The people of Israel know how to mobilize, but there is one thing we are missing

Hadar Miller writes about Israeli society's difficulty in accommodating mental health casualties, through a personal story about a friend suffering from PTSD and a neighbor who was raped. She calls for presence and listening beyond the mask.

Hadar Miller, a commentator on Channel 14, writes a personal column about Israeli society's treatment of mental health casualties. She describes a dinner with a friend suffering from severe PTSD due to a military injury, who told her: "The public doesn't know how to relate to us. You have no patience, you don't understand at all how much lives are ruined, and the state is at a loss regarding the number of servicemen who need help." Concurrently, she tells of a young neighbor who was brutally raped by a group of boys, and has since been struggling with severe bulimia and loneliness. Miller calls for eyes that see beyond the mask, and a heart that is not afraid to listen even to what is hard to hear. The tone is emotional and invites action, but does not offer practical solutions or refer to support services.