Janne L. Punski-Hoogervorst, at The Blogs

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Jan 19, 2022, 12:11 PM

Mental illness as political weaponry: A (former) Prime Minister’s low-point

Monday the 10th of January (2022) marked the first day of yet another Netanyahu court case. This time, however, not related to corruption, but a defamation trial versus former Prime Minister Ehud Olmert. In the election-craze of April 2021,...

Apr 27, 2021, 12:19 AM

Sarah Halimi’s murder and the moral challenges of Forensic Psychiatry

Yesterday, on the 25th of April 2021, approximately 25.000 people gathered in Paris to demonstrate against the Supreme Court of Cassation's decision to declare the killer of Sarah Halimi z''l as not criminally responsible for the gruesome and tragic...

Mar 17, 2021, 11:23 PM

One month after the oil spill, Israelis remain uninformed about health risks

Today, March 17th 2021, marks exactly one month after a large oil spill reached the shores of Israel. Over a few days, about 170km of Israel's Mediterranean coastal line slowly blackened up with thick tar. During the first weekend...

Feb 17, 2021, 4:29 PM

After the COVID-19 pandemic, we will need time to grief and heal

February 2021, almost a full year after Israel confirmed its first coronavirus patient. Slowly but surely the world seems to brighten up a bit again: the virus mechanism is better understood, many knowledge gaps in our understanding of the...

Jan 20, 2021, 6:58 PM

The normalisation and celebration of online gambling (apps)

Recently, Israeli high-tech company Playtika made major headlines with their business success. Started in 2010 from Tel Aviv, Playtika is considered one of the tech stars of our Start-Up Nation. Going public on Wall Street with a 17.11% growth on...

Jan 5, 2021, 5:40 PM

The psychiatric stigma and ‘diagnosing’ our society

''The problem we Israelis suffer from is a form of bipolar disorder – we are either extremely euphoric or experience so much anxiety we assume a fetal position waiting for it to pass, and that is not healthy for...

Dec 29, 2020, 1:02 PM

The price of a life: More or less than the costs of traffic safety measures?

Friday the 25th of December 2020. For some just a regular Shabbat evening, for others an evening with Christmas celebrations, or just an evening like any other. However, for the families of three young Israelis this was a night...

Nov 4, 2020, 2:01 PM

No more anti-vaxxers: Now is the time for adequate health education

It's early November, almost 11 months into the global COVID-19 pandemic and it appears we're nowhere near the end of it. While some countries have opted for complete lockdown (Israel included) and others tried to ride out the first...

Oct 4, 2020, 1:13 AM

Together as One Nation: Am Yisrael Chai

A response to 'Israeli society needs to disengage from ultra-Orthodox' by Dr. Ram Fruman, head of the Secular Forum, as published on Ynetnews. בס"ד There are often headlines in the news, especially of opinion pieces, that right away grab the attention. Sometimes in...

Aug 30, 2020, 2:56 PM

How did we stop caring about COVID?

On March 20, Israel recorded it's first COVID-19 death: the 88-year old Holocaust survivor Aryeh Even Z''L. Only two days later, on March 24th, a second death is reported: the 67-year old beloved grandmother Malka Keva Z''L. From there...

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About Me

Dr Janne L. Punski-Hoogervorst is a Dutch-trained medical doctor with clinical experience working in mental health care, both in clinical and outreaching settings. She made Aliyah in April 2019, and currently conducts academic research in post-traumatic stress disorder. Her publications are aimed to spread awareness about public and mental health, as well as promote psychological health in a daily life context.

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