Israel Marks Mental Health Day with Focus on Youth

Israel's President Yitzhak Herzog and First Lady Michal Herzog, in collaboration with the Ministry of Health, hosted an event on Sunday, October 11, 2026, to observe Mental Health Day, with a specific focus on the mental well-being of children, teenagers, and young adults in Israel. The event, held at the President's Residence, included remarks from the Director-General of the Ministry of Health, Moshe Bar Siman Tov, and Dr. Gilad Bodenheimer, head of the Mental Health Administration.

Attendees represented various government ministries, including Welfare, Education, and Defense, along with national student council representatives, mental health professionals, hospital administrators, health fund officials, and leaders from NGOs and civil society organizations. The gathering aimed to raise awareness about youth mental health, emphasize early detection and treatment, and strengthen collaboration between families, communities, and health, education, and welfare systems.

A discussion featured First Lady Michal Herzog engaging with Itay Shenal, 18, from Kibbutz Shamir, and Tamara Shapira, 17, whose brother Anar Shapira was killed. Also participating were Dr. Gili Dadon Raveh, a child and adolescent clinical psychologist and Jerusalem district mental health director for Maccabi Health Services, and Dr. Rasha Elias, a child and adolescent psychiatry specialist and director of the "Gvanim" adolescent psychiatric department at Ziv Medical Center.

Dr. Bodenheimer presented data indicating an increase in mental distress among youth during the initial phase of the recent war, followed by a gradual decline. However, he noted specific populations remain at heightened risk, including residents of the Gaza envelope and northern Israel, youth with pre-existing mental health conditions, families of reservists, those lacking community support, and the Arab community. Despite these challenges, the Ministry of Health reported a significant expansion of services, with approximately 95,000 children and adolescents treated in mental health clinics in 2025, a 32% increase from 72,000 in 2022. Treatment contacts also rose by 44%.

The Ministry of Health has allocated over 1.4 billion shekels to its National Mental Health Program, aiming to broaden service availability, diversify offerings, and bolster professional staffing. This includes hiring over 1,180 new therapists and over 1,000 psychology interns in the past two years. Initiatives focus on expanding community-based care, strengthening outpatient services, enhancing emergency response, developing specialized treatments for conditions like eating disorders and autism, and improving inter-ministerial cooperation.

First Lady Michal Herzog stressed that mental health is integral to overall well-being and called for shared responsibility in addressing it, urging proactive listening and support to prevent distress from becoming unbearable. Director-General Moshe Bar Siman Tov highlighted the ongoing national trauma from the recent war, compounded by the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic and digital media, emphasizing that mental health is not a separate issue but part of overall health. He underscored the need for integrated efforts across healthcare, education, and welfare systems, particularly noting the unique challenges faced by Israel due to security trauma on top of global issues like the digital age and climate anxiety. He also stressed the importance of strengthening partnerships with the Arab community within the healthcare system.