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'Mossad op led to mental breakdown'
Female agent files claim with Defense Ministry seeking disabled veteran status after failed mission that she says caused her complete mental breakdown
Over a decade ago a Mossad
mission in a foreign country failed, taking a high personal toll on one woman. According to a claim filed with the Defense Ministry by a former Mossad agent, the failure was the cause of her complete mental breakdown, one which she has yet to recover from.
The agent demanded to be recognized as a defense establishment disabled veteran. According to the claim, the agent, 44, a resident of central Israel, took part in the organization's operations abroad. Concerns over the possibility that her cell was exposed led to her breakdown.
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In her claim she presented evidence indicating that her activities were, in fact exposed and the agent was forced to flee for her life back to Israel with her team.
After the failed op the agent did not return to the Mossad ranks and yet she has not been able to overcome the trauma. The woman had panic attacks for a long time and even thought she was being followed and that people wanted to hurt her. Even years after the event, things only got worse.
The agent's mental state deteriorated and she began to experience symptoms of deep depression until she was eventually committed to a closed psychiatric ward. She has now been diagnosed as someone who suffers from schizoaffective disorder and is forced to take psychiatric medication.
Schizoaffective disorder symptoms include paranoia, delusions and hallucinations. Mood disorders are defined by discrete periods of clinical depression, mixed episodes and manic episodes. The number of women suffering from the disorder is much higher than the number of men.
The disorder is usually treated with medication including mood stabilizers and anti-psychotic meds. The treatment is not always effective.
In the summary written by the commander of the op in question the commander states: "From the initial stages of the operation the operative gave off a sense of tension… at a certain stage she locked herself up in her hotel room and refused to come out… I found her there with shaky nerves, fear and a sense of confusion. I certainly received the impression that she had undergone a severe mental episode."
As a result of the agent's claim, she was referred to a psychiatric specialist from the Defense Ministry who backed up her version of events.
Professor Yaakov Shaked, medical advisor to the Defense Ministry's compensations officer, adopted the experts recommendations and ordered that the agent be recognized as a defense establishment disabled veteran. She will soon be asked to come before a medical committee which will determine the disability level which will be awarded to her.
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