Fashion Week to Highlight Painful Issue of Parental Alienation
Translated & summarized from Maariv by baba
Tel Aviv Fashion Week will feature a show by designer Harry Levy to raise awareness about parental alienation and its effects on children. The event, in collaboration with the Israeli Institute for the Prevention of Parental and Familial Alienation, aims to highlight the psychological harm caused when children are estranged from a parent. Attorneys Romi Kanbal and Moran Elsiag are advocating for legislative changes and professional intervention to protect children's rights and their ability to maintain family relationships.
The story in 5 lines · by baba
- Tel Aviv Fashion Week will feature a show by designer Harry Levy addressing parental alienation.
- Parental alienation harms children's relationships with parents, causing psychological damage.
- Advocates are calling for legislation and swift professional intervention to protect children.
- The event aims to convey that children should not be forced to choose between loved ones.
- Organizers urge attendees to consider the impact of parental conflicts on children.
Tel Aviv Fashion Week will feature a show by designer Harry Levy dedicated to raising awareness of parental alienation and its impact on children. The event, scheduled for Thursday, is a collaboration with the Israeli Institute for the Prevention of Parental and Familial Alienation.
Parental alienation describes situations where a parent's or family member's actions harm a child's relationship with another parent, often through repeated negative messages, emotional pressure to choose sides, or interference with contact. This can lead to broader family estrangement, deepening feelings of loss and loneliness, and potentially causing lasting psychological harm, affecting a child's sense of belonging, identity, and ability to form relationships later in life.
"Children should not be forced to choose sides or be deliberately estranged from a parent or family member without justification," stated attorney Romi Kanbal. "This is severe psychological harm that can leave scars for many years, and the state must intervene. We demand a conceptual and systemic change: legislation to protect children's rights, early identification, and swift professional intervention." Kanbal emphasized that the choice to address this issue at Fashion Week is deliberate, aiming to convey the message across Israel that children should not have to choose between loved ones and that protecting them is a collective responsibility.
Kanbal also clarified the distinction between alienation and a child's distancing from a parent due to abuse, neglect, harm, or genuine safety concerns. "Not every disconnect between a child and a parent is a result of alienation, and each case requires professional and sensitive examination of its circumstances. The goal is to protect children and their right to safe and beneficial family relationships, prioritizing their well-being and safety," she added.
Moti Reif, initiator and producer of Tel Aviv Fashion Week, urged attendees to consider the children caught in conflicts they did not choose, whose consequences may affect them long after the conflict ends. Designer Harry Levy noted that while clothing allows self-expression and a sense of belonging, for a child, family is a fundamental part of that belonging, and they should not have to choose between loved ones.