Between the tense wait for the Iranian attack and the drones exploding in the northern skies, the difficult routine of more and more fighters being wounded in combat in the south continues. Although the intensity of combat seems calmer, every week more wounded soldiers join the ranks of disabled veterans.
Earlier this month, another six soldiers were seriously wounded, four reservists from Battalion 9215, and two days later a medical officer and paramedic in the reserves from the Givati Reconnaissance Unit. The war's quick pace does not allow the public to internalize the implications of processing thousands of physically and mentally wounded soldiers back into society, where public spaces are not suited for all of them.
"After two and a half months in rehabilitation, I was released to life in a wheelchair – and then I began to cope," says Yitzhak Schwartz, 35, of Kedumim, a reserves company commander in the Negev Brigade, who was wounded in Beit Hanoun and was left paralyzed in his lower body. "Our house is not wheelchair-accessible, so we have moved to another temporary house until we get organized. I go to treatments throughout the week and I know that my job as an engineer in this situation is also complex.
"Before the injury, I didn't realize what accessibility meant, now even if a floor tile protrudes slightly, I can't pass with my wheelchair. As someone who works in construction, I know how much effort it takes to obtain electrical permits such as the occupancy authorization form. But accessibility? Not really. In Israel, people don't really understand its significance. When the space is adapted and accessible, it saves unnecessary questions or excessive attention. When I try to pass with my wheelchair and don’t succeed, four different people approach me with good intentions, but it's awkward."
Schwartz is married and has three children. His family is a major factor in his rehabilitation. "I don't know where I would be without my wife. I think a lot about the hundreds of wounded and disabled young people, who are still single and looking for a partner. Who is waiting for them at home? Who looks after them? The age of the wounded soldiers is an important factor here. These are people with their whole lives ahead of them, they were active, working, and traveling. In the end, everyone has a lot of good intentions, but sensitivity and awareness are needed here for their integration to be optimal."
"There are so-called small things which are significant for raising awareness," explains Sarit Kidron, Deputy Head of the Rehabilitation Division of the Defense Ministry. "For example, the public is used to the idea that a person who walks around with a dog is blind, but since the war, these dogs are also used for those who suffer from mental difficulties. And you have to learn not to bother them with questions or challenges when they get on the bus or enter a store.
"Of course, apart from the whole issue of accessibility, which needs to improve, there are the invisible wounded soldiers, who have been mentally wounded. Our concern is that we will not be able to identify wounded people whose condition worsens, and this is where awareness and sensitivity come in. If you know there are people around you who were in the war, be the one that finds them. Friends, family members, employers: open your eyes and your heart. Be attentive if a person has not returned to his former self. This is a national mission. There is also a designated helpline for helping them even if you are not close to the wounded person: *8944, the Nefesh Achat helpline, which is active 24/7."
Attorney Edan Kleiman, chairman of the Zahal Disabled Veterans Organization, is familiar with the issue. "The ultimate goal of rehabilitation is to restore the wounded to a place where they function as regular citizens and contribute to society, and I am concerned that many of them will have difficulty returning to work. The responsibility in this matter rests with the government, but also with the employers who have to take care of integration and give priority to the wounded in acquiring education and employment. We must aspire to achieve 100% education and employment among the affected veterans. This is a national mission and the responsibility for it is not only that of the rehabilitation division, but on all of us."
In the meantime, the “Nefesh Achat" reform, which was approved three years ago, is still stuck and only a third of it has been implemented. Even in the Knesset corridors and the government, the magnitude of the challenge has not been internalized, especially with the working assumption is that most mental injuries are discovered after a while, and not immediately. "In its dealings with the wounded, the government is currently demonstrating helplessness that amounts to criminal negligence," Kleiman adds, "The State Comptroller's report was very clear in its conclusions regarding implementation of the reform. Unfortunately, the wounded are being neglected and the government is doing nothing to improve their situation.
"The disabled face bureaucratic barriers, a lack of doctors, social and welfare workers in the rehabilitation division of the Defense Ministry, there is no free legal aid even though it was promised, and people leave the hospital without a solution. The government has the tools to implement the reform and to give us the tools to rehabilitate these wounded soldiers. All that is needed is for the government and its leader to care enough to establish an inter-ministerial committee and to deal with it."
Time will tell how Israel will change after the war. The return of the thousands of wounded soldiers, the hundreds of families that have been added to the circle of terrible bereavement, and the civil confrontation with the upheaval in life require us to be extra sensitive, attentive, and patient. The aftereffects of war will meet us for years to come, and as we have learned from previous wars – we are the first generation of severe trauma that we will have to live alongside and under its shadow.
Israeli toughness is a good trait, but at this time extra sensitivity is needed. On the road, in the street, in the workplace, and in the community. How the public reacts and how we adapt to the situation will largely dictate our ability to recover as a society, and not just those who were personally affected by the war.
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Attorney Edan Kleiman, chairman of the Zahal Disabled Veterans Organization
(Photo: Aviram Valdman)
Dr. Col. (res.) Moshe Shemma, executive director of the Zahal Disabled Veterans Fund (ZDVF), works throughout the world to acquire support for the disabled army veterans, and he testifies to the Jewish spirit. "We feel more than ever the connection of the Jewish communities to join the effort and support those who have defended the State of Israel for the entire Jewish people and paid for it with their bodies and minds. We are witnessing many cases of people contacting our Friends Associations around the world and the awakening of young and old as well as of Israelis living abroad. In this difficult time, we are seeing the strength of the entire Jewish people and of those who love Israel."