Knesset conference spotlights dual diagnosis and the struggle of an IDF combat veteran

At a Knesset conference on dual recovery, Aviv Levi described his personal struggle with post-traumatic stress, fear of addiction, and the way people around him respond to him. Levi, who is recognized as an IDF disabled veteran suffering from combat trauma, took part in the fighting during the Second Lebanon War.

Levi spoke to Channel 7 at the “Dual Recovery, on Mental Health and Addictions” conference, held in the Knesset building at the initiative of MK Michal Woldiger, chair of the Knesset Labor and Welfare Committee, together with the Family Association for Mental Health. He said awareness of mental health challenges has increased since the war, but added that there is still a lot of confusion about medical cannabis.

“Every person struggling with mental illness, know that you are strong,” Levi said. “The very fact that you acknowledge it means you have gone through a process and understand better than those around you what is happening to you. It will always be harder for the people around you to understand.”

The conference focused on changing treatment for “dual diagnosis,” where a person faces a mental health condition and addiction at the same time. Organizers said the goal was to end a system in which public services are split into two separate worlds, forcing patients to navigate them alone and preventing a holistic view of the person. The event also sought to correct what it described as the exclusion of families, often the only stable support for the person over many years, from decision-making. Woldiger said, “As a family member myself, I know firsthand what it means to accompany a loved one on such a complex journey,” and called for closer coordination between systems and greater weight for family voices.