‘We don’t talk about feelings’: Report lays out denial of mental help to IDF soldiers

Several soldiers in the Israel Defense Forces have recounted abuse and belittling of their mental health woes by commanders, senior officers and mental health staff in the army during the ongoing war, according to an investigation published Sunday by the Haaretz daily.

The newspaper said (Hebrew link) it interviewed a series of servicemen who fought in the war, concluding that on multiple occasions, commanders have neglected to adequately address subordinates’ mental health concerns, and in some cases denied them access to a mental health professional or even threatened them not to try to meet one.

The investigation painted a picture in which norms of toxic masculinity prevent any talk about feelings or distress and stigmatize those who try to seek help as trying to dodge their responsibilities and burdening their comrades amid the war in Gaza and Lebanon.

A mental health officer in the military reserves was quoted as recounting a battalion commander warning him at the start of the war not to “inject defeatism” into his troops’ heads, and claiming mental treatment “weakens fighters and causes them to die in battle.”

The report cited multiple officers as saying Aviel Belachsan, then the commander of the elite Maglan unit, prevented his subordinates from participating in processing therapy group sessions in the war’s first six months, deeming it bottom-priority and “a waste of time.” He only conceded after the army defined those sessions as a core activity.

Belachsan has since been promoted from lieutenant colonel to colonel and appointed the commander of the reserves’ 226th Paratroopers Brigade.

Haaretz said Belachsan’s successor as Maglan commander told his subordinates shortly after entering the role: “In my home we don’t talk about feelings, that’s how I was educated and this is my way.” He was quoted as later saying: “I don’t believe in psychologists or mental health officers. Look for that outside the army.”

While the IDF has said it bolstered its mental health apparatus amid the war, Haaretz said mental health officers said some soldiers refused to speak to them for fear of negative stigma among their comrades, and that some have opted to contact hotlines so that others in the army don’t know.

Accordingly, online mental support nonprofit Sahar said it has seen a 172-percent rise in calls from people aged 18-20 during the war compared with the equivalent period before the war.

Soldiers who spoke anonymously to Haaretz said they were traumatized by events of the war such as the chilling aftermath of the Hamas terror group’s October 7, 2023, massacre in southern Israel that sparked the multifront conflict, the death of a fellow serviceman, or almost being hit by Hezbollah missiles in the north.

“I felt like everything was closing in on me,” said one. “I asked to see a mental health officer, and [my platoon commander] started to tell me sentences like ‘only faggots go to the mental health officer.’ After I insisted, his smile vanished and he started to threaten.”

The commander accused him of making the problems up in order to get out of continuing to fight in the war. “He said I was betraying my friends and that they would have to stand guard for more hours, and that if I dare getting days off, none of them would get to go home. In the end, he told me, ‘This stays between us. If you bypass me and go and ask the company commander, I swear I’ll find a way to throw you into jail.”

The soldier said he later contemplated taking his own life with his weapon.

Another soldier said that before he was set to enter Gaza, he met a mental health officer who recommended against having him enter. He said his company commander was furious: “He told me, ‘You’re betraying your nation, you’re betraying your friends.’ He threatened me with prison. He didn’t care one bit about what I was going through.”

He said he didn’t enter Gaza but also didn’t get help for months until he was discharged. Even then, his commander called him and accused him of “abandoning us” and “neglecting your friends.”

A third soldier said he was coaxed into continuing to serve in Gaza days after his friend was killed. He recounted briefly charging ahead with a tank without reason, thinking “maybe it would be better if an anti-tank missile hits me and that’s it — everyone would remember me as a hero and not as a coward and a wuss who got discharged over his mental health.”

And another serviceman said that after a long period of time in which he didn’t get help, he swallowed 10 Clonex pills along with alcohol, and subsequently got discharged.

Earlier this month, the IDF reported the highest suicide rate in decades among its ranks amid the ongoing war and the mass call-up of reservists, with 28 soldiers believed to have died by suicide between the Hamas onslaught and the end of 2024. This is compared to 14 suspected suicides in 2022 and 11 in 2021.

But Haaretz said this is likely an undercount. It said several deaths are still being investigated and may be ruled a suicide, adding that the military’s count only includes cases that happened while in active duty. The outlet said nine former soldiers whose families said suffered from mental issues linked to their army service took their own lives in 2024, compared to four in 2023.

The IDF commented on Haaretz’s report, saying it is “committed to giving its servicemembers mental treatment and views this as very important.

“If such treatment isn’t given, this is grave and contrary to orders,” it said. “The incidents described in detail in the report were checked and dealt with. If more cases are presented, they will be dealt with accordingly.”

It said the army’s units have been undergoing regular processing sessions, including before soldiers’ end of service, and that commanders are trained to identify signs of mental distress.

It noted that its Medical Corps has a 24/7 hotline at *6690, extension 3.

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