The Family Power Struggle

Black Box

Conflicts over custody, location, and money escalate as each adult claims to know what is best for the children.

increasing

Bearing strength in each event

decreasing

Custody and the Test Custody and the Test from "Black Box". Custody and the Test Legal stakes Ilana resists tissue testing because she fears that proof of paternity would allow Alexander to take Boaz.

Custody and the Test from "Black Box". Custody and the Test Legal stakes Ilana resists tissue testing because she fears that proof of paternity would allow Alexander to take Boaz.

Custody and the Test Legal stakes Ilana resists tissue testing because she fears that proof of paternity would allow Alexander to take Boaz. Alexander also refuses testing, and the court closes the case without resolution. A child as the prize Both parents make decisions under conditions of distrust. The dispute makes protection and possession difficult to distinguish.

School and Police School and Police from "Black Box". School and Police Institutions intervene Boaz faces expulsion, arrest, probation, and the threat of reform school.

School and Police from "Black Box". School and Police Institutions intervene Boaz faces expulsion, arrest, probation, and the threat of reform school.

School and Police Institutions intervene Boaz faces expulsion, arrest, probation, and the threat of reform school. Adults use their connections to keep him out of immediate danger. Help creates obligations Michel’s intervention provides a job and bail but also generates expectations. Boaz experiences the protection as pressure to behave according to other people’s rules.

Kiryat Arba or Freedom Kiryat Arba or Freedom from "Black Box". Kiryat Arba or Freedom A contested placement Michel sends Boaz to Kiryat Arba, where work in optics is paired with religious instruction.

Kiryat Arba or Freedom from "Black Box". Kiryat Arba or Freedom A contested placement Michel sends Boaz to Kiryat Arba, where work in optics is paired with religious instruction.

Kiryat Arba or Freedom A contested placement Michel sends Boaz to Kiryat Arba, where work in optics is paired with religious instruction. Boaz objects to the community’s views and to Michel managing his money. The child refuses the plan Boaz leaves and asks for the means to go elsewhere. His resistance turns an arrangement presented as rescue into a direct struggle over authority.

The Estate as Battleground The Estate as Battleground from "Black Box". The Estate as Battleground Competing claims Alexander gives Boaz the property; Michel fears the influence of Alexander and challenges the family’s stay.

The Estate as Battleground from "Black Box". The Estate as Battleground Competing claims Alexander gives Boaz the property; Michel fears the influence of Alexander and challenges the family’s stay.

The Estate as Battleground Competing claims Alexander gives Boaz the property; Michel fears the influence of Alexander and challenges the family’s stay. Ilana brings Yifat to the estate without Michel’s consent. Law and emotion collide The arguments shift from money to custody and marital status. A shared house becomes a stage for the adults’ unresolved grievances.

Yifat Taken Home Yifat Taken Home from "Black Box". Yifat Taken Home A demand backed by law Michel demands that Alexander return Yifat and warns of criminal action.

Yifat Taken Home from "Black Box". Yifat Taken Home A demand backed by law Michel demands that Alexander return Yifat and warns of criminal action.

Yifat Taken Home A demand backed by law Michel demands that Alexander return Yifat and warns of criminal action. He eventually takes the child back to Jerusalem and begins divorce proceedings. No clean victory The move protects Michel’s legal position but separates Ilana from her daughter. The struggle settles no one’s sense of justice or belonging.

1968

February–May 1976

July 1976

August–September 1976

September 1976