מיכאל (מייק) מרבאום
יליד 1933, חי בארה"ב
A. I arrived to Haifa in, I believe, August 1972 following a 6 week excursion in Europe with Marta, Tal and Marc. It was an exciting though demanding trip. We picked up a Volvo in Amsterdam and traveled all over Europe, finally stopping in Italy in time to board the nili with car, kids and luggage. I was on a sabbatical from Adelphi university in New York and had been corresponding with Amos Hendel about a position in the department for about a year. When I got settled in the department it was in some ways almost like I never left the states. The university at that time was going through a kind of renaissance. There was a concerted effort to attract american scholars and in many ways it resembled an American university. The rector was American as were a number of others in the administration. But what really stood out was that English was the primary language and Hebrew was rarely conducted in meetings and in classroom instruction. Of course this was great for me as my Hebrew was barely at the one year level. As an aside, my parents were dedicated socialists/communists and religious identification with Hebrew language and rituals was regarded with disdain. So, while having a strong secular Jewish identity I never learned Hebrew and was not bar mitzvah'd. As the years in haifa progressed, the university provided all sorts of resources for Hebrew instruction but my enthusiasm and general language skills were unimpressive. Teaching students in Israel was interesting to say the least. In the US I was accustomed to discussion and sharing of ideas in class but in Israel the students were mainly active note takers and generally were reluctant to engage in conversation. Partly it was because their language skills in English were not nearly as proficient as their English writing and reading skills. But as time progressed the graduate students were very responsive and it was an intellectually stimulating time in the department. The clinical program traditionally had a preference for psychoanalytic theory and practice but myself and Marilyn and I think even Ofra were open to behavioral theories, research and practice. Of interest, at that time there were no clinical facilities for students grappling with emotional concerns and with Ofra, Marilyn and I believe, Beni we opened a counseling center to service university students. At the end of 1972 we decided to stay in Israel,Marta was excited, the kids were in the Reali though we shifted them to the open experimental school at the university. We bought an apartment which was a bizarre experience. Gave up my appointment at Adelphi and went through the faculty appointment process at Haifa. I assume because of my research productivity, great recommendation letters from the states and impressions of my department contributions I was granted a full professorship with tenure. It seemed that the university wanted to keep me. Even with favorable tax regulations for new olim the financial situation was difficult. So to make ends meet, I had a university salary, a stipend from the counseling center, taught a course and supervised graduate students at Bar Illan, supervised faculty at Oranim, had a private clinical practice and played basketball and tennis with you and tried unsuccessfully to learn Hebrew. I also had a large overdraft each month. By the way, at that time there were very few full professors at Israeli universities particularly for clinical psychology professors. I was obviously pleased with the outcome. As an aside, and perhaps because academic luck was following me, when Washington university wanted to hire me on leaving Haifa, they offered me immediately a full professorship with immediate tenure, this was in 1978.
The department was, I recall, a pleasant environment, especially when Amos was at the helm. It was less so When John took over, I had particularly good relations with Joel Norman, sorry about his death, Sam Rackover, wonderful guy, open mind and interested in all kinds of directions and activities, Barry Berger who also was close to me, Marilyn and Ofra who played a major role in the counseling center. Later in my career I published some stuff on humor that I recall was an area Ofra specialized in. Then there was the brilliant statistician from the Hebrew university who I was close to but he left for the states and we continued to have some contact. Mike Rosenbaum was I believe in the department for a brief period and we did considerable publishing even while he was at Tel Aviv university. I also worked with Joel Goldberg at Bar Illan who I was quite close to. In 1973 the war broke out and many of my students such as Arie Stravinsky, who eventually moved to Canada, Mia Biran who moved to the States and others were involved in that terrible war experience. During the war I was working at Ram Bam hospital with Albert Hefiz and I was clinically involved with soldiers who had broken down in combat. Also, Albert and I carried out a series of research studies about the war and with Yoel Goldberg also did some smoking research of war survivors. After the war ended I decided to volunteer for basic training in the IDF and was in training for three months or so and then was posted to a psychological unit in Tel Hashomer. Planning for more efficient psychological services in the next war. My IDF experience was daunting in many ways especially since most of the time I didn't have the foggiest idea what was going on. Being illiterate I tended to watch and model some of the nuttiest guys imaginable, on more than one occasion as a punishment they took my gun away and sent me somewhere to protect me and other guys in the unit from my scary mistakes. I thought that was a terrific idea! But, I have wonderful loony stories about this adventure.
As the years went on in the department the atmosphere changed markedly. New members arrived who were actually Israeli, Hebrew was the departmental language, as it should be and English was tolerated but not accorded any special status except in publishing. I was still actively involved but, interestingly, at that time, not so different from what was found in American universities, the experimental psychologists had a dim view of the scientific credentials of the clinical group. Thus, the two groups separated and there was rather tense interactions about departmental objectives. I also found this at Washington university when I directed the PhD program in clinical. But I wisely tried to integrate grad student research with the experimental faculty and much of the tension was reduced. For the last two years in the Haifa department I was probably too much distanced from policy issues and decisions. I became too passive, depressed and felt that my academic career was in a state of suspended animation. I recall when Marc brought home a young friend to play, the kid started talking to me in Hebrew and Marc intervened and said "don't talk to him he won't understand". That was when I said to myself that living in Israel without Hebrew, even if I could acquire minimal skills, having spirited conversations with my kids would be a questionable proposition. In 1977 I began my sabbatical in Canada at Concordia and Mcgill university. My depression lifted with this new environment and I decided that I had to leave Israel for the sake of my mental health and professional career to survive and advance. Not surprisingly Marta and the kids were ready to deliver me in chains to the Egyptians. It was a traumatic period and was equally difficult for everyone in St. Louis. But, we survived.
Reflecting why we left Israel, the variable that accounts for most of the variance is language. I have no doubt that if I was relatively fluent in Hebrew we would be there today. I had the best the country could offer. I had a very prestigious academic position, I was very fond of the people, including you, that is most crucial for quality of life. I had a chance to play and travel. I would not be as affluent as I am today but who cares, I could have done okay. But language was the barrier to expression, ease of communication and being really part of an environmental experience.
B. Why Israel in the first place? For some reason that is difficult for me to fathom, I was obsessed with the possibility of working in Israel after I got my PhD in 1961. I suspect it had more to do with adventure than with any ideological return fantasy. But, after I got my degree I had a surprising opportunity. A good friend from North Carolina Univ. was doing his PhD dissertation in Israel on the black Jews of Chochin and invited me to join him in Israel for a two week vacation. I thought that was a terrific idea as I had recently accepted a position at the University of Chicago and needed a bit of excitement. The unexpected bonus for this trip was delightfully surprising. Gil quickly introduced me in Israel to Marta who was studying at the Hebrew university and my trip to Israel took on a completely different perspective. I was smitten and after a few days, realizing that I was leaving Israel I made a wonderfully quick and unexpected decision and asked her to marry me. She said no, but after a week of exciting intimacy she said yes. My friend prided himself on being a great match maker. At that time there was a delightful movie called "I like mike" making the rounds in Israeli cinema that had a plot rather similar to the one I was experiencing in reality. For Marta getting out of Israel to rejoin me in the States was not that simple, the visa process was complex. However another fortuitous arrangement provided the solution. Gil Kushner's uncle happened to be Moshe Sharett a former, I believe Prime Minister? Who intervened and arranged the visa. To make matters brief, when we were married one bargain was to eventually wind up in Israel and that commitment prompted our thinking of a position in Israel at some future date.
C. As to why Haifa university, the reason was quite simple, Amos Handel. Knowing that I was going to be on sabbatical in a year, I sent out feeler letters to the Hebrew university, Tel Aviv, Bar Illan and Haifa. I eventually received a positive response from all but the most immediate and warmly receptive response was from Amos. He described the program, his goals for the department and that he was in the process of attracting other American scholars. I forget the name of the North Carolina senior family researcher who also came at the same time I did. He was prompt, skillful and engaging during the process and our deal was made. Arranging life in Israel, even for supposedly a one year stint is not simple. Amos was exceptionally helpful during this process. As the wonderful year progressed we decided to buy an apartment and tell Adelphi university that I would not be returning.
The end of my Haifa story, I told you before.
