Bringing in the third wheel: A pilot study on the triadic encounter of social workers, immigrants, and community interpreters in Israel

This pilot study examines practices of community interpreting in Israel's social services, with a focus on two immigrant populations (Ethiopian Jews and French Jews) and the experience of the interpreters and the social workers who work with them. Twenty interviews were conducted, transcribed, and thematically analyzed. The analysis of the interviews highlights four major contexts in which the experience of interpreting within the social work services with immigrants are grounded: the cultural context of the interpreters, the community context of the interpreters, the organizational context of the agencies in which encounters between social workers and interpreters occur, and the context of the interpreters’ working conditions. The findings reflect contradictory messages regarding the importance of community interpreting in the social work services with immigrants. Despite the importance of having a triadic encounter attended by an interpreter, lack of awareness of the contexts that influence the practice of interpreting is evident in the professional encounter and its ramifications.