As Israel continues to live through uncertainty, security threats, reserve duty, displacement and the daily strain of prolonged crisis, the emotional toll on children and families is becoming harder to ignore.
This month, ICAR (Israel’s Collective Action for Resilience) is focusing on what we may be missing about children’s mental health during prolonged crises. For most children, this is not a single traumatic event followed by recovery. It is a formative period of repeated disruption, stress and adaptation. Children’s struggles do not always appear as clinical symptoms. Our new report explores how children’s wellbeing is shaped not only by direct exposure to trauma, but also by the families, schools, communities and systems that surround them. We hosted a webinar on June 16th titled “When Teens Go Unseen” to explore how Israel can better support children growing up amid ongoing stress.
ICAR continues creating spaces for shared learning, coordination and system-level action. Our webinar on July 8, “Resilience Through Movement,” explored movement-based approaches for regulation, connection and psychosocial resilience. Our Arab-Israeli Mental Health Roundtable, on July 20th, will bring cross-sector partners together to identify what becomes possible if we all work together to design a system that can reach diverse populations.
At the heart of each of these efforts is the same commitment: that Israel’s mental health response must be evidence-informed and built on collaboration.
Thank you for being part of this work with us.
Warmly,
The ICAR Collective Team
