Disabilities in Post-October 7 Israel

“We are all dealing with mental health issues, either directly or by supporting loved ones,” ever since the October 7 Hamas massacre last year.

That sobering comment was made at a recent conference by none other than Israel’s Health Ministry Director-General. Driving the point home further, the Health Minister used the event to emphasize that the current mental health crisis “requires us, as a state and a society, to change perceptions and upgrade the public mental health system.” With ultra-dramatic wartime headlines streaming out at breakneck pace, it’s understandable that this one may have fallen between the cracks.

I doubt, however, if any Israeli needs a headline as a reminder of our mental health crisis. Potential triggers here are omnipresent, from street posters to media reports; in this context, last night’s televised memorial events surely set off chain reactions in many a household. It’s certainly no coincidence that the country has seen an increased demand for medication to alleviate anxiety, and even a rise in stress-related dental cases (I first heard about the latter from my own dentist).

Earlier in the year, mental health experts talked about an estimated total of 600,000 new mental health cases among Israelis both directly and indirectly affected by the attack. Today, they are pointing to upwards of 1.5 million Israelis – and that figure only includes people directly affected (not counting the many others). These include families of those murdered and kidnapped; survivors of the Nova massacre and their loved ones; the physically injured; soldiers, first responders and their families; and evacuated civilians.

The burden on the country’s existing health infrastructure is plain for all to see.

As part of its ongoing effort to meet the post-October 7 challenge, the Health Ministry has again raised – now to 48 – the number of government-financed sessions to treat anxiety and related disorders; established clinics specifically designated to treat mental health issues, including for Nova survivors; approved access to subsidized professional counseling for the families of Nova survivors; and significantly upgraded mental health services provided by the various government-regulated health maintenance organizations (HMOs).

Further down the road, in 2025, the Ministry is hoping to double – to about 600 million shekels – the amount of support it provides HMOs for mental health care. It also plans to expand mental health crisis teams and training for relevant support professionals.

Israel’s post-October 7 mental health crisis weighed heavily on my mind as I attended a recent Tel Aviv conference held by our Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS) on the status of people with disabilities. The event was organized to highlight its latest report on the subject, according to which there are close to 1.1 million Israelis with various disabilities as per 2022 figures.

To be honest, this past year’s events have made 2022 feel like ancient history. Luckily, the conference itself focused very much on the here and now. In fact, it was like no other I’d attended to date; the difference, of course, had everything to do with the war.

This stood out particularly during the session entitled “Policy: Past, Present and Future,” with panelists from no less than eight official bodies. Most of the participants were to be expected: Health, Labor, Social Services, the National Insurance Institute, and the like. Logical; after all, the number of hostile actions casualties among civilians has spiked from 6,000 pre-October 7 to around 67,000 since then.

But this was the first time I could recall ever seeing a Defense Ministry representative at one of these events; her presence, too, was absolutely understandable. The Ministry has recognized about 12,000 additional soldiers as having disabilities since the October 7 attack, a third of them suffering from mental health issues. That figure may double by year’s end, with half of the total number expected to require mental health-related assistance.

The various panelists addressed issues considered standard at events about people with disabilities, such as employment and other aspects of community integration. However, it was the prominence of the mental health issue on the list of disabilities now confronting Israelis, from school age upward, that made this event truly distinctive.

Fully reintegrating the alarming number of Israelis facing mental health challenges will constitute an integral part of us winning this war. A combination of robust government activity, NGO heavy lifting and societal cooperation will go a long way to ensure that victory.

Resilience is key; we witnessed this at the recent Paris Paralympics, where Team Israel came away with a record 10 medals. As those with both physical and mental disabilities caused by the October 7 attack (and the subsequent hostilities) move forward, our Paralympic athletes can serve as an outstanding source of inspiration.