Social justice, human rights, and relationships are the values that guide me in my work as a social worker, educator, and researcher. My research examines social work roles in conflict-affected and polarized societies, advancing a conflict-aware approach to social work theory, practice, and education with an emphasis on profession-based activism and peacebuilding.
As a practitioner, I worked for many years in the Israeli foster care services, promoting access for marginalized communities. In the last few years, I founded and have been active in Social Workers for Democracy, a profession-based protest movement aimed at resisting democratic backsliding in Israel and promoting peace. Prior to coming to Augsburg, I was an Assistant Professor at the Haddasah Academic College in Jerusalem.
At Augsburg, I teach in both the BSW and MSW programs. I love working with students and learning together about how we might achieve their dreams of changing the world!
TEACHING:
- SWK 303: Human Development and the Social Environment
- SWK 316: Social Work Practice 2: Groups and Families
- SWK 500: Ways of Being and Knowing: Theories of Human Behavior in the Social Environment
- SWK 504: Applied Research Methods
- SWK 530: Integrated Field Seminar
- SWK 535: Integrated Field Seminar 2
- SWK 640: Anti-Oppressive Capstone
- SWK 660: Anti-Oppressive Macro Practice Research Methods
Education:
- BSW from Ben Gurion University of the Negev, Beer Sheva, Israel
- MSW from Ben Gurion University of the Negev, Beer Sheva, Israel
- Ph.D from the University of Minnesota
Publication:
- Weishut, D. J., Soffer-Elnekave, R., Vass, A., & Zalcberg, S. (2026). Translation and validation of the Hebrew HITS screening tool for Intimate Partner Violence (IPV). BMC Public Health.
- Toft, J., Soffer-Elnekave, R., Calhoun, M., Mendel, J., Otis, J., Zheng, M., Choy-Brown, M., & Lightfoot, L. (2026). Working Conditions, Professional Discretion, and Resistance of Frontline Social Workers. Social Work 71(1), 11-24. https://doi.org/10.1093/sw/swaf052
- Soffer-Elnekave, R. (2025). Politically informed social work – theoretical perspectives. The Journal of Society & Welfare (Hebrew).
- Toft, J., Soffer-Elnekave, R., Calhoun, M., Zheng, M., Otis, J., (2025). Social work supervision under neoliberalism. Social Work 70(3), 195-204.
- Mahajne, I., Allassad Alhuzail, N., & Soffer-Elnekave, R. (2025). Supervision of minoritized Arab social work students under the shadow of the October 7th, 2023 war: Challenges and coping strategies, British Journal of Social Work. bcaf132, https://doi.org/10.1093/bjsw/bcaf132
- Soffer-Elnekave, R. (2024). Global and local realities shaping the social work profession: A case study of social work in Israel. British Journal of Social Work. 00, 1–20. https://doi.org/10.1093/bjsw/bcae006
- Weishut, D. J., & Soffer-Elnekave, R. (2023). Israelis in support of mental health. The Lancet. https://doi.org/10.1016/s0140-6736(23)02361-9
- Soffer-Elnekave, R., Haight, W., Cho, M., Nashshandi, N., & Suleiman, J. (2023). Re-orienting narratives of moral injury towards positive development: The experiences of emerging adults with child welfare histories Children and Youth Services Review. 149, 106922.
- Haight, W., Cho, M., Soffer-Elnekave, R., Nashshandi, N., Jader, B., & Suleiman, J. (2022). Moral injury experienced by emerging adults with child welfare histories in developmental and sociocultural contexts: “I knew the system was broken.” Children and Youth Services Review, 139. 106537.
- Toft, J., Lightfoot, E., Calhoun, M., Choy-Brown, M., Merighi, J., Renner, L., Marsalis, S., Soffer-Elnekave, R., & Mendel, J. (2023). Impacts of Neoliberalism on Social Work Practice in the United States: A Scoping Review Study. Social Work Research, 42(7), 99-110.
- Soffer –Elnekave, R., Haight, W. & Jader, B. (2020). Parent mentoring relationships as a vehicle for reducing racial disparities: experiences of child welfare-involved parents, mentors and professionals. Children and Youth Services Review, 109, 104682.
- Haight, W.L, Taylor, E.H. & Soffer-Elnekave, R. (2020). Human Behavior for Social Work Practice: A Developmental Ecological Framework (3rd Edition). Oxford University Press.