7 Israeli Soldiers Died By Suicide In July. PTSD Veterans Are Trying To Stop The Next One – Haaretz

 7 Israeli Soldiers Died By Suicide In July. PTSD Veterans Are Trying To Stop The Next One — Haaretz

‘A Tsunami of PTSD Cases is Coming’ — ‘We have one goal: Stop the next suicide’: A surge in soldier suicides has driven longtime PTSD survivors to camp outside the Defense Ministry’s Rehabilitation Department, demanding urgent reform. Calling on the public to join them, they cry: ‘Our brothers are taking their own lives’

You could drive down one of the main highways in greater Tel Aviv without ever noticing them. Only those who look closely near the city of Petah Tikva might catch a glimpse of black-painted wooden boxes – shaped like coffins – with a couple of tents set up behind them.

Just beyond them stands the gate to a large government building: the headquarters of the Defense Ministry’s Rehabilitation Department. To most passersby, it’s just another faceless office. But to the men in the tents – most of them officially recognized as suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD ) – this building defines their fate. It shapes their lives daily, hour by hour.

Recently, they decided – spontaneously and without any prior planning – to gather there. It wasn’t their personal struggles that pushed them into the street. What spurred them to act were recent media reports about a sharp rise in suicides among Israeli soldiers – the worst in a decade. In July alone, six soldiers took their own lives. Then, on Thursday, news broke of a seventh: reservist Roi Wasserstein , who died by suicide after prolonged reserve duty in Gaza during the war.

…The Numbers Are Staggering

According to Ministry of Defense data, Since the war began, nearly 19,000 wounded soldiers have begun receiving care from the Rehabilitation Department – around 10,000 of them suffering from psychological trauma.

They join more than 7,500 new PTSD claims from earlier wars, including the 1973 Yom Kippur War, submitted since October 7, 2023.

As a result, the Rehabilitation Department is currently treating over 80,000 individuals, the highest number in Israel’s history, including more than 26,000 with mental health conditions. By 2028, that figure is expected to reach 100,000, with half likely suffering from psychological injuries.

Sources within the department openly admit they are struggling, and at times failing, to provide adequate treatment for everyone.

“The blanket keeps getting shorter, and we’re facing a crisis,” one employee told Haaretz.

The most urgent issue is staffing: there are not enough rehabilitation workers, not enough psychologists, and most critically, not enough psychiatrists. According to sources within the department, a dispute with the Finance Ministry and Civil Service Commission over budget approvals continues to delay hiring, and even approved positions often go unfilled due to low pay compared to other workplaces.

🔗SOURCE ➡️ Haaretz [Archive / bypass paywall]

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