We are organising this urgent fundraiser on behalf of a 7th October Nova survivor in our community whose need for urgent mental healthcare have not been met by the state or NGOs, an urgent crisis that many Nova survivors still face after 440 days of relentless war.
I met Zvika through group therapy in June 2024. While we are both on a path to recovery, Zvika's journey has been much more difficult than mine.
Zvika attended the Nova festival in Reims with his two best friends, classmates from his high school. When they drove to Reims on Friday 6 October, their greatest worry was running out of fuel on the road home. They were in high spirits, as Zvika's friend had been accepted into a program for musicians in the US. They were celebrating life, their achievements, and the Jewish holiday. That night was pure joy, and nothing could have prepared them for the grim horrors of the next morning.
When Hamas attacked Israel and arrived at Reims, Zvika ran with several others, and was separated from his friends. He hid for hours from terrorists, witnessing the most horrific atrocities that haunt him until today.
Finally, through some miracle, the group Zvika was with managed to get to safety, and were evacuated by first responders as gunfire and missiles rained down on the area in the late evening of the attack.
Zvika had a serious concussion, and moderate injuries, and remained hospitalised. It was in hospital that he was told by his father that one of his friends had been shot and murdered by Hamas, and his other friend was still missing, possibly taken hostage. After a week, it was determined that he too had been killed in the attack.
Zvika lives with severe cptsd, clinical depression, survivor's guilt, and permanent trauma from the cruel and cold-blooded murders and atrocities he witnessed in those hours of horror.
While Israel's psychiatric caregivers and doctors have been under severe strain since October 7, with some of them called up for miluim themselves, Nova survivors like Zvika were left put together their own rehabilitation plans. Their families have also been affected by this state crisis of the overloaded mental healthcare system.
While some organisations and NGOs scrambled to pick up the pieces where the state could not help, the voluntary mental healthcare workers are over-burdened, and few of them are trained trauma-informed professionals. They are learning as they work, which can be incredibly harmful to survivors, who need expert veteran care.
We set up this fundraiser after Zvika was admitted to psychiatric miyoun, and sent home the next day without adequate care. He is constantly told that his needs will be met, but is constantly let down by the public healthcare system.
We are willing to fight for his care, but have given up on the overloaded healthcare system. We created this fundraiser to cover the urgent financial aspect of his medical and mental healthcare needs, which are not being met by his health insurance.
We are committed not to his survival but to his return to happiness and hope, and to light at the end of this dark tunnel!
The following is a breakdown of the care that is needed, and the costs we need to fundraise to save our friend, calculated to cover six months of expert mental healthcare and psychiatric treatment.
Breakdown of Monthly Care Costs
1200 NIS monthly psychiatrist appointment
500 NIS weekly talk therapy with state licenced trauma-informed psychologist
250 NIS twice montly acupuncture appointments for cptsd and chronic pain during rehabilitation
Total cost per month: 3700 NIS per month
Our commitment for 6 months of treatment is approximately 22,200 NIS, approximately 5500 British pounds or 6200 $.
Immense gratitude to everyone who took time to read and share Zvika's story.
If you do not have the means to donate, we would be so grateful if you could share with 2 or 3 friends that can!
By helping survivors heal, we relieve the collective pain of the Jewish people after 7 October. Thank you for being a part of our small effort of tikkun olam.