“So, You’re a Zionist?”: Reflections on Philosophy, Theory, Ethics and Values in Social Work Education and Social Justice Advocacy

Drawing from my experiences as an American-Israeli Jewish woman in social work academia, I use this paper to reflect upon the ways in which the Council on Social Work Education’s newly-mandated anti-racist and anti-oppressive paradigms are problematic for the future of the social work profession. While it is important for social workers to address racism, oppression, and marginalization, anti-racist and anti-oppressive paradigms create risks for entire population groups, and also fail to deliver on their promised benefits. These paradigms are largely untested, lack clear operationalization, and are not explicitly grounded in professional social work values. Most importantly, they draw heavily from Marxist philosophy, which I argue cannot readily find common cause with the humanistic foundations of the social work profession. At the conclusion of the reflection, I introduce a decision-making guide that can teach students how to interact with anti-racist/ anti-oppressive terminology and social justice concepts in a way that a) rejects the core features of anti-racist and anti-oppressive paradigms, and b) prioritizes social work values above all. By centering competence, integrity, service, the importance of human relationships, the dignity and worth of persons, and social justice, educators can teach students to interact with these paradigms while remaining grounded in the values that have guided our profession towards creating positive outcomes for all people.