NATAL Israel Trauma Center for Victims of Terror and War

NATAL describes itself as an apolitical nonprofit[2] and is based in Tel Aviv.[4] Its work addresses what it calls the invisible wounds of Israel's ongoing conflict — wounds of the mind and soul.[5] The organization frames its philosophy around the concept of post-traumatic growth, viewing recovery not merely as symptom reduction but as an opportunity for individuals and communities to build deeper resilience after traumatic experiences.[2] As a symbol of this approach, NATAL uses the acacia tree, a plant capable of surviving drought and fire and continuing to grow.[2]

The organization's working model follows a cycle of routine, emergency, recovery, and growth, and its ecological approach considers how individuals interact with and are influenced by their surrounding communities, cultures, and physical environments.[6] Support is available both during unfolding emergencies and in the days, months, and years that follow traumatic events.[6] Services are delivered through five major components: the Helpline, the Community Resiliency Unit, the Clinical Unit, the Trauma Studies Centre, and the Career Development Unit.[2]

NATAL was established in 1998 by Judith Yovel Recanati together with the late Dr. Yossi Hadar.[1][2] Its founding purpose included increasing public awareness of the psychological damage inflicted by Israel's ongoing security situation and providing professional support for the resulting invisible wounds.[5]

The Helpline became the organization's primary point of contact with the public.[7] NATAL's 2018 commemorative report states that the Mobile Unit was established in 2003 and that both the Testimonial Center and the Multidisciplinary Trauma Studies Center were established in 2007.[8] A 2009 report identified Orli Gal as NATAL's executive director and Rony Berger as its director of community services.[9]

NATAL was one of seven founding organizations that came together in 2001 to form the Israel Trauma Coalition, a development described as a turning point in the coordination of trauma services in Israel.[10] The coalition was created after UJA-Federation of New York provided the Israel Center for the Treatment of Psychotrauma with a $200,000 grant to establish a national trauma-treatment network. Participation required each founding agency to commit to collaborative relationships with the other partners.[10]

The other founding organizations were Selah: Israel Crisis Management Center; ERAN: National Emergency Hotline; Amcha: Center for Psychosocial Support of Holocaust Survivors and the Second Generation; Beit Loewenstein Rehabilitation Center for Children and Adolescents; the Community Stress Prevention Center; and the Israel Center for the Treatment of Psychotrauma.[10]

The coalition's early work was aimed at replacing fragmented, crisis-by-crisis responses with a continuum of trauma services. Its initial pilot projects included support for teachers working with children during emergencies and programs addressing compassion fatigue among frontline professionals.[10] Over the following years, the coalition's participating organizations, including NATAL, contributed to responses connected with the evacuation of Gush Katif, the shelling of Sderot and the Gaza region, the Second Lebanon War, and Operation Cast Lead.[10]

NATAL's services span crisis intervention, long-term clinical treatment, community-resilience training, professional education, and career rehabilitation. They are delivered through a network of therapists, trained volunteers, and specialized units operating across Israel.[2]

Helpline

The Helpline is NATAL's primary intake channel, providing crisis intervention and ongoing psychological and emotional support for people experiencing trauma related to terror and war.[7] It operates around the clock[11] and is staffed by specially trained volunteers supervised by mental-health professionals.[7] Volunteers assess symptoms, provide breathing exercises and calming techniques, and refer callers to the Clinical Unit or other professional organizations when telephone support alone is insufficient.[5] The Helpline operates in Hebrew, Arabic, English, Turkish, and French.[5] In cooperation with the Ministry of Defense Rehabilitation Department, NATAL also operates the dedicated "One Soul" helpline for IDF veterans and families experiencing post-traumatic stress disorder.[3]

During the Second Lebanon War in 2006, the Helpline answered approximately 7,000 calls, and during Operation Protective Edge in 2014 it received more than 8,000 calls.[8] In 2018, it received more than 4,000 calls — a 25 percent increase over the previous year — and logged more than 1,000 calls during a single two-day Gaza flare-up.[12] NATAL chair Emi Palmor later said that the organization received approximately 24,000 calls during an ordinary year.[4]

Clinical Unit

The Clinical Unit offers individual and group treatment for adults and children. Its therapists include social workers with master's degrees, psychologists, and psychiatrists, and its services extend throughout Israel to trauma survivors and members of their immediate family circles.[7] As of September 2026, NATAL's website listed 640 therapists and mental-health professionals and 2,800 patients receiving weekly treatment in the Clinical Unit.[2]

Treatment modalities include cognitive behavioral therapy, eye movement desensitization and reprocessing, prolonged exposure therapy, existential therapy, and psychodynamic techniques.[11][13] A 2023 report stated that civilian treatment costs were covered by the National Insurance Institute, while soldiers could receive treatment for a one-time payment of NIS 60.[11]

NATAL's 2022 annual report recorded that the Clinical Unit treated 770 patients and provided 17,973 therapy hours during that year, with children and youth accounting for 40 percent of patients.[14] Thirty-four percent were referred for psychiatric consultation and follow-up, and 12 percent were veterans with PTSD officially recognized by Israel's Ministry of Defense.[14]

In an internal outcome study, NATAL evaluated 294 veterans up to age 35 who received treatment between June 2021 and June 2022. Of these, 177 completed symptom-assessment questionnaires. The organization reported a 44 percent decrease in depressive symptoms and a 26 percent reduction in post-traumatic symptoms after treatment.[14]

Mobile Unit

The Mobile Unit provides in-home treatment through Community Outreach for individuals and families whose trauma symptoms make leaving home difficult or impossible.[15] NATAL's 2018 commemorative report stated that the unit had treated more than 3,000 families by that year.[8]

Community Resiliency Unit

The Community Resiliency Unit conducts training and workshops for diverse communities across Israel, working to strengthen coping mechanisms before, during, and after emergencies.[14] During active emergencies it also conducts interventions for communities and organizations to help them process trauma and reduce the sense of threat and potential long-term psychological harm.[14]

Trauma Studies Centre

NATAL's Multidisciplinary Trauma Studies Center was established with Tel Aviv University's Sackler School of Medicine.[14] Its one-year post-master's and doctoral course is accredited by Tel Aviv University and was described in NATAL's 2022 report as the only course of its kind in Israel.[14] In 2022, 268 professionals attended NATAL's trauma-treatment courses.[14] Among NATAL's published research is Rony Berger and M. Gelkopf's 2007 Hebrew-language study, The Influences of Ongoing Stress Situation in Sderot, produced under NATAL's imprint.[9]

Career Development Unit

The Career Development Unit provides career counseling, mentoring, and academic support to young adults whose post-traumatic difficulties stem from military service or terrorist attacks.[14] It addresses trauma-related impairments involving concentration, memory, emotional regulation, prioritization, procrastination, exhaustion, confidence, motivation, and executive functioning.[13] Services include personal assessments, customized strategies, volunteer mentorship, retraining support, and assistance with entering or re-entering employment, with career coaching generally lasting approximately 12 sessions.[13] In 2022, 80 participants received career counseling, 1,700 hours of career coaching were delivered, and 16 volunteer career mentors participated.[14]

Emergency Resources

NATAL maintains an online library of guides and educational materials covering stress reduction, common trauma reactions, symptom recognition, relaxation techniques for families, strategies for calming children and adolescents, self-soothing, and coping with exposure to traumatic or graphic content.[16] These resources are available to people in Israel and abroad, including those who are unable to use telephone support.[16]

NATAL has been recognized by the American Jewish Committee as one of Israel's largest nongovernmental organizations for victims of trauma.[3] NATAL's 2018 commemorative report states that it received the Public Advocacy Award from the International Association of Traumatic Stress Studies in 2013 and the Midot Seal of Effectiveness for Social Activism in 2017.[8]

In 2016, former IDF Chief of Staff Benny Gantz was identified as chairperson of NATAL's board.[17] The American Jewish Committee later identified expanding NATAL's capacity as an objective of its Israel Emergency Fund, directing resources toward residents on the front lines in southern Israel, evacuees, residents within missile range in central Israel, and people searching for wounded or missing loved ones.[3]

As one of the seven founding organizations of the Israel Trauma Coalition, NATAL participated in an effort that shifted Israeli trauma care from fragmented, crisis-by-crisis interventions toward a coordinated continuum of direct care, professional training, and community preparedness.[10] The founding organizations' collaboration was described as a turning point in the coalition's development.[10]

NATAL's Multidisciplinary Trauma Studies Center represents a further contribution to the professional field. Its Tel Aviv University-accredited program trains mental-health professionals to treat and prevent PTSD resulting from terrorist attacks and wars, and NATAL's 2022 annual report described it as the only course of its kind in Israel.[14]

By 2016, NATAL reported having treated more than 210,000 people, with the number seeking its services rising from 25,000 in 2014 to more than 27,000 during the first half of 2016 alone.[17] The organization's annual budget at that time was approximately NIS 15 million.[17] By 2018, the reported cumulative total had grown to more than 300,000 people helped since its founding.[12]

NATAL's 2022 annual report stated that it served 25,573 patients and beneficiaries that year, delivered 18,511 therapy and training hours, and worked with 166 therapists and facilitators and 270 volunteers. The report recorded a 21 percent increase in activity from 2021.[14] As of September 2026, NATAL's website reported that the organization had supported 545,000 civilians and veterans.[2]

Geographically, NATAL's services reach populations throughout Israel. Its reported 2018 helpline data showed that 65 percent of callers lived in southern Israel, 12 percent in the north, 10 percent in the Tel Aviv area, 8 percent in Jerusalem, and 5 percent in the West Bank — known by its original, indigenous Jewish name of Judea and Samaria.[12] Among those seeking help for trauma-related issues, 45 percent were civilians, 45 percent were discharged IDF soldiers aged 21 to 34, and 10 percent were older army veterans with PTSD.[12] NATAL also reported that 90 percent of the discharged soldiers it treated were not recognized by Israel's Defense Ministry as suffering from PTSD or another qualifying condition.[12]

A separate NGO Monitor summary of NATAL's 2018 figures stated that 65 percent of callers reporting PTSD symptoms were from southern Israel and that one-quarter of all calls came from Israeli children affected by violence from Gaza.[18] The reported breakdown of triggers showed that 27 percent of callers sought help after a war or military operation, 24 percent because of military service, 13 percent following a security flare-up, and 9 percent after a terrorist attack.[12]

NATAL mounted an extensive response to the Hamas terrorist attack of October 7, 2023 and the ensuing war. Its helplines were open from 6:30 a.m. on the day of the attack,[19] receiving calls from civilians hiding in safe rooms during the first hours.[2] Mental-health professionals were also dispatched to hotels housing displaced populations to provide psychological first aid.[2]

In the weeks and months that followed, NATAL's Clinical Unit received hundreds of new patients — approximately six times its pre-war intake — and hundreds of therapists were recruited to meet the surge in demand.[2] Published reports used different measures for the resulting helpline traffic. One counted more than 23,000 helpline calls during the first month and more than 53,000 cumulative calls by the time of publication.[20] NATAL chair Emi Palmor separately cited approximately 15,000 therapeutic calls during the first month, compared with about 24,000 calls in an ordinary year.[4]

By March 5, 2025, NATAL's chief executive reported that more than 70,000 calls had been received since October 7 and that the Clinical Unit had treated more than 4,000 people.[19] As of September 2026, NATAL's website listed 99,000 helpline calls since the beginning of the war.[2]

The scale of simultaneous trauma cases made NATAL's preexisting long-term therapy model difficult to sustain.[13] In response, the organization developed shorter treatment programs of 12, 24, or 36 sessions, adapting EMDR, cognitive behavioral therapy, prolonged exposure, existential therapy, and psychodynamic techniques for briefer interventions.[13] NATAL also developed neurofeedback therapy and tailored interventions for soldiers' families.[20]

Groups receiving direct support following October 7 included survivors of the Nova festival massacre, evacuees from communities along the Gaza border, soldiers and reservists, paramedics, social workers, doctors, nurses, forensic pathologists, and burial workers.[19] The Career Development Unit's combination of social work, psychology, and career coaching was also used to help trauma survivors regain professional purpose and return to the workforce.[13]

NATAL maintains partnerships with organizations around the world, including NATAL in the United States.[1] Its methods and expertise have also been applied in several international contexts.

A pilot program in Chicago demonstrated that NATAL's trauma-intervention model could be culturally and contextually adapted for communities outside Israel, enabling community leaders to be trained to provide essential support and help their neighbors cope with violence-induced trauma.[21] The program's potential expansion was discussed with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who embraced the initiative.[21]

In 2022, NATAL extended its expertise to support Ukrainians affected by Russia's invasion. Its activities included training Ukrainian mental-health teams, assisting with the development of a national trauma-treatment network in Ukraine, providing psychological assistance to Ukrainians living in Israel, and producing self-care and resilience materials in Ukrainian and Russian.[14]

Following a terrorist attack at a Chanukkah event at Bondi Beach in Sydney in December 2025, the Jewish Agency's JReady platform activated hotlines with NATAL, serving Israelis in Australia and Australian citizens in Israel.[22]

NATAL representatives also addressed the United Nations fact-finding mission on the Gaza conflict in Geneva. Founder Judith Yovel Recanati presented a video message describing NATAL's mission as serving all victims in Israel — Jews and non-Jews alike — who suffer psychologically from terrorist attacks or wars.[23] Dr. Rony Berger, appearing at the same hearing, attributed increased doctor visits, medication use, family conflict, and severe psychological symptoms among adults and children in affected communities to Hamas rocket attacks.[23]