Reservist who worked in body identification unit found dead in suspected suicide: ‘He saw very difficult things’

An IDF reservist was found dead last night at his home in southern Israel, the military announces.

Hebrew media outlets identify the soldier as Ariel Meir Taman, who had previously served in the IDF’s Military Rabbinate, where he worked in the identification of fallen soldiers. Several outlets have reported the incident as a suspected suicide.

Military Police has opened an investigation into the circumstances of his death. The findings will be transferred to the Military Prosecutor’s Office for review, the IDF says.

In the wake of a recent string of suicides among both active-duty and reserve soldiers, Walla News reports that the Jerusalem Institute of Justice appealed to Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee chairman MK Boaz Bismuth today to urgently convene a discussion on the issue.

Taman’s death marks yet another case in a concerning trend that has reignited debate over mental health in the military amid the ongoing psychological toll of the war.

One of Taman’s acquaintances told Hebrew media that the late reservist “saw very difficult things in his position in recent years.”

The acquaintance eulogized Taman: “He was everything — a man of giving and kindness. He gave [part] of himself to everyone, always put others before himself.״