Some Techniques for Evaluating Planned Community Change in An
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Some Techniques for Evaluating merits by our hosts. In one day, a staff We selectively invited 14 immigrants to at member was offered three lunches by three tend an informational and educational meet Planned Community Change in an Israeli Development Town families and the time of day was of no ing about the Cleveland Jewish Welfare Fund B. HAROLD CHETKOW (YANOOV), D.S.W. consequence. We all gained a better under Drive. The meeting was held at a lay leader's and standing of the warmth and openness of the home and all of those invited came to the Russians as people. meeting. After much active discussion about HAROLD GREENBERG, Ed.D The most positive aspect of our experience community services and how Jewish com Associate Professors, School of Social Work, Bar-Ilan University, Ramat-Gan, Israel was observing and hearing about the desire of munity funds were utilized, the participants these families to become part of the Jewish wanted to continue with how they could be . if a planning unit is to be initiated in any local community, it is excellent policy that the community. Many of the families had brought helpful. One individual surprised us all by activity be subject to independent evaluation at regular periods. It is equally vital that some form with them from the Soviet Union some sense suggesting that they (the Russians) should of baseline measurement of conditions be established before the project is activated . of Jewish identity and a desire, whether expli reach out to their friends and other Russians to cit or submerged, to be recognized as Jews. participate in the community's efforts to raise Introduction funds for Jewish needs. After this meeting, This could only aid in their resettlement. Evaluating community development pro At the invitation of the Ministry of Social three more parlor meetings were planned by Dr. Maria Pfister-Ammende of the World jects is one of the most difficult aspects of Welfare and as part of a United Nations the people themselves and a total of 47 Soviet Mental Health Association points out: social research. The problems involve such consultation program in community develop individuals were contacted for the Jewish Wel There are always two poles involved in any basics as identifying agreed upon project goals, ment, Dr. Meyer Schwartz of the University of fare Fund Drive. For a group who had little or 1 process of resettlement, and the manner in developing measurable criteria for change, Pittsburgh studied conditions in Or-Yehuda. no experience with voluntary fund-raising by which they come together will have a decisive defining what is in fact to be measured, and His report of August 1968, recommending a an organized Jewish community, they reacted effect upon the relations of the parties con demonstrating causality. Furthermore, such demonstration community development pro cerned. The success of resettlement therefore, with a desire to be involved and to help. These evaluation must be undertaken within realistic ject, was approved by an inter-ministry will depend on whether the new settlers and meetings came at the end of the campaign and time, budgetary, and manpower limitations. committee for social services. In August 1969, the inhabitants of the country clash in a will lead to more planning for next year. Also, Despite these difficulties, no reasonable it was decided to establish a Social Planning violent impact, embittered, mute and tense, further efforts will be planned on a community approach to community planning can have any Service in the community. It was to formulate, or whether they meet in a spirit of friendli level to offer opportunities to Soviet families 2 justification without objective evaluation. as well as to implement and coordinate, ness.' for community involvement and responsi In this paper, we shall present a number of short-term and long-term programs and Our experience seems to confirm Dr. bility. techniques developed and implemented by the policies. Pfister-Ammende's statement. We have been We have only touched the surface of trying authors to evaluate planned community able to resettle large numbers of Soviet Jews to understand the motivations, goals, and atti change in an Israeli development town. A few Background based on our understanding of their needs and tudes of the Russian population. Our experi findings, primarily in footnotes, are used to their desire to become part of the Cleveland When attempting to evaluate the impact of a ence has shown us the need for deeper and illustrate these techniques. Jewish community. Their move toward inte four-year social planning effort in Or-Yehuda, more systematic research into the adjustment the researchers had to take a number of factors gration rather than isolation reflects the com The Community Setting and attitudes of the Soviet immigrants. into account. Five such factors are described monality of Jewish identity which this group Who can say what amount of time the re Or-Yehuda, the community under discuss below: of Soviets brings with them to a community settlement process takes? There will always be ion, is a town of over 12,000 population. It with its own Jewish identity. Although there individuals who adjust and are absorbed grew out of five transit camps for new The Planning Model in Or- Yehuda was an initial clash of cultures, there are quickly and those who are at the lower end of immigrants, in three abandoned Arab villages, healthy signs that this immigrant population Susan and Norman Fainstein, in their article the spectrum. The Russians have shown us to which some of Israel's early immigrants longs for a deeper involvement in the Jewish "City Planning and Political Values," cate their hopes and frustrations, and have given us were directed. It became a "Local Council" in community. They see themselves as Jews. gorize a number of planning activities which encouragement for the future. This group of 1955. It is located in what today is the greater Have we hopefully imagined this or is it true? are helpful in understanding what took place people is not lost to the Cleveland Jewish Tel-Aviv Metropolitan Area, not distant from in Or-Yehuda. Among their various types, 12 Dr. Maria Pfister-Ammende, "Uprooting and 2 community. They want to be part of the main suburbs, satellite cities, and other towns and they identify traditional planning. Based on Resettlement as a Sociological Problem" in Up stream of Jewish life. villages. Like many development towns, 1 rooting and Resettlement, London: World Federa Meyer Schwartz, Or-Yehuda—A New Imm Or-Yehuda has long had to contend with tion for Mental Health, 1960, p. 22. igrant Development Satellite Town in the Conurban- severe social and communal problems. It has ization of Tel Aviv-Yafo (Jerusalem: Ministry of also been plagued with a persistent difficulty in Social Welfare, Aug. 20, 1968), Mimeo. attracting professional personnel to staff its 2 Susan S. Fainstein and Norman I. Fainstein, services. "City Planning and Political Values," Urban Affairs Quarterly, 6 (March 1971), 341-362. 68 69 the theories of technocracy, traditional plan Schwartz, worked through the local political the mayor of Or-Yehuda during the project dominated by party-ethnic political ward- ners "engineer" changes from the top down. authority. This approach was undertaken with period was an active, socially-concerned healers. For their part, ethnic politicians were The planner, responsible both for goals and the explicit assumption that "it will take individual who placed complete confidence in unwilling to tolerate independent citizen means, comes to the job with special interest official political intervention to deal with the the recommendations of his social planner. He organizations. They preferred to run things in biases, being based on scientifically derived or basic problems of the community." These are was also known as a "solo operator" who classic patriarchal and personal style. Local objective standards and a sense of public good two points of view that run through much of not only handled everything himself but department heads, like most Israeli officials, which are translated finally into legislation.3 the literature. 5 enjoyed this patriarchal role within the saw themselves as experts for whom citizen Such an approach, based as it often is on a The evidence from our analysis points to the dominant Iraqi ethnic group. In fact, he often input was inconsequential. They did not distrust of the lower classes or the populace, existence of traditional planning in Or- governed through his ethnic position and believe in this "artificial" or imported takes the form of a paternalistic (scientific Yehuda. Furthermore, the indications are that connections, not on the basis of rationally American idea, and were convinced that it managerial) elite. such traditional (technocratic or deductive) conceived social planning. He seemed to have could not work in Israel generally or with The Fainsteins identify another category, planning was well done. However, a distancing little patience for committee process (the "low-level" Or-Yehuda residents specifically. user-oriented planning. In this instance, users, of the planning from what the general public backbone of planning and coordination), and The planner himself, starting as a political clients, or "the people" provide the goals, was aware of, or seemed to prefer, also often saw himself as the local champion who scientist rather than a social work planner, while the planner executes the plan and occurred. had to do battle with the unresponsive national initially had little patience for citizen involve implements it. This is derived from democratic ment. Ethnic Politics bureaucracies. theory. It favors citizen participation or public The close interrelationship between com involvement in goal setting through delegate This type of paternalistic planning fits well munity social planning and the local political National and Public Initiative bodies, activist leadership, referenda and the the ethnic nature of Israeli politics, especially system seems, especially in Israel which lacks a Although the mayor was quick to realize like.4 In theory, the planner is the servant of on the local level.