Lone Soldier Suicide Epidemic Widespread in «Israel», IOF Worried

By Staff, Agencies

After Alex Sasaki died of a drug overdose in late March, Tzvika Graiver of the KeepOlim group posted on Facebook that the American-born soldier in the “Israel” Occupation Forces [IOF] had died “from a lack of mental support in the army.”

Sasaki, 27, who grew up in Laguna Beach, California, was a member of the elite Golani infantry brigade. He was found dead in his home while off duty, according to media reports.

Graiver’s claim caused significant pain to Sasaki’s family, who felt that Graiver shared details about the death without permission and implied it was related to mental health issues, according to sources familiar with the matter.

Nevertheless, the post drew attention to reports, denied by the “Israeli” military and soldiers’ advocates, of a “worrying trend” of rising suicide rates among the “Israeli” entity’s lone soldiers — immigrants and volunteers from abroad who enlist without a familial support network in the country.

The category of lone soldier also includes “Israelis” without families, such as former members of the haredi Orthodox community disowned by their parents.

Three lone soldiers died over the course of the first three months of 2019: two of suicide and one from an apparent drug overdose. That prompted harsh criticism and a wave of newspaper reports on their “lonely life.”

Despite the challenges facing many of these soldiers face, however, advocates, soldiers and IOF spokespeople have said that over the last decade, there has been a significant improvement in how the military cares for such troops.

Outgoing member of the entity’s Knesset Ksenia Svetlova likewise lashed out at the army, saying in a tweet that 17 lone soldiers had committed suicide over the course of just one year. Urging young Jews living abroad not to enlist until the army got a handle on the situation, the “Israeli” lawmaker demanded a “meaningful solution and a proper response to the emotional needs of the lone soldiers.”

Blaming the military, Svetlova asserted that sometimes the burden is just too heavy to cope with, “while the army looks the other way.”

However, an IOF source familiar with the matter said such “suicide epidemic talk is overblown.”