The Knesset Labor and Welfare Committee held a hearing on Tuesday on how the IDF handles mentally distressed recruits and reservists recognized as post-traumatic stress victims. The discussion focused on two issues, the enlistment process for candidates with mental health difficulties and the freezing of reserve duty for soldiers who have been recognized as suffering from PTSD.
Committee chair MK Michal Woldiger said the panel had received complaints from both sides. On one hand, she said, young people with mental illness or serious difficulties often wait a long time for decisions on their cases. On the other hand, reservists who want to keep serving say their duty is frozen after they are recognized as PTSD patients. IDF representative Brig. Gen. Amir Vadmani, head of the Personnel Directorate staff and head of the Personnel Branch, said the army wants to recruit as many people as possible while adapting to their personal situation. He said reservists with more than 30 percent disability are temporarily frozen for a professional review, and many return to service after the process ends.
Reservists gave personal testimony. Amit Maoz, an IDF disabled veteran, said he was wounded in Lebanon almost 20 years ago, underwent rehabilitation, and returned to service. After more than 400 reserve days since the war began, he said he received an SMS on the eve of Memorial Day telling him he could no longer serve. Avichai Levi, who suffers from combat trauma, said military service is a major part of his coping process. “In Gaza and Lebanon I sleep better than I do at home,” he said. “There I can talk to other fighters eye to eye, without talking, because they know what I went through. So how are you taking this treatment away from me?” He said he has been waiting about two months for a response to his request to return to active duty.
Prof. Il Frychter, chairman of the National Council for Post-Trauma, said a disability rate of 30 percent or more indicates serious functional impairment. He added that in some cases military service helps sufferers, while in others returning to a traumatic environment can worsen their condition or endanger them and others. Shamir Benita of the Yahalomi Combat Forum said checking before a return to duty is the right step, but criticized how notifications are delivered, saying many feel they are not treated with enough sensitivity. Rebecca Leon-Zada of the Social Workers Union said some candidates with severe mental illness and anxiety go through lengthy procedures and even disciplinary trouble before a decision is made.
At the end of the hearing, Woldiger called on the IDF to review its procedures for both mentally distressed recruits and reservists recognized as PTSD victims, with special attention to how freezes are announced and how the next steps are explained.
