The Israel Coalition for Trauma

The Israeli Coalition for Trauma (ITC) is the national coordinating body for trauma care and emergency preparedness in Israel. It has developed a multi-tiered model which integrates multiple types of organizations-ministries, non-profits, and local municipalities- to build resilience and provide continuous trauma care. ITC equips individuals, communities, and professionals with the tools and knowledge needed to cope before, during, and after emergencies. It is grounded in the understanding that effective emergency preparedness and response strengthens the capacity for recovery among individuals, communities, and society in Israel and around the world.[1][2]

The coalition brings together 58 organizations, associations, and government ministries that deal with the prevention and handling of emergencies, the treatment of mental trauma and post-trauma, and the development of mental resilience among the population in Israel. The organization's CEO is Talia Levanon. The organization's headquarters are located in the Neve Ilan Media Center.[3]

The ITC also collaborates with organizations around the world and has sent teams to provide assistance in trauma situations in Ukraine, Japan, France and other countries.[4]

History

The coalition was established in February 2001 by the UJA-Jewish Federation of New York, Eran, Selah - Center for Assistance to Immigrants in Crisis (AR), Amcha, Hadassah, and Mahut Israel.[5][6][7]

In June 2019, the coalition received special consultative status with the United Nations Economic and Social Council.[8] This is the highest status a non-profit can achieve on the global stage.

Activity

The coalition provides a collaborative and holistic approach, combining the expertise acquired over the years with the accumulated knowledge and experience of leading organizations and government ministries specializing in dealing with crisis.

The coalition develops and implements, together with partners from Israel and abroad, emergency and post-emergency care programs, training professionals and volunteers from various fields and volunteers - in emergency preparedness, emergency work and post-emergency rehabilitation. The coalition provides services in the field of trauma: direct responses in the areas of community resilience for vulnerable populations (accessible psychosocial services during an emergency event at a personal, family and community level, support during the period following the event, and providing information and education to the public on how to deal with trauma), prepares for emergency events (workshops, lessons, and practice dealing with emergencies and trauma in schools, senior centers, and other community institutions), and conducts training and instruction for intervention teams in the field.[9][10]

Since its establishment, the coalition organizations have assisted the population during various emergency events that occurred during the Second Intifada, the Second Lebanon War, the disengagement plan, and the ongoing shelling of Sderot and the communities surrounding Gaza. The coalition supports and works with local authorities after terrorist attacks in processing, learning from the events, and rehabilitating teams and employees. During various wars and military offensives including "Cast Lead" (2008-2009), "Pillar of Defense " (2012), "Protective Edge" (2014), "Guardian of the Walls" (2021), "Iron Swords" (2023-) and more, the Israeli Coalition for Trauma collaborated with government ministries to support, promote, process and rehabilitate local authorities, teams of institutions in the health and welfare systems.

The coalition operates at the individual, family and community levels. Services are provided through various agencies in the Ministry of Education, the Ministry of Welfare and Social Services, the Ministry of Health and many organizations, according to the approach and training formulated by the trauma coalition. The center is developing a method for intervening in emergency situations and preventing trauma among students, including activities for classroom transfer, and is training psychological counseling service personnel and all teachers in the relevant local authorities to carry out these interventions in classrooms.

The coalition operates in more than 120 local authorities.

  • In 2007, the Israeli Trauma Coalition, led by the Ministry of Health and in partnership with government ministries, established the five Resilience Centers in the area of the Gaza envelope - Eshkol, Sderot, Ashkelon, Shaar Hanegev, and Sdot Negev.
  • In 2014, the Israeli Coalition for Trauma established the Bedouin Society Resilience Center in a joint venture with the Ministry of Agriculture.
  • In 2017, 4 resilience centers were established in Judea and Samaria - Samaria, Judea, Binyamin and Gush Etzion.
  • In 2020 The Ashkelon Resilience Center was established
  • In 2022 the AMAN Resilience Center, servicing the towns of Ofakim, Merhavim, Netivot, was established and approved by the government
  • The National Resilience Center was established in 2023 following the beginning of Iron Swords War
  • The Arab Resilience Center in Wadi Ara was established in 2024[11][12]

International activity

The coalition collaborates with international organizations involved in the field of aid and trauma, including UN organizations. During the years of the coalition's activity, its organizations have provided assistance in a number of emergency events around the world, including the terrorist events in Chechnya and Beslan, natural disasters in Sri Lanka, the Mississippi River, Houston, and Haiti, and the terrorist attacks at Hyper Cacher in Toulouse (2015), Nepal earthquake (2015),and Boston Marathon bombing (2013), the tsunami in Japan (2011), and Typhoon Haiyan (Yolanda) in the Philippines(2013).[13][14][15][4]

For example, immediately after the tsunami in Japan, Israel trauma experts provided training to handle post-traumatic stress disorder and organized various kinds of therapy sessions including art, music, movement and drama for residents. Longer term programs included training close to 1000 Japanese and self-care.[16][17]

They also sent advisors to Parkland, Florida to assist counselors and family members after the shooting in the school (2018).[18] Similarly experts were sent to Manchester, UK, after the bombing of the Ariana Grande concert (2017).[19]

The ITC has also established resilience centers around the world in recent years. In May 2023 after the Russian invasion of February 2022, it opened a center in Ukraine with the support of the Ukrainian government and its program How are you? It has also provided training to the Future for Ukraine Charity Foundation through its GIDNA project of psychological assistance for women who have suffered sexual violence by the Russian Military.[10][20][21][22][23][24]

The coalition works in cooperation with the European Union, the Council of Europe and other organizations.

Flood of residents seeking counseling after October 7

In the aftermath of the Hamas attack in Southern Israel, on October 7, 2023, in which hundreds of people were kidnapped, men, women and children were raped and killed,[25][26][27][28] and several thousand were wounded, the Resilience Centers have been inundated with requests for support. These include released hostages, the extended families and friends of the captives, bereaved families of those killed, eyewitnesses who observed atrocities, and individuals suffering from anxiety.[5][29][30][31][32][33][34][35][36][37]

In addition the missile and rocket attacks by Hezbollah on Northern Israel and by Iran in June 2025 and March 2026 increased the levels of injury and anxiety among large numbers of children and adults.[38] The ITC is working in coordination with the Ministry of Health and the National Insurance Institute to provide therapy for people throughout the country and set up sixteen trauma centers to strengthen resilience.[39][40][41]

External sources

References

  1. ↑ Levanon, Talia (28 June 2012). "Israel Trauma Coalition Resillience Centers". Prehospital and Disaster Medicine. 25 (S1): S52. doi:10.1017/S1049023X00023049. ISSN 1945-1938.
  2. ↑ Bala, Miklosh; Gottesman, Joshua Z. (June 2022). "Israeli trauma system: on constant alert". Emergency and Critical Care Medicine. 2 (2): 83–86. doi:10.1097/EC9.0000000000000045. ISSN 2693-860X.
  3. ↑ LEVANON T; FLAMM-OREN E; KAHN-HOFFMANN G. (2005). "The need for a continuum of trauma services: who feeds the birds?". Journal of Aggression, Maltreatment & Trauma. 10 (3/4): 729–740. doi:10.1300/J146v10n03_06 – via ebscohost.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  4. 1 2 "ITC International Work". israeltraumacoalition.org. Retrieved 2026-05-31.
  5. 1 2 Israel21c (2024-03-17). "The trauma expert helping to heal Israel". ISRAEL21c. Retrieved 2025-09-19.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  6. ↑ Levanon, Talia, Elisheva Flamm-Oren, Debra Slonim (2010). "Israel Trauma Coalition and UJA-Federation of New York: The Journey from Response to Preparedness". Journal of Jewish Communal Service. 85 (1): 108–111 – via ebscohost.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  7. ↑ Horwitz, S. (2007). "Trauma Response, Recovery, Planning, and Preparedness". Journal of Jewish Communal Service. 83 (1): 32–38 – via ebscohost.
  8. ↑ "United Nations - Israel Trauma Coalition Given Top Special Advisor Status At UN - VINnews". 2019-06-23. Retrieved 2025-08-04.
  9. ↑ "Israel Trauma Coalition Provides Emergency Care and Emotional First Aid". Greater Miami Jewish Federation. Retrieved 2025-09-19.
  10. 1 2 "Israel Trauma Coalition (ITC)". InfluenceWatch. Retrieved 2025-09-19.
  11. ↑ "Arab Society Navigating Trauma and Resilience → Task Force". www.acitaskforce.org. 2024-08-30. Retrieved 2025-08-04.
  12. ↑ "The Wikipedia Library". wikipedialibrary.wmflabs.org. Retrieved 2025-09-19.
  13. ↑ Constantinoiu, Marina (2018-08-23). "One year after Harvey, Israelis still aid Texas, Caribbean". ISRAEL21c. Retrieved 2025-09-19.
  14. ↑ Constantinoiu, Marina (2015-11-24). "Israel trains French trauma experts to cope with terror". ISRAEL21c. Retrieved 2025-09-19.
  15. ↑ Gur, Haviv Rettig (2013-05-03). "Israeli team to bring hard-earned post-trauma expertise to Boston". The Times of Israel. ISSN 0040-7909. Retrieved 2025-09-19.
  16. ↑ "Israeli trauma program to help Japan tsunami victims | The Jerusalem Post". The Jerusalem Post | JPost.com. 2011-09-08. Retrieved 2026-06-01.
  17. ↑ Arad, Boaz (2012-02-22). "In Japan, Israelis bring trauma expertise to tsunami victims". Jewish Telegraphic Agency. Retrieved 2026-06-01.
  18. ↑ WRAL (2018-03-07). "Israeli trauma experts help counselors in Parkland, Florida". WRAL.com. Retrieved 2026-06-01.
  19. ↑ Staff |, TheTower org (2017-05-31). "Israeli Trauma Experts Take the Lead in Treating Manchester Terror Victims". The Tower. Retrieved 2026-06-01.
  20. ↑ Karra, Yulia (2023-09-14). "Israeli Trauma Coalition opens new center in Odessa". ISRAEL21c. Retrieved 2025-09-19.
  21. ↑ Leichman, Abigail Klein (2023-06-21). "Ukraine's First Lady meets Israeli trauma experts to discuss resilience". ISRAEL21c. Retrieved 2025-09-19.
  22. ↑ Ghert-Zand, Renee (2023-05-09). "Israel Trauma Coalition opening resilience centers in Ukraine". The Times of Israel. ISSN 0040-7909. Retrieved 2025-09-19.
  23. ↑ "Israeli Trauma Coalition opens resilience center in Ukraine". The Jerusalem Post. 2023-08-31. ISSN 0792-822X. Retrieved 2025-09-19.
  24. ↑ Ifald. "Courses from the Israeli Trauma Coalition". WUNU. Retrieved 2026-05-31.
  25. ↑ "Israel Gaza: Hamas raped and mutilated women on 7 October, BBC hears". 2023-12-05. Retrieved 2025-09-19.
  26. ↑ "The Civil Commission's Report on Oct 7th Sexual Violence - Silenced NO More". The Civil Commission. Retrieved 2026-05-31.
  27. ↑ Kershner, Isabel (2026-05-12). "Israeli Report Examines Sexual Violence During and After Hamas-Led Attack". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2026-05-31.
  28. ↑ Goldenberg, Tia (2025-07-08). "Israeli report accuses Hamas of using sexual violence as a weapon of war on Oct. 7". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2026-05-31.
  29. ↑ Israel21c (2023-10-09). "Trauma responders deal with an unparalleled flood of anxiety". ISRAEL21c. Retrieved 2025-09-19.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  30. ↑ Israel21c (2024-01-08). "How to fix a traumatized nation". ISRAEL21c. Retrieved 2025-09-19.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  31. ↑ Ghert-Zand, Renee (2023-04-10). "How to help yourself and others when acute anxiety hits during rocket attacks". The Times of Israel. ISSN 0040-7909. Retrieved 2025-09-19.
  32. ↑ Bisk, Stephen. "The Blogs: The Quiet Weight Israeli Children Are Carrying". Retrieved 2026-05-31.
  33. ↑ Netali, Mor; Yifat, Reuveni; Rivka, Tuval Mashiach (2026-05-19). "Nation under pressure: examining widespread trauma exposure and resilience in Israel". European Journal of Psychotraumatology. 17 (1) 2659423. doi:10.1080/20008066.2026.2659423. ISSN 2000-8066. PMC 13188540. PMID 42153225.
  34. ↑ "Taking Hold: Resilience Program in the Southern Town of Sderot", PTSD and the Politics of Trauma in Israel, University of Toronto Press, 2017-12-31, pp. 138–157, doi:10.3138/9781442623972-009, ISBN 978-1-4426-2397-2, retrieved 2026-05-31
  35. ↑ Kopelev, -Sonia Kopelev Sonia (2025-10-14). "Freed Israeli hostages face long road to physical and mental recovery". PBS News. Retrieved 2026-05-31.
  36. ↑ Boffey, Daniel (2025-10-14). "Released Israeli hostages give accounts of torture, torment and extraordinary danger". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2026-05-31.
  37. ↑ "Bar-Ilan University Establishes a Trauma Research Center to Study the Impact of October 7 | Bar Ilan University". www.biu.ac.il. Retrieved 2026-05-31.
  38. ↑ "Hezbollah ballbearing rockets maximise injuries". www.thenewhumanitarian.org. 2006-08-08. Retrieved 2026-05-31.
  39. ↑ Fliegel, Lisa. "The Blogs: What the children need from us". Retrieved 2025-09-19.
  40. ↑ "Collaboration to Strengthen National Resilience: The Ministry of Health Launches 16 Community-Based Trauma Intervention Centers". www.gov.il. Retrieved 2026-05-31.
  41. ↑ Cordall, Simon Speakman. "State of trauma: Israel wrestles with mental aftershocks of war". Al Jazeera. Retrieved 2026-05-31.
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