Thursday, July 31, 2025 • 5 PM Israel time • 10:00 AM EST
How has Israel coped with the upheavals caused by the terror attacks of October 7, the multi-front war waged by its enemies, the ballistic missiles launched by Iran and the Houthis, and “Operation Am K’Lavi” (As a Lion), the recent 12-day war against Iran?
“A Nation in Trauma,” broadcast live on the Jerusalem Post website, will address the emotional, social, and communal consequences of the cataclysmic events that have shaken Israeli society in the past two years, and will feature personal testimonies, professional insights, and real-life perspectives from the field, serving as a call for awareness, empathy, and meaningful action.
Topics to be discussed will include mental trauma and personal resilience, community and meaning, public mental health, trauma in education, volunteers and therapists, and the global perspective and the Jewish world.
The event will unite voices from across Israeli society and the global Jewish community. First Lady Adv. Michal Herzog will participate, sharing a national perspective on unity and healing. She will be joined by Lt. Col. (Res.) Dganit Sanker-Lange, who has led community rehabilitation efforts, and Iris Haim, whose son Yotam, z”l, escaped Hamas captivity before being tragically killed. Noy Leyb, a lone soldier and well-known pro-Israel influencer, will speak about his experience serving over 250 days in reserve duty.
Mental health professionals and organizational leaders will share their expertise. Participants include David Koren of ERAN - Emotional First Aid, Inbar Behiri of US Friends of ERAN, and CEO Inbar Shenfeld of SAHAR - Online Mental Support, along with SAHAR volunteer Maayan Patito. Moshe Kahana of the Israel Association of Community Centers and Tema Klausner of World Emunah will discuss community responses to crisis. Survivors and combat veterans, such as Eitan Turgeman and Hovav Perelmuter, both members of Brothers for Life, will offer powerful personal stories.
Further speakers include Dr. Danny Brom of Metiv – The Israel Psychotrauma Center, MK Simon Davidson, chair of the Knesset’s Sports Subcommittee, and psychologist Vered Atzmon Meshulam, who leads ZAKA’s Resilience Division and founded ONE Resilience. Participants also include Dubi Weissenstern, CEO of ZAKA; Uri Shacham, Chief of Staff at Magen David Adom; Hila Shvoron Deputy Director of NATAL, Director of the Community Resilience Unit NATAL; and Dr. Hilla Hadas, CEO of Enosh; and Abie Moses, Chairman of the National Organization Victims of Terror.
Prof. Ben Corn, Director of the Institute for Study of Hope, Dignity and Wellbeing of the Hebrew University will speak on hope, dignity, and healing, bringing a medical humanities perspective. Benyamin Driefuss CEO of Mifal Hapais and Prof. Shauli Lev-Ran of ICA will explore institutional and academic responses to national trauma. Yarden Abarbanel will showcase “Support the Soul,” a program by Teva focused on emotional recovery.
These participants together offer a complex perspective of a nation facing trauma with bravery, empathy, and steadfast resilience.