From the Editor’s Desk

Kaveret No. 24, as the Journal of the School of Behavioral Sciences, The College of Management, is dedicated to Ostracism. Our examination of this issue continues the journal's investigation into the major concepts affecting humanity: Love (No. 1, January 2000), Leadership (No. 2, March 2001), Freedom (No. 3, June 2001), Justice (No. 4, January 2002), Happiness (No. 5, June 2002), Beauty (No. 6, January 2003), Desire (No 7, June 2003), Truth (No. 8, January 2004), Self-sacrifice (No. 9, July 2004), Peace (No. 10, February 2005), Identity (No. 11, August 2005), Evil (No. 12, February 2006), Revolution (No. 13, July 2006), Hypocrisy (No. 14, March 2007), Sexuality (No. 15, July 2007), Disappointment (No. 16, July 2008), Parenting (No. 17, July 2009), Humor (No. 18, July 2010), and Excellence (No 19, July 2011), Love (revisited) (No. 20, July 2012), Alienation (No. 21, July 2013) and Hope (No. 22, July 2014) and Fatherhood (No. 23, July 2015).

Ostracism, like its cousins banishment and boycott, excommunication and shunning, is a form of pressure exerted by a unified group for the purpose of inducing change in the behavior of the targeted individuals or groups. This multidimensional act is expressed in the decision to physically or socially distance the ostracized from the “us” or “we” of group membership. The exclude power of the group and the sense of togetherness is usually rooted in intense social cohesion, which can itself flow are from either logical or emotional factors. Ostracism of a group tends to be motivated primarily by logical, ideological dictates, and is meant to induce a total change in the group’s behavior, whereas ostracism of an individual is usually motivated by a wealth of feelings, such as jealousy, anger or revenge. Individuals are often ostracized because they are exceptional (at both extremes) in terms of physical beauty, intelligence, either or, alternatively, because of hurtful actions taken against friends, family and other group members. On the macro level, acts of ostracism are directed at marginalized groups, communities, or countries, often as the last step taken prior to transformations in ideology, socio-political or economic policy, or regime (consider the boycott against South Africa). On the micro level, ostracism directed at individuals often induces intense feelings of pain and regret, which may continue for years, accompanied by highly negative memories of the surrounding events. In its modern version, ostracism has been extended to cyberspace as another form of aggression against individuals and groups, platform being the social media.

In this issue, we focus on the ostracism of groups and children. In the article by Orna Shani, we offer a philosophical and anthropological survey of ostracism, with the article by Karin Gur presenting a review of its many facets. Moshe Maoz discusses the political ostracism of Israel from a historical perspective while commenting on the BDS (Boycott Divestment Sanctions) movement. Sara Zamir and Sara Hauptman open to us a form of ostracism unique to the Jewish ultra-Orthodox (Haredi) community, that is, the pashkvil, a verbal attack, printed on a poster plastered on a public wall in central locations within its neighborhoods. Amichai Silberman illustrated ostracism as captured by works of art.

Turning to the micro level, Edna Katznelson describes ostracism and its effect on children, while Gidi Koren, in his poem, expresses what he felt when ostracized for his opinions in the years before Facebook. Daniel Wattelman and Karin Gur reveal another facet of ostracism, denial of intimate relations, together with female use of this power. Continuing in this vein is the article by Suzy Ben Baruch, who stresses the linkage between ostracism and aggression. Samy Aragon then shifts to the new phenomenon of cybernetic ostracism, followed by Yossefh Ziv Zagdoun's search for the Biblical origins of this behavior. Concluding the issue are a poem by Ronny Someck and a short story by Yehudah Werner and, who view ostracism from different perspectives.

The articles in this issue thus open before us the broad spectrum of ostracism, ranging from the general to the particular. They therefore continue the Kaveret tradition of exploring the various aspects of the selected concept, from the macro-level - communal context to the micro-level individual context (human beings) in terms of thoughts, feelings, disappointments and aspirations. Written by graduates, junior and senior faculty from the Academic Studies Division, the College of Management as well as other institutions, the articles are brief, focused, and aspire to reach as many readers as possible.

Kaveret No, 25, to be published in July 2017, will explore Authority. We invite the submission of manuscripts and original works that do not exceed 2,000 words in length, accompanied by a 30- word abstract, with not more than 6 bibliographical references indicating the author, title, year of publication, city and publisher or journal volume, issue and page number/s. We will also be happy to receive responses to earlier issues and articles. To be included, all submissions, which will undergo academic review, must be submitted no later than 1 February 2017.