The Israeli Protective Partnership is a nonprofit organization that was established 2 years ago in order to locate combat veterans who developed post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) as a result of their military service and have not yet sought treatment. There are a number of reasons why they are facing this problem on their own: Some feel ashamed to reveal that they suffer from PTSD, some deny that they have PTSD to avoid experiencing the pain again, while others fear the complex and costly process involved in filing a claim to the Ministry of Defense.
We are talking about a huge, unfathomable number of over 40,000 people.
40,000 people who live with an open wound in their soul. 40,000 people who shout a silent cry which no one hears. 40,000 veterans who no one looks out for, due to the system’s failure. 40,000 veterans who live among us, by our side, who could be our child, our siblings, our spouse, our father / mother, our friend – yet we will never know.
The association’s mission is to locate those veterans through various channels, and then to accompany them until they receive recognition from the Ministry of Defense so that they get the treatment they need from the Rehabilitation Division and can lead a fullfilling, meaningful civilian life.