TEL AVIV (JTA) — One-third of the suicide victims in Israel between 2000 and 2013 were recent immigrants.
Of the 4,806 Israelis to die from suicide, 1,658 were immigrants 15 years and older, according to a study presented in a Knesset committee Wednesday. Three-quarters of immigrant suicide victims had emigrated from the former Soviet Union after 1990, while 16 percent came from Ethiopia after 1980.
Former Soviet Jews and Ethiopian Jews make up approximately 20 percent and 2 percent of Israelis, respectively. One hundred Soviet immigrants died by suicide in 2013 alone, 27 percent of all Israeli suicides that year.
“Many immigrants experience a migration crisis but are afraid of being branded as having mental health issues,” said Likud Knesset member Avraham Nagosa, who moved to Israel from Ethiopia, according to Ynet. “So they avoid seeking treatment, especially if they can’t afford private treatment.”
