At the heart of the case is a painful legal and moral gap: When a soldier is killed while in active service, the path to military burial and recognition as an IDF fallen soldier<\/a> is clear. But when a soldier or reservist returns from war, is discharged or no longer under an active call-up order, and later dies by suicide, allegedly because of trauma from that service, the state says the legal answer is not the same.<\/p>\n The Almoz Committee was appointed to examine the response given to families of such soldiers in circumstances that may be connected to their military service. According to the state, the committee recommended an interim support track for families while the formal recognition process is examined, including IDF accompaniment, assistance in approaching the Defense Ministry, and military elements at a civilian funeral, such as commanders in uniform, a military wreath, and participation by unit representatives.<\/p>\n But the committee did not recommend automatic recognition as IDF fallen soldiers, nor full military burial. The petitioners say the committee instead created a lesser category of \u201cdied after service.\u201d They argue that this creates an intolerable hierarchy between physical and psychological wounds. In their view, if the causal link between combat service and death can be shown, there is no principled difference between a soldier who dies later from a physical injury sustained in service and a soldier who dies later from post-traumatic injury caused by service.<\/p>\n They are also challenging what they describe as a limited and inadequate process, arguing that the committee\u2019s conclusions were adopted without proper participation by public representatives, organizations representing post-traumatic soldiers, and the bereaved families most affected.<\/p>\n Attorney calls case ‘moral and public struggle’<\/p>\n In comments sent ahead of the hearing, JIJ attorney Gai Akoka, who is representing the families, called the case \u201ca first-of-its-kind moral and public struggle in Israel,\u201d saying the court should cancel the committee\u2019s conclusions and rule that such soldiers and reservists should be recognized as IDF fallen soldiers, \u201cjust like a fighter who fell on the battlefield.\u201d<\/p>\n Avi and Ola Pankinsky, whose son Gil Pankinsky, a Shayetet 13 fighter, died by suicide in November 2024, said ahead of the hearing that since their son\u2019s death, they had felt \u201ctransparent\u201d to the state and the army that sent him to difficult missions.<\/p>\n![\"Israeli](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/660975.jpeg\"\/)
Israeli flags seen on Mount Herzl ahead of Remembrance Day. April 28, 2025. (credit: MARC ISRAEL SELLEM)<\/p>\n