At a Sunday gathering in Tel Aviv, survivors together with mental health specialists and elected officials cautioned that the framework supporting those impacted by hostile actions continues to emphasize establishing disability levels instead of aiding personal recovery and daily rebuilding.

The event was arranged by 121 Engine for Social Change via its two main initiatives: Or BaOfek, which champions individuals harmed by hostile acts, and Tikva LaNefesh, centered on mental health policy and community resilience.

Held at Riverside in Tel Aviv, the program received pro bono backing from Rafi Pomrock, Dynamo Group CEO and 121 public council participant, with journalist Rina Matzliach serving as host.

Established in 2017, 121 operates as a nonpartisan policy group collaborating with civic organizations and experts to promote new laws and official measures.

Or BaOfek formed after October 7 to seek reforms in recognition and recovery processes, arguing the existing setup was unprepared for the scale of physical and psychological harm affecting tens of thousands.

Employment and finances of terror victims continue to decline

During the conference, 121 shared preliminary survey results from 145 individuals affected by hostile acts. Just 27 percent had resumed their prior employment volume, whereas 35 percent remained unemployed and 34 percent managed only partial returns.

Almost two thirds, or 61.8 percent, indicated their finances had worsened despite receiving payments and aid, while 35.2 percent noted a close family member had cut work hours to assist with the respondent's needs.

Two thirds reported lacking steady state guidance, and participants rated help navigating entitlements at an average of 2.5 out of 5.

Collectively these outcomes illustrated how injury effects reach beyond the recognized individual, influencing household jobs and budgets while adding strain on caregiving relatives.

Roni Katz, mother of Arad who endured the Supernova festival attack, stated in a conference video that she had halted her job to provide round the clock support.

She explained that Arad came back from Nova in serious psychological distress and she has since cared for him nonstop, losing her income with no state reply in the form of funds, direction or helpful treatments.

Ron Segev, another Nova survivor, described previously working long sales shifts but now struggling to operate at former capacity. He noted current temporary disability status through late 2026, with a final ruling anticipated only in 2027.

He stressed the need for an individualized recovery plan focused on restoring function and daily life rather than solely calculating disability percentages.

Recognition marks merely the initial phase

Being acknowledged as a hostile act victim and receiving a disability rating represent distinct process stages.

A claimant submits to the National Insurance Institute, after which the Defense Ministry certifying body evaluates if the event qualifies legally as hostile and grants victim status.

Following recognition, a separate claim goes before a medical panel that assesses temporary or permanent disability and assigns a percentage, limited to injuries tied to the recognized incident.

Ratings under 10 percent yield no compensation. Those from 10 to 19 percent typically produce a single payment, while 20 percent or higher trigger monthly benefits.

Recognition alone can cover related medical care without reaching 20 percent, yet wider recovery services, therapies and family supports often require higher thresholds.

The One Soul reform, for instance, covers those receiving monthly payments at 20 percent or more for PTSD, other mental conditions or head injuries.

With record numbers entering the system recently, this distinction carries weight.

NII figures cited in a Knesset report show roughly 82,000 civilians gained victim recognition from 2023 to 2025, excluding fatalities.

By April 2026 about 38,000 had sought disability ratings, with 88 percent involving mental conditions, 6 percent physical and 6 percent combined. The largest psychological group fell between 20 and 34 percent.

Religious Zionist Party MK Michal Woldiger noted Sunday that the rating panels themselves now hinder recovery.

She described most current medical committees as anti rehabilitative, concentrating on injury degree instead of required supports for restored function.

Woldiger suggested retaining the panels but redirecting their focus and procedures toward personalized recovery plans.

Comparable concerns surfaced at a June 9 Knesset Labor and Welfare Committee session, where one attendee recounted a psychiatrist lowering her rating by 20 points upon learning she had started studies, highlighting fears that progress signals reduced need for aid.

Trauma outside conventional categories

Yashar Party candidate Inbar Yehezkeli Blilious contended that legal definitions require updating amid evolving terrorism exposure patterns.

She stated terror has transformed and laws must follow.

Individuals can suffer deep psychological damage without direct presence at an incident, such as through live phone viewing or video footage, and where demonstrable harm exists the state should broaden recognition accordingly.

Yehezkeli Blilious also urged earlier health fund interventions and expanded aid to siblings and other relatives impacted by a survivor's condition.

Some may resume work yet still need ongoing assistance, so employment alone should not indicate completed recovery.

Prof. Mooli Lahad, founder and president of the Community Stress Prevention Center, cautioned against labeling every extended war response as PTSD, noting other unresolved distress forms like ambiguous loss that demand wider therapeutic approaches.

While individual care matters, Lahad observed it cannot fully succeed if a person returns to unsupportive family, work or community settings.

He described genuine healing as occurring within an ecology of healing.

After prolonged conflict and repeated recovery efforts, many face healing fatigue, and bolstering communities can create protective layers around individuals and households.

The more communities heal, the better they support individuals, with resilience viewed as a muscle needing regular strengthening, Lahad added.

Strain on these communities already appears across public mental health services.

An April 2024 State Comptroller survey showed 35 percent of adults reporting moderate or severe post traumatic stress symptoms, 32 percent depression symptoms and 21 percent anxiety.

Among those indicating personal or close exposure to October 7 events, 54 percent reported moderate or severe post traumatic stress symptoms.

In the first half year post attack, health funds and resilience centers delivered psychotherapy to around 58,000 adults and children. By spring 2024 the average wait from request to treatment start, including diagnosis, reached about six and a half months.

The comptroller cautioned that treatment delays risk entrenching symptoms and causing lasting harm to employment, family and social functioning.

The local welfare network expected to aid community response also faces challenges. A June State Comptroller report found only 18 percent of additional municipal social work posts allocated for the war were filled in 2023, rising to 32 percent in 2024 then dropping to 28 percent in 2025.

In a nonrepresentative survey for that report, 54 percent of municipal social workers reported high or very high burnout since the war began, citing workload, staffing gaps and rising caseloads as main issues.

Together Party representative Liran Avisar Ben Horin advocated moving from reactive crisis handling to proactive distress identification.

Just as workplaces must designate sexual harassment prevention officers, they should consider mental health officers to spot distress signs and link staff to care, she proposed.

Conference suggestions differed yet shared a core idea: Israel cannot handle psychological recovery as a short term emergency measure or reduce it to a single percentage beside a name.

Liat Eilam, 121 executive director, stated the war produced a new reality the state has yet to address adequately.

Israel needs to rebuild the recovery process around restoring function, extend family supports and create a national mental health and resilience structure grounded in local communities, she said.

These represent two national priorities that must top the agenda for the next government and Knesset.