Itzik Saidian, a 26-year-old veteran of the Golani Brigade, arrived at the offices of the Defense Ministry’s Rehabilitation Division in Petah Tikva where he set himself on fire.
By JERUSALEM POST STAFFMichal Herzog, the wife of Israel's President Isaac Herzog, visited a disabled veteran who set himself on fire at a Defense Ministry office in April.(photo credit: OFFICE OF THE PRESIDENT)
Michal Herzog, the wife of Israel's President Isaac Herzog, visited a disabled veteran on Wednesday who set himself on fire at a Defense Ministry office in April. Itzik Saidian, a 26-year-old veteran of the Golani Brigade, arrived at the offices of the Defense Ministry’s Rehabilitation Division in Petah Tikva on April 13 where he set himself on fire.During her visit, Herzog comforted Saidan's family and the medical teams treating him."I was moved by how Itzik's family is standing by him with such mental strength," said Herzog. "It was important for me to come here in the first week of my role as the wife of the president of the country to express my support for the subject of the treatment of those who suffer PTSD."Herzog also praised the medical teams and praised the Defense Ministry for reforms in treatment it is pursuing, but added that "the real test will be how they are carried out."The Defense Ministry said that Saidian was diagnosed with PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder) after seeing combat action during Operation Protective Edge in Gaza in 2014.Saidian served in the battle of Shaja’iya during Operation Protective Edge, in which 13 soldiers, including Oron Shaul,whose body is still being held by Hamas in Gaza, were killed.Despite the outpouring of support, Saidian’s friends had harsh criticism for the Defense Ministry, which they said created bureaucratic obstacles for Saidian to receive the help he desperately needed.“Who decides what is caused by what? He lost his friends. You have to prove you’re not a liar; he was rejected every time, they brought him to the edge. The writing was written in blood on the wall,” said Yaron Porter, a friend of Saidian’s, in an interview with KAN Reshet Bet. “He carried the post-trauma from Shaja’iya. He suffered severe shell-shock. He suffered from severe nightmares – you can see all kinds of levels of post-trauma – he was very introverted and quiet. He suffered greatly,” his friend lamented.
