Mohammed Arfan Ashmawi and Sophie Orentlikher, he Palestinian, she Jewish, are students at the Catholic University of Applied Sciences in Aachen. As part of their master’s degree in clinical therapeutic social work, they have set themselves the task of raising awareness of the concerns of people living in Germany regarding the events in Israel and Palestine over the past two years. They asked themselves what psychosocial effects October 7 and the war in Gaza had on Jews and Palestinians in Germany, to what extent the intergenerational transmission of trauma influenced their lives in the here and now, and what role German dominant society played in the processing of pain. They dedicated their research project to these very considerations. Through in-depth biographical interviews with 15 Jewish and 15 Palestinian individuals, the participants were given a platform to share their experiences, their pain, and their stories. The approach is emancipatory in nature—instead of talking about those affected, their voices are made audible. Selective observation and examination of what has happened in Israel and Palestine is not just a problem for society as a whole since October 7, but one that extends into academic and scientific circles.
This project aims to counteract this by establishing connections between different cases without equating them, as well as breaking down the supposed binary nature of the situation, given that the Jewish and Palestinian diaspora and communities are very heterogeneous. In the course of data evaluation, guidelines for social work and the welfare system are formulated. Research shows that in an immigration country like Germany, transnational conflicts are also played out here and leave wounds behind.