychology at IDC Hezliya; Dr. Boaz Ganor, head of the Anti-Terror Policy Institute at IDC Hezliya; Professor George Bonanno of Columbia University; Professor Stevan Hobfoll of the Rush Medical College in Chicago; Professor Steven Joseph of the University of Nottingham; Professor Fran Norris of Dartmouth University; Professor Zahava Solomon of Tel-Aviv University; Professor Michal Shamai of Haifa University; Professor Netanel Laor of Tel-Aviv University; and other researchers and representatives of governmental and volunteer agencies.