{"id":23491,"date":"2025-05-19T12:00:01","date_gmt":"2025-05-19T09:00:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/reganews.co.il\/en\/?p=23491"},"modified":"2025-05-19T13:57:57","modified_gmt":"2025-05-19T10:57:57","slug":"the-soldiers-of-shura-and-their-silent-war","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/reganews.co.il\/en\/the-soldiers-of-shura-and-their-silent-war\/","title":{"rendered":"The Soldiers of Shura and Their Silent War"},"content":{"rendered":"

Dr. Vladi Dvoyris, reserve officer in the IDF\u2019s Casualty Identification and Cause of Death Unit:<\/strong><\/p>\n

On October 7, 2023, and throughout the Swords of Iron War, I wasn\u2019t in Gaza, or the Gaza Envelope, or even up north. I didn\u2019t fire a single bullet during the entire war. But I saw more dead bodies than most soldiers ever will\u2014and far more than any ordinary person is likely to see in their lifetime.<\/p>\n

As part of my reserve service, I was assigned to body identification at the Shura Base near Ramla, and I carry with me everything I saw there.<\/p>\n

Perhaps one day, the story of this unit will be told\u2014only a few hundred reservists who were called up on the morning of Simchat Torah, as the scale of the catastrophe was only beginning to emerge. For many of us\u2014soldiers in the Casualty Identification Unit, doctors and dentists, geneticists, investigators, and commanders\u2014it was a headfirst plunge into the deep end, without a moment to prepare ourselves before. There simply wasn\u2019t time.<\/p>\n

A mission of compassion<\/strong>
\nWhat motivated us all was the understanding that beyond the duty of providing a proper burial, we had to identify each and every person without a doubt\u2014so their families could have certainty, a chance to grieve, and a grave to cry over. It\u2019s a natural process, and though it leaves scars, those scars are also part of healing.<\/p>\n

\"\"
Treating the dead with dignity | Photo: Tomer Neuberg\/Flash90<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

We were extremely careful not to encounter the families of the fallen. In a country as small as Israel, where everyone knows someone who was killed or wounded, this was a difficult task. But without that necessary distance, we wouldn\u2019t have been able to keep functioning.<\/p>\n

If I could say just one thing to the grieving families, it would be this: know that we did this for you, too\u2014for those who are still living. So your lives wouldn\u2019t remain suspended in endless uncertainty.<\/p>\n

We carry the sights, the smells, and the memories of Shura with us. These aren\u2019t stories of battlefield heroics that are easy to share. People recoil when they hear about the death that, for us, became a near-daily occurrence\u2014as we went to Shura day after day, like going to work.<\/p>\n

Beyond that, we\u2019re limited in what we can share out of respect for privacy, for the sanctity of the dead, and out of our desire not to traumatize those around us by unburdening our own pain.<\/p>\n

\u201cSome give their lives in battle for a noble cause; others give their souls so that others can heal.\u201d
\n<\/strong>I came to understand, only in hindsight, that this is what I was doing there\u2014I left a piece of my soul at Shura. I don\u2019t regret it for a moment, because it served a vital purpose.<\/p>\n

Still, it\u2019s clear that this emotional toll\u2014even if invisible, even if \u201cjust part of the job\u201d\u2014has consequences. For us. For our spouses. For our children.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t regret it for a moment, because it served a vital purpose. Still, the emotional toll has consequences.\u201d
\n<\/strong>That\u2019s why it\u2019s so important that we\u2014the hundreds of reservists, soldiers, and commanders in the IDF\u2019s Casualty Identification Units\u2014receive formal recognition, appreciation, and support. That includes official recognition of the psychological risks and the unique contribution of our unit, funding for mental health treatment\u2014including for spouses\u2014rest days, vacation time, and financial assistance to help us return to a routine life.<\/p>\n

\"\"
Treating the dead with dignity | Photo: Tomer Neuberg\/Flash90<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Acknowledging what we\u2019ve endured\u2014and the wounds we carry<\/strong>
\nWhen we were called to serve on October 7, 2023, we didn\u2019t hesitate. We knew it was the right thing to do for our country.<\/p>\n

Now, just before the fighting may intensify again and we may be called back into service, this is the moment for the state to take care of us\u2014to acknowledge the severity of what we went through and the emotional trauma that came with it.<\/p>\n

To give us and our families the means and the opportunity to heal.<\/p>\n

We are not asking to be recognized as combat fighters. We don\u2019t need medals or decorations.<\/p>\n

We just want to come home in peace.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

This article was written by Dr. Vladi Dvoyris, a dentist and a reserve officer in the IDF\u2019s Casualty Identification and Cause of Death Unit, Medical Corps.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Dr. Vladi Dvoyris urges that the State’s recognition of service be extended to members of the IDF\u2019s Casualty Identification Unit, who since October 7 have made extraordinary sacrifices to ensure that bereaved families can mourn their loved ones with dignity.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":23493,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1,77,129,2276,88,6],"tags":[5775,5774,2467,3521,4252,5776,2639,5773,5772,4248],"class_list":["post-23491","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-culture","category-idf","category-judaism","category-people","category-will-remember","category-security","tag-bereavement-support","tag-casualty-identification","tag-idf-fallen-soldiers","tag-idf-reserves","tag-israeli-resilience","tag-military-mental-health","tag-operation-iron-swords","tag-psychological-trauma","tag-shura-base","tag-simchat-torah-attack"],"yoast_head":"\nThe Soldiers of Shura and Their Silent War - 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