The purpose of this article is to show how hushing can sometimes be part of a hidden reality, disguised under an ideological discourse of compassion and protection of disadvantaged populations, while at the same time it is the ideological discourse itself that weakens them.

The article presents a critical discussion of the legal institution of adult guardianship in Israel, based on a critical discourse analysis study of official guardianship reports for older adults submitted by 75 social workers to family courts in Israel from 2011- 2016. The study was conducted using a qualitative “Critical Discourse Analysis” methodology. Data analysis was conducted: first-level coding, in which the Meaning Units were identified, mapped and grouped into categories, second-level coding, where higher-level conceptualization was conducted, and analysis in light of the broad aspects of social work intervention theories.

The findings of the study show how in the name of protectionist ideology, people under guardianship are positioned as lacking in the functioning capabilities of other people, and are therefore positioned as disabled, as “others”. This positioning gives moral legitimacy to the denial of their civil rights, and, in fact, to silencing their civilian voices.

Key Words: Silencing, Ideology, Guardianship, Critical theory, Critical discourse analysis

The article was first published in the journal “Israel Studies in Language and Society” 14 (1)- 2021 And uploaded to the site with the approval of Prof. Israel Doron.

To the full article in Hebrew Press here