I just sent a message to say I'm happy to chat but I'd rather not be too personal about it here in public notes. Feel free to be in touch, you can send me a message through the hrhaggadah.com website if you like and I'll reply that way.
Just trying to work out what weight to give to your analysis. That passes one threshold with colors flying, but leaves another unclear. What sort of work do you do?
I did not feel anything in particular when I found out that Sinwar died. I don't think that his death changes the situation at this point. I did feel intense emotion reading the portion of your essay concerning IDF soldiers with PTSD. PTSD in combat soldiers is a subject that is up close and personal for me. Our oldest son, Hans, fought in Iraq for the U.S. Army, and like many of his comrades, he came home psychologically and spiritually damaged.
Hans, during his deployment, spent a lot of time kicking in doors and clearly buildings from what he refers to as "Hajjis". He killed people that he knew personally. He shot people. His assigned attack dog ripped the throat out of one of his enemies. Hans stabbed a guy to death. On the flip side, Hans got shot (the body armor stopped the 7.62 round from killing him). He tore up his right knee when an RPG exploded behind him and tossed him through the air. Hans has PTSD that won't quit. He will never be right.
There is such a thing as a "moral injury". Hans has suffered a moral injury. He had to do things in Iraq that violated his core values, the things that our religious tradition tried to teach him in his childhood. A moral injury is just as lethal as a physical one. Hans' unit never lost a man in Iraq. Since he came back, several of his comrades have killed themselves or died in accidents. Hans himself tried to blow his brains out with his .45 semiautomatic pistol. He had the gun to his head with a round tin the chamber, and he pulled the trigger. The round did not go off. God's will.
I could go on and on and on. I have written extensively about Hans and other vets with PTSD on my blog and in a veteran's website. In America, 22 vets kill themselves every day.
We will soon find out how many IDF vets take the same path.
Shlomo, are you a lawyer?
I recently did a Master's Degree in International Law and Human Rights, but I do not work as a lawyer.
I can only receive a direct message if I install the substack app, which I decline to do.
So I am sorry but I shall not be receiving your DM. Nothing personal, I do assure you. I don’t receive any DM’s.
I just sent a message to say I'm happy to chat but I'd rather not be too personal about it here in public notes. Feel free to be in touch, you can send me a message through the hrhaggadah.com website if you like and I'll reply that way.
Just trying to work out what weight to give to your analysis. That passes one threshold with colors flying, but leaves another unclear. What sort of work do you do?
I did not feel anything in particular when I found out that Sinwar died. I don't think that his death changes the situation at this point. I did feel intense emotion reading the portion of your essay concerning IDF soldiers with PTSD. PTSD in combat soldiers is a subject that is up close and personal for me. Our oldest son, Hans, fought in Iraq for the U.S. Army, and like many of his comrades, he came home psychologically and spiritually damaged.
Hans, during his deployment, spent a lot of time kicking in doors and clearly buildings from what he refers to as "Hajjis". He killed people that he knew personally. He shot people. His assigned attack dog ripped the throat out of one of his enemies. Hans stabbed a guy to death. On the flip side, Hans got shot (the body armor stopped the 7.62 round from killing him). He tore up his right knee when an RPG exploded behind him and tossed him through the air. Hans has PTSD that won't quit. He will never be right.
There is such a thing as a "moral injury". Hans has suffered a moral injury. He had to do things in Iraq that violated his core values, the things that our religious tradition tried to teach him in his childhood. A moral injury is just as lethal as a physical one. Hans' unit never lost a man in Iraq. Since he came back, several of his comrades have killed themselves or died in accidents. Hans himself tried to blow his brains out with his .45 semiautomatic pistol. He had the gun to his head with a round tin the chamber, and he pulled the trigger. The round did not go off. God's will.
I could go on and on and on. I have written extensively about Hans and other vets with PTSD on my blog and in a veteran's website. In America, 22 vets kill themselves every day.
We will soon find out how many IDF vets take the same path.
I'm so sorry about Hans. Unfortunately, as you say, this is a common but less focused upon result of war.