Expanding Emotional Support for the Israeli Community Abroad: In-Person Support Circles

Planetherapy has long operated as a global network, making emotional support accessible to Israelis and Jews in Israel and around the world. Based on a network of hundreds of multilingual volunteer professionals across numerous countries, we are now launching a significant new branch of activity: In-Person Emotional Support and Resilience Circles.

This new project is designed to address the emotional complexities faced by Israelis living abroad, rooted in the professional knowledge we have gathered and the unique methodology we have developed.

Understanding EIT: Exilic Israeli Trauma

For Israelis living abroad, reality has been incredibly complex in recent years. A delicate and painful mix of guilt, loneliness, and a sense of detachment, alongside hyper-identification with the situation in Israel. These elements form the emotional fabric of Israelis who have left but continue to live the security situation in Israel in a different, yet total, way. Whether dealing with anti-Israel sentiment or antisemitism, the challenges children face at school, or the friction with friends and family in Israel who are running to shelters while European reality remains entirely different – the complexity is often unbearable. Being Israeli is not easy anywhere in the world during these challenging times.

Ruti Bashen, who leads our professional development, identified and defined this shared distress, naming it: EIT – Exilic Israeli Trauma. The resonance of her article published in eJP on this subject confirmed that we had touched a raw nerve. Consequently, we held an online community meeting to discuss these challenges, providing a space for shared feelings, experiences, and distress. For a few moments, as Israelis from across the globe gathered to speak about our emotions, we felt a little less alone.

In-Person Emotional Support Circles for Israeli Communities Abroad

The project grew out of the recognition of an increasing need for tailored support for Israelis living abroad. Its goal is to provide consistent emotional support to Israeli communities facing distress related to the security situation in Israel, anti-Israel sentiment, antisemitism, and identity.

The meetings are held in person once a month in an intimate format of up to 15 participants. These sessions are facilitated by Planetherapy’s certified volunteer professionals, utilizing the professional framework of the EIT model.

Pilot in Berlin

This past April, we held the first session as part of our pilot project in Berlin. This professional and intimate gathering served as the first test for our working model. The high turnout, the moving atmosphere, and the warm feedback spoke volumes about the necessity and significance of this project. Planetherapy operates under the belief that emotional resilience and support are not luxuries, but a basic and vital community need. We were deeply moved to see how meaningful it was for participants to have a space where they could share, connect, and breathe.

The session was led by the sensitive and professional facilitation of Moshe Gerstel, with production and management support from Shacham Avraham and our other Berlin-based volunteers. Zusammen, which serves as a home for the Israeli community in Berlin, hosted us and generously donated the space for this activity.

Looking Ahead: The Next Phase

The success of the Berlin pilot is only the first step. We will soon announce the date for the next meeting in Berlin, with the aim of creating a monthly routine.

Our goal is to use this model of in-person emotional support circles to reach additional Israeli communities in Europe facing similar challenges. The project was designed as a replicable model, allowing us to operate in various locations using Planetherapy’s professional workforce – native-speaking volunteer professionals who deeply understand the cultural and psychological landscape of the participants.

We are continuing to map the needs of further communities and will work to make this model accessible wherever Israelis and Jews need professional support – both online and face-to-face.