Psychological toll Israelis face during war must be acknowledged and treated - editorial

This war won’t end when a ceasefire is eventually called. This is because war affects everything in life, from food sources and security to everyone’s psychological and emotional well-being.

Psychologically, so much damage was already done on October 7 – to those killed, injured, taken hostage on that day, family members and friends worried sick about their loved ones, and the rest of the country, glued to their phones, watching video after horrifying video of unspeakable acts and asking themselves what has become of their home, a place they considered safe.

Israel is grappling with the psychological toll on more than 100 released hostages, thousands of injured soldiers, tens of thousands of evacuees from border communities in the South and North, and hundreds of grieving families, as well as medical personnel and hospital staff.

Across the country, people are waking up to the constant sounds of warplanes, missiles, and sirens. All this, while beyond Israel’s borders, the entire Jewish community is also feeling the reverberations of this trauma.

If the mental health and emotional well-being of Israelis will not take a much higher spot on the priority list of leadership, this war may do much worse than just “affect this generation” – it could block it from coming to terms with its trauma and thriving in the future, leaving the human quality of the State of Israel in a precarious position.

Study after study attests to this, though some show more positive aspects, like resilience and purpose. Late last month, a study published by New Land Now, Indicate Research and Strategy, and Tel Aviv University found deep, ongoing trauma and instability among residents of the Western Negev.

The Resilience Index report found that 60% of residents experience moderate-to-high levels of anxiety and depression. The researchers found that half displayed significant post-traumatic stress symptoms.

“All rehabilitation and development efforts in the Western Negev must occur bottom-up, led by the people. Listening to residents and taking decisive action on their needs is essential,” said David Gabay, a resident of Kibbutz Re’im and the chairman of New Land Now.

Rising distrust in government

The study also found a rising distrust in government, particularly in Bedouin communities, where national resilience is reported to be at a critical low. The researchers urged targeted, evidence-based rehabilitation efforts to address this issue.

More pointed and recent is a concerning study by the Israel Women’s Network, reported on Saturday by Ynet: a rise in domestic violence. According to the report, the organization initiated the research after experiencing a surge in hotline calls to its emergency call center. The study examined couples that don’t serve at all, couples where one of the partners is in service, and couples where both are on active duty.

The study, carried out last month, found that among couples who both are in service, 30% experience emotional or financial violence, and 24% experience physical and sexual violence; among couples where one partner serves, 15% experience some form of violence, and 6% experience physical or sexual violence, while in couples where neither serves, it fell to 5% and 3%, respectively.

It also found that, for the couples that both serve, 45% experienced this fresh with the start of the war.

The Ynet report quoted Lili Ben Ami, CEO of the Michal Sela Forum, a nonprofit dedicated to the prevention of sexual violence, who said, “Since October 7, we have bolstered the hotline staff due to an overload in outstanding calls... Unfortunately, we have received some disturbing testimonies,” including of male partners who returned from service and threatened with their weapons. She said that issues of domestic violence only worsened throughout the war.

If the war was already over, there would be more flexibility, time, resources, money, and attention on the more “civil” issues, freed up from the harsh military reality of fighting on multiple fronts. But it’s not, and there is already so much more to be done.

This attention also needs to come from the top down, not just from the bottom up. We need to see this talked about in parliamentary committee meetings and teams being sought after, organized and built up to make sure that the people are okay – because the next generation’s stability and success depends on it.