Over 15 months of combat brought IDF soldiers and reservists to breaking point. They served tirelessly for months on end in great peril without seeing their homes and loved ones.
This took a toll on their relationships as they left spouses and children behind. Many households collapsed under the pressures of ‘single motherhood,’ relational and financial tensions, loss of business and debt, cheating, breakups, and even divorce. Some soldiers suffered from PTSD, outbursts of aggression, burnout, aloofness, panic and anxiety, depression, and, unfortunately, suicide. On one front, they fought to win the war for our survival, while on the family front, they were losing.
One couple determined not to be a part of the divorce statistic is S. (23), a reserve combat medic in the Paratroopers Brigade, who married Adi (22). On October 7, 2023, S. was called up, serving in the rocket-ridden north, performing his job as a medic amid red-alert sirens and in bomb shelters. Returning to civilian life, he had visibly lost a lot of weight due to stress, and although he did not always express it, he...
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