The effects of the Holocaust on the health and well-being of survivors and their descendants

On April 19th, 2017, ILC Israel and The Center for Multidisciplinary Research in Aging of Ben-Gurion University of the Negev held its semi-annual conference. This year's conference topic was “Innovations and challenges in gerontology and geriatrics: The effects of the Holocaust on the health and well-being of survivors and their offspring (children, second, and third generation)."
This multidisciplinary conference was a great success with an estimated 200 attendees present. Topics of discussion shared two main focuses – “Late effects of the Holocaust in the mirror of research," and “Late effects of the Holocaust in the treatment field."
Presenters and attendees came from all over Israel, and included faculty and students from Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Bar-Ilan University, and the University of Haifa, as well as members of the Israel Ministry of Health, and members of 'Amcha' - a non-profit organization with the goal of providing psychological and social services to Holocaust survivors and their families.
Greetings:
Prof. Sara Carmel – Head of Center for Research in Aging and ILC-Israel
Prof. Tzvi Hacohen - Rector of Ben-Gurion University (BGU)
Prof. Yaakov Henkin Vice- Dean for medical Education (BGU)
Mrs. Rotem Shitrit – Head of 'Amcha' Center in the South of Israel
Presentations:
Professor Amit Shrira - Psychologist: Does the trauma of the Holocaust effect the aging of the second generation?
Professor Norm O'Rourke - Psychologist: Autobiographical memory and recall of traumatic early life experiences
Professor Lital Keinan-Boker – Medical physician and epidemiologist: Long-term physical illness in Israeli Holocaust survivors
Dr. Doron Sagi - Gerontologist: A psycho-social model for the evaluation and comprehensive treatment of Holocaust survivors in the Amcha Center, Beer-Sheva
Dr. Martin Auerbach - Psychiatrist: Coping with existential questions in psychotherapy in treating very old Holocaust survivors
Ms. Sivan Ben Ari - Social worker: Feelings of life and death in the therapeutic encounters with a Holocaust survivor