Israeli Parties Outline Mental Health and Resilience Strategies

A review of Israeli political parties' stances on mental health and community resilience reveals diverse approaches to strengthening national well-being. The organization "121 - Engine for Social Change" surveyed parties on their plans for transferring resilience systems to local authorities, allocating dedicated mental health budgets, and reducing the workload of social workers.

Yisrael Beiteinu, led by Avigdor Lieberman, advocates for national responsibility over resilience systems while empowering local authorities with resources for community services. The party supports increasing the dedicated mental health budget without compromising essential health services, suggesting funding through cuts to coalition funds and unnecessary government ministries. They also propose adding social worker positions and reducing their caseloads.

The National Unity party, headed by Benny Gantz, proposes establishing a national authority for mental resilience and trauma under the Ministry of Health, while decentralizing much of the response to local communities. They plan to allocate specific budgets to each city and council for community resilience units and mandate hiring at least one educational psychologist or trauma-specialized social worker per municipality. The party also aims to create a national training program for first responders to trauma and encourage studies in mental health professions.

The Democratic party, led by Yair Golan, presented a broad plan to expand community mental health services, ensuring each local authority has a professional point of contact and coordinated services across health, welfare, and education. They plan to enhance psychological services in schools, implement suicide prevention programs, and offer alternatives to hospitalization. The party commits to investing at least 1.5 billion shekels in public mental health, setting minimum standards for mental health professions, and increasing the number of therapists.

The Likud party, led by Benjamin Netanyahu, has not presented a comprehensive party platform on these issues but has advanced several government initiatives. These include a national project for community health and resilience launched in 2025, operating in 112 local authorities with approximately 30 million shekels annually until mid-2027. The mental health budget has also seen increases of hundreds of millions of shekels between 2024 and 2026. However, no national target for reducing social worker caseloads has been set, nor a commitment to prioritize mental health funding over other health sectors.

Other parties like Yisrael Beiteinu, Shas, and Religious Zionism have supported the national community resilience initiative. Shas, under Aryeh Deri, was part of the 2025 initiative and saw increased mental health budgets during Uriel Buso's tenure as Health Minister. Yaakov Margi, a former Minister of Welfare, indicated Shas's commitment to improving social workers' conditions. Religious Zionism, led by Bezalel Smotrich, also backed the national initiative and supported dedicated mental health funding, even at the expense of other health sectors, and reducing social worker workloads.

Parties like the Joint List, led by Yousef Jabareen, oppose transferring primary responsibility for resilience systems to local authorities, believing the Ministry of Health should lead. They advocate for rebuilding mental health services and making social worker distress a national priority. The party supports increased investment in mental health but opposes diverting funds from other health sectors, suggesting increased budgets from other sources. Otzma Yehudit, led by Itamar Ben-Gvir, was involved in strengthening social services in evacuated northern communities but has not presented a national plan for reducing social worker caseloads or a stance on transferring resilience responsibilities to local authorities or prioritizing mental health funding.

Gesher, led by Naftali Bennett, aims to involve local authorities in rehabilitation efforts by providing them with tools, budgets, and authority to identify and support individuals in need, particularly those struggling to seek help. The party also promises to shorten mental health wait times by expanding training in psychology, psychiatry, and social work, and offering incentives for public sector employment. They also plan to develop self-help tools to significantly increase the mental health workforce.

Other parties like Yahadut HaTorah and Am Israel did not present specific stances on the examined issues. Ra'am, led by Mansour Abbas, supports local authority involvement in resilience but not sole responsibility, emphasizing collaboration between government, local authorities, and civil society. The party has not detailed its position on dedicated mental health budgets or reducing social worker workloads. The Reservists-The Economic party, led by Yoaz Hendel, supports operational responsibility for community resilience being close to local authorities, with state-level budgeting and coordination. They propose a significant increase in welfare and mental health support positions and gradually raising national health expenditure to 8% of GDP, ensuring "true equality for mental health services."