Over 150 social workers, psychologists, and psychiatrists responded to a petition calling on mental health workers in the Israel Defense Forces to stop performing their duties if the judicial reform legislation continues and signed a counter-petition.
In the petition, the social workers, psychologists, and psychiatrists clarified that if there is a shortage of mental health officers or therapists in the IDF, they are ready to come forward to fill the ranks. "We the undersigned, psychologists, psychiatrists, and social workers, oppose the use of mental health, and in particular the mental health of IDF soldiers, as a tool for political threat," they wrote in the petition they distributed.
Dan Halutz, (IDF) is among many calling for a “war of liberation of Israel
— Lourenço Tavares (@lourtavar) March 23, 2023
Opposition leader Yair Lapid tweeted: The government’s incitement against the protests caused this
The Jewish people are about to be liberated from millennia of Babylonian slaveryhttps://t.co/XllUZ5dzNF
Yitzhak Alboim, a clinical psychologist by training who is behind the initiative, told reporters from the Hebrew-written Makor Rishon paper: "We saw the letter from the mental health officers who threaten to refuse if the legislation continues. I belong to a group of therapists who talk about this and the use of the profession for political pressure and we saw it as a wrong thing. I was inspired by a letter from doctors who decided to unionize if there was a wave of refusal and from there we set off," he says.
As of this writing, close to 200 mental health workers have signed in the first 24 hours since the petition was distributed late last week. "In days like this, of social tensions and each side entrenching its position while demonizing the opposing group, our role is to enlist them to maintain the social fabric in the country, and in particular in the IDF, where this fabric is important in terms of national security," the petition reads. "We express a willingness to stand up to fulfill any role and deficiency in the mental health system in the IDF, which may be caused by political reluctance.”
Hundreds of #IDF reservists avoiding call-ups amid #judicialreform protests #Israelhttps://t.co/9tHTu40UOt
— Women and National Security (@WomenandNatSec) March 22, 2023
Yitzhak Alboim concludes: "Each of us has an opinion about the reform and part of the group calls it a coup and it's fine that everyone has an opinion. But in the end, we are all here. In my opinion, saying I am not coming to treatment or even saying that there is no mental health without democracy is problematic. I don't think it's worth painting this profession in political colors, so we call on everyone who can volunteer to sign the petition." The petition also comes as Minister of Defense, Yoav Galant, stated his wishes to postpone the judicial reform legislation in favor of ensuring the stability of the military’s personnel’s willingness to contribute.
