SUICIDE IS THE MAIN CAUSE OF DEATH AMONG ISRAELI SOLDIERS

       Tel Aviv, 18 Rabiul Awal 1434/30 January 2013 (MINA) – An Israeli newspaper has revealed that the main cause of death among Israeli soldiers is suicide. In 2012 alone, fourteen soldiers killed themselves, claims Haaretz.

       The figures provided by the Israel Defence Forces show that suicide has been the main cause of death every year since and including 2009. Since 2002, 278 Israeli soldiers have committed suicide, according to a report published in www.middleeastmonitor.com monitored by Mi’raj News Agency (MINA), Wednesday.

      A further 8 soldiers were killed in car accidents last year; 3 were killed due to training and “other” reasons, whereas 5 were killed on active duty. Two other soldiers were drowned, said the army, and six died of different illnesses.

 

Sharp decline?

 

      Fourteen Israel Defense Forces soldiers committed suicide in 2012, marking a sharp decline from the 21 soldiers who took their own lives the previous year, army figures show.

      Still, suicide remained the primary cause of death among IDF soldiers last year. It was the third year in a row that suicide had been ruled the leading cause of death in the IDF.

       The 14 soldiers who killed themselves are described as “suspected suicide” because the Military Police investigation into the cases have not yet been completed.

        Official IDF figures show that during 2012 eight soldiers were killed in traffic accidents, three were killed during training and similar accidents, five soldiers and reservists died in action, two drowned (while on leave) and six died of illness.

        One soldier’s death remains a mystery. The committee appointed to investigate the cause of death failed to reach a conclusion, as the family of the soldier objected to an autopsy. He is registered as having died from an illness.

       In 2009-2011, 67 percent of the soldiers who committed suicide were not deemed mentally ill, according to army figures, and did not suffer from clinical depression.

       According to various studies, suicide is the primary cause of death in most armies around the world during non-combat years, a senior-ranking IDF psychiatrist told Haaretz.

       Over the past five years, the suicide rate in the IDF has tended to decline slightly, figures indicate. In 2008, 23 soldiers killed themselves; in 2009, that number dropped to 20; in 2010, 28; and in 2011, 21.

 

278 reported IDF suicides from 2002 t0 2012

 

       From 2002 to 2012, there were a total of 278 reported suicides among IDF soldiers.

      “The army has taken steps in the personnel directorate and Medical Corps, and among commanders and psychiatrists, that have dramatically reduced the suicide rate,” the officer said.  “In the 15-24 age group, the national suicide rate is similar to the one in the IDF,” he said.

       Furthermore, he added, the IDF exempts people diagnosed with a serious mental disease from service.

       In recent years, the percentage of IDF suicide cases who have been treated for mental health problems in the army has grown. “Before the prevention plan and raising the awareness among commanders, we treated less than 20 percent of the soldiers who committed suicide,” he said.

      “In recent years we’ve treated almost half of them. We can’t say there’s a correspondence between suicide and military service, but apparently we also treated those whom we prevented from committing suicide,” he said.

      The IDF spokesman said: “The suicide cases in 2012 were fewer than in the two last decades. About seven years ago the IDF introduced a program to prevent and reduce suicide and as a result the number of suicides has dropped significantly.”

 

At least 237 Israeli soldiers commit in ten years

       At least 237 Israeli soldiers have committed suicide over the past ten years, a report says. According to secret data released by the Israeli military, an average of 24 troops decide to take their own lives every year, Israeli daily Haaretz reported.

       According to the report, an annual average of 40 Israeli army forces also killed themselves between 1990 and 2000.
      The official data regarding the suicide rate had been released for the first time by an unknown Israeli blogger, who was later investigated by Israeli police.
      The blogger also found out that the real number of suicides in the Israeli army had been much greater than what the official data show.
      The Israeli newspaper Maariv published an article in 2003, saying that suicide had been the number one cause of death in the Israeli army.
      The Israeli ministry for military affairs recently reported that the number of Israeli soldiers who committed suicide exceeds that of those killed in battles. (T/P-08/E1)

 

Mi’raj NewsAgency (MINA)