The Israeli army announced its intention to change the mechanism for dealing with fighters with psychological disabilities and post-traumatic stress disorders, after sharp criticism of the procedures for freezing service, the method of informing soldiers, and the leaking of their medical information to administrative levels within their units, amid fears that this would prompt others to hide their health conditions and avoid seeking treatment.
According to a report by journalist Gal Ganot on the Israeli “Ynet” website, the subcommittee of the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Security Committee, which specializes in human resources resources in the Israeli army, headed by Knesset member Elazar Stern, held a session today, Monday, that discussed the policy of freezing the service of those with recognized post-traumatic stress disorder, whether temporarily or permanently.
During the session, the Israeli army acknowledged that previous procedures allowed the transfer of medical information about soldiers to the administrative levels in the units that handled their files, stressing that the new mechanism will limit access to this information to a limited number of specialists in the medical system.
The step, which was revealed by the Ynet website for the first time, required every reserve fighter who received a recognition of a disability rate exceeding 30% for psychological reasons to also undergo an interview with a mental health officer, who would determine whether he was qualified to continue active service or should be removed from the reserve lists.
The decision sparked criticism from reserve fighters, particularly because of the way the army chose to inform them of the cessation of their service, with one of them saying that he received the news while he was on his way to Gaza.
There was also a fear that the measure would prompt other fighters to hide their medical conditions, fearing that admitting them would lead to the termination of their service.
The Chief of Staff of the Human Resources Division, Brigadier General Amir Fadmani, said: “We are changing the freezing procedure, and moving to a settlement that is not based on a freeze in service, and this will allow much greater flexibility within the process.”
He added: “Based on the lessons learned from what has happened so far, we do not view the freeze as a measure aimed at preventing reserve service, but rather a measure aimed at organizing the situation and allowing a professional examination.”
Vadmani explained that the new change is based on three basic elements, the first of which is organizing the process without resorting to freezing the service.
The second element is to simplify procedures and reduce the number of approvals and the amount of bureaucracy required.
He pointed out that organizing the service will still require documents and approvals, but they will be fewer in number and will be based only on clear, specific questions directly related to the case.
The third element relates to the way the process is managed in terms of protecting privacy.
Vadmani said that, according to the previous procedure, information was transferred to administrative authorities in the units, while dealing with the soldier in the new mechanism will be limited to a limited number of specialists in the medical system, who are the only ones authorized to review his health condition and process his file.
In addition to concerns related to violating medical confidentiality, another issue emerged during the session, which the report described as sensitive, which is the reluctance of some soldiers to request recognition of their injury or receive treatment, as a result of their belief that this would lead to freezing their service and being removed from the reserve forces.
One of the session participants said: “This is my biggest fear.”
The committee also requested an update on the implementation of the program to strengthen the resilience of male and female workers in the system dealing with deaths, whether at the team or family level, in addition to clarifying what has actually been implemented to proactively monitor and identify workers suffering from psychological distress.
Oren Paz, who served in the ZAKA organization inside the Shura camp, presented to the committee two letters that he had received.
He said: “It was stated in the first letter that the Ministry of Defense recognized me as a victim of hostile acts, while National Insurance wrote that the file was transferred to it from the Ministry of Defense, and that I deserve, according to the compensation law, to be recognized as a victim of hostile acts.”
He added: “As for the second message, it was related to the 40% disability rate set by the committee, but the previous decision was actually cancelled, and now everything starts again, and we must once again go through the entire process to obtain the same treatments.”
Baz continued: “I have been in this conflict for about 3 years, since the beginning of the war. Why should it take so long?
He asked: “Do you know how many volunteers were there and are no longer with us today?” No one is counting this, neither you, nor the Israeli army, nor National Insurance.”
He added: “We were there as volunteers, and we did not ask for payment for what we did, nor did we ask for compensation for the time we spent, or fuel, or transportation back and forth, or for everything we provided.”
He said: “What we are asking for is not money, but treatment. “If you do the math and examine the number of ZAKA members who took their lives compared to other units, you will see very harsh data.”
For his part, Reserve Colonel Eyal Murdoch, commander of the system for dealing with the dead, said: “I am in almost daily contact with the soldiers. “They are hungry to talk to their leaders, their comrades, and to anyone who knows what they went through.”
He added: “There are currently no training in the reserve system, no call-ups to service, and in most cases people feel worthless.”
He continued: “They feel that they were used during the fighting, and when the mission ended, communication with them also ended.”
He pointed out that all the incidents occurred during reserve service, adding: “After the end of the service, we returned as civilians, and the army, of course, is not responsible for treating civilians.”
He said: “I have soldiers who spend their whole day in bed and do not want to leave the house, and others who work in the public service and do not seek treatment or recognition, because they fear that this will harm their future, for example in tenders or professional advancement.”
He added: “I personally know at least 3 people of this type. “They are not receiving treatment even though they have been through very difficult things, and they are simply afraid of the repercussions, so they do not seek help.”
He continued: “Today there is no real mechanism to monitor these people.”
Regarding the rights and aid file, Vadmani said that the economic cover and support programs will also continue during 2026.
He pointed to the submission of a draft resolution to the government aimed at organizing the file of recognition and psychological assistance for reserve soldiers who dealt with the dead and their family members.
He said: “Within the framework of the proposal, we expanded the list of mission holders who directly dealt with the dead, whether transporting them, collecting them, identifying them, or burying them.”
He added: “We also organized the conditions of mission holders in the second district, including those who worked in informing families of infections and deaths, and in other tasks that had not been organized until now.”
A special official was also appointed to coordinate the file of maintaining communication with the soldiers, while Vadmani said that resources were also allocated to ensure that the relationship with the soldiers continued on a regular basis.
According to the Chief of Staff of the Military Rabbinate, Colonel Shoham Orkabi, 16 out of 17 units have already completed the recognition procedures.
Before the Knesset was dissolved, the committee chairman, Knesset member Eleazar Stern, said: “It is not possible to go on vacation and leave members of the system that deals with deaths in the Israeli army in this situation.”
He added: “During the session, serious differences emerged in the way of dealing between ZAKA volunteers and members of the security establishment, and we realize the need to unify procedures and reduce the gaps.”
He continued: “Since we started following up on the file, progress has been made, and we will continue to follow it to ensure that the situation improves.”
During the session, another fighter who served for many years in the reserve system said that he received a phone call from the administrative department in his unit, without any explanation or background.
Another fighter also narrated that he received a call from the unit’s psychologist, during which he informed him of the decision that had been made, which would likely lead to his being removed from the reserve lists.
The Israeli army responded that these cases may be individual and exceptional incidents, stressing that the process does not take place automatically, but is subject to in-depth study of each case individually.
What angered a number of reserve members most when the procedure was implemented was the way in which their data related to mental health was transferred from the Rehabilitation Department to the Manpower Division in the Israeli army.
The army justified this by the presence of reserve members who did not declare their health status to the units in which they served, contrary to the orders of the Chief of Staff.
Oren, a pseudonym for a reserve fighter who has been serving in an elite unit for 20 years and received a disability rate of 60%, including 40% psychological disability, said: “When we started the examination, we discovered that our personal data had been transferred from the Rehabilitation Department to the Manpower Division.”
He added: “Lists containing all of our most private details were transferred via Excel files, including psychological disability rates.”
He continued: “I was asked to sign a confidentiality waiver, schedule an appointment with a mental health officer, and submit quantities of documents and forms, with a degree of intervention similar to the work of a medical committee.”
These testimonies came alongside accounts of fighters who received telephone notifications from administrative departments or psychologists, without a clear explanation, regarding decisions that might lead to the termination of their service in the reserve.
After the controversy raised by the decision to demobilize fighters from the reserve system, the Israeli army decided to freeze its implementation, before reactivating it again during Operation “Lion’s Roar.”
Between the need to protect fighters from psychological harm and maintain the readiness of reserve forces, the Israeli army finds itself facing a test that goes beyond amending procedures, as it is now required to rebuild trust with its soldiers, protect their privacy, and ensure that requesting treatment does not turn into a price the fighter pays for his service or his future.
