They carry the memories of people’s last moments, many of them in brutal conditions, for years. They witness loss, destruction and death, often in the most horrific circumstances and at great risk to their safety. Since the Hamas massacre on Oct. 7, 2023, these memories haunt them, and for some, it has become unbearable.
For the extraordinary volunteers of ZAKA, who provide the most holy of services—taking care of the dead, often in extremely dangerous situations—helping others is an imperative. However, many of its 3,000 volunteers have reported an inability to sleep, function normally and continue their vital work because of the devastation and tragedy that they have witnessed.
Duby Weissenstern, the CEO of ZAKA, a non-governmental search-and-rescue organization founded by Yehuda Meshi Zahav in Jerusalem in 1997, has a dream. He plans to open resilience centers around Israel to provide much-needed healing therapies to first responders as well as cater to Israelis who are struggling with mental health.
Weissenstern told JNS, “ZAKA volunteers deal with a tremendous amount of trauma, an estimated 1,500 casualties a year. Terror attacks, murders and many other tragic events besides Oct. 7. When they return home, it is difficult to share with their families what they have endured, but they can speak to their friends from ZAKA about what bothers them. I have a dream that in every city in Israel, there will be a home, a place where you can come and just take a breath; a place where you can breathe again.”
Weissenstern said that they will be centers open to everyone. “Everyone!” he stressed. “Everyone will be welcome.”
Triggered in certain situations
Post-traumatic stress disorder, or PTSD, is common amongst first responders, often manifesting as flashbacks, nightmares, anxiety and emotional numbness. Studies have shown that at least 30% of emergency personnel suffer from it.
Simcha Greineman, ZAKA’s spokesperson to the United Nations, emphasized that it is not just volunteers who are affected by trauma, but also the organization’s employees and their families.
Volunteers are often triggered when they go out to situations that take them back to the trauma of the Hamas assault, Greineman said.
“I can tell you my own story. I am a carpenter, and my job entails sitting with the plans and going over the blueprints. For the first two weeks after Oct. 7, my responsibility was collecting bodies, and then for another 14 and a half weeks, I was in charge of signing off on every house, making sure everything was done the proper way.
“In every house, I knew the story because every house had to be dealt with in a different way. I cannot look at blueprints. Every time I do, I see another house in Be’eri or Nir Oz or Kissufim, a living room in Kfar Aza. Everything triggers me, even though we are nearly two years on. In this recent war with Iran, I came again to houses blown up [by Iranian missiles] that took me back to those situations. Everything can trigger.”
While there are structured mental health programs for soldiers and security personnel, this does not extend to civilian first responders. Israel is a nation in deep trauma, despite the resilience of the Israeli people. Nearly two years of war have taken an immense toll, and many Israelis feel they cannot begin the healing process until all the remaining hostages being held by Hamas return home. Without intervention, untreated PTSD can lead to depression, family breakdowns and even suicide.
Choice of therapies
Individuals will have a choice about what therapies are best suited to their needs. Some people respond to cold plunge therapy, while others prefer animal therapy and so on, Greineman said.
The ZAKA resilience centers will offer a multitude of different kinds of therapies. “Not everyone is the same,” he said. “There are different stages and different ways of treatment and the best thing is that you understand you have a place where you can come to with helpful ways to help you. That’s the main benefit of having it in one center.”
Types of therapy to be offered include private and couples therapy, trauma recovery support groups, psychological treatment for PTSD, specialized psychological therapy for children and families, as well as occupational and physical therapies. There will also be therapeutic support for volunteers in the field that can be done via Zoom or phone, group trauma therapy and professional training.
Greineman shared his experience with cold plunge therapy and how he learned that he could live with the trauma. He won’t forget it, but he can live “beside it,” he said, adding that he derived a tremendous amount of strength from that.
ZAKA aims to have 10 resilience centers within eight years that will be built in three phases. The first phase, within one to two years, will focus on building a center in Jerusalem, chosen for its high volume of ZAKA volunteers and trauma cases to validate treatment methodologies, collect patient recovery data and refine operational processes.
The second phase, in the second and third years, will seek to establish centers in Haifa, Tel Aviv, Tiberias and Beersheva to cover key regional areas and ensure that all staff abide by the best trauma-care practices. The third and final phase, over four to eight years, will see centers strategically positioned across the country that will be self-sustainable through partnerships, insurance reimbursements and government support.
“Our mission in life is to care for one another. It is not just for ourselves but to care for the entire world,” Greineman concluded, noting that the ZAKA resilience centers will do exactly that.
