On a serene Thai island, a holistic healing center provides relief for traumatized Israelis
Survivors of the Oct. 7 massacre, discharged IDF reserves soldiers, and others gather in David’s Circle, a lush jungle sanctuary, to help each other – and themselves
KOH PHANGAN, Thailand — Nestled in a lush Thai jungle, thousands of miles from the ongoing conflict with Hamas in Gaza, a unique therapeutic refuge in Koh Phangan has emerged for Israelis impacted by war.
Under bamboo roofs, young Supernova festival survivors, released soldiers, a group of dedicated volunteers and others gather around communal tables and art spaces, their conversations punctuated by the gentle sounds of a nearby river. This is David’s Circle — a healing space where trauma meets hope in the aftermath of October 7.
Over a year and a half after the Hamas onslaught on southern Israel that left some 1,200 dead and 251 kidnapped and taken to the Gaza Strip, thousands of Israelis have left their homeland seeking respite from constant reminders of the seemingly never-ending war sparked by the massacre. Among them is Daniel, an Israeli reservist who found himself in Thailand with his wife and children after serving multiple lengthy rotations in Gaza.
“I was emotionally unstable, really struggling,” he says during The Times of Israel’s visit. “When I arrived at David’s Circle for the first time, I remember meeting Segev [a former IDF mental health officer]. That conversation was a spark of hope when nothing seemed possible.”
With over 300,000 Israelis having traveled to Thailand in the last year alone and experts estimating that as many as 31% of Israelis who were directly exposed to the October 7 atrocities may be suffering from PTSD, David’s Circle represents a groundbreaking approach to collective healing for Israelis abroad.
As traditional therapy fails to reach many survivors who can’t process their trauma while surrounded by constant reminders of war, this jungle sanctuary offers a different path. Here, healing happens through a holistic combination of peer support, creative expression, physical activities, and community connection rather than a formal clinical environment.
David’s Circle has hosted over 900 visitors since its opening in September 2024. Most participants are between 21-26 years old, with approximately half being discharged soldiers, a quarter being Supernova festival survivors or residents from border communities, and another quarter dealing with various forms of trauma and grief.
A 2025 qualitative study from Tel Hai Academic College found that the center’s non-clinical approach helps participants address what researchers identified as common themes of “emotional dislocation, mistrust, and existential uncertainty” through community connection and creative expression.
A sanctuary born from tragedy
David’s Circle is based on Thailand’s scenic island of Koh Phangan, on which it is estimated that about 600 Israeli families reside and thousands more visit for short-term stays.
The vision originated with Israeli trauma specialist Yael Shoshani-Rom, who had been working with survivors of the Supernova music festival, where over 360 revelers were murdered in one of the most gruesome massacres on October 7.
“I started hearing from my personal patients that they feel they can’t heal in Israel because the situation was unbearable — it still is unbearable. Everything was triggering, sirens all the time, the trauma doesn’t end,” says Shoshani-Rom.
As she noticed many survivors leaving Israel, she envisioned creating “something like a Chabad house, but therapeutic” where Israelis could continue their healing journey abroad, Shoshani-Rom says, referring to the Jewish outreach centers around the world established by the Chabad Hasidic group.
The idea became reality through a partnership with Let’s Do Something, a nonprofit founded by friends of David Newman, who was murdered by Hamas terrorists at the Supernova festival.
What began as a WhatsApp group for gathering humanitarian supplies has since expanded its operations across three areas: investing in next-generation defense solutions to support Israel long-term, healing survivors of the war — mainly through David’s Circle — and producing pro-Israel content. Let’s Do Something embraced Shoshani-Rom’s vision of a healing center in Thailand, and so David’s Circle, named in memory of Newman, was born.
An oasis in the jungle
Visitors enter David’s Circle by passing under a decorative bamboo gate into the holistic healing space. The daily rhythm balances structured activities with unstructured time, with the bulk of activities taking place within a large roofed structure divided into different zones.
In the social area, participants engage in intense games of backgammon and cards, cigarette smoke curling upward as they laugh at inside jokes and sing Israeli folk music. The open art studio corner bustles with creativity as participants work on intricate mandalas and mixed-media projects, vibrant paintings depicting themes of resilience adorning the walls. Meanwhile, in the communal dining section, others prepare meals in the open-air kitchen, the aroma of home-cooked couscous filling the air and providing comfort through familiar tastes from home.
To one side of the main area, a carefully maintained bonfire pit awaits the evening gathering. As night falls, participants form a circle around the crackling flames, where they share stories, process emotions, and find connection through guided discussions on topics ranging from coping through struggle to inner resilience. Across the river, accessible by a small footbridge, stands the shala, a traditional Thai pavilion where workshops are held — from voice-opening exercises to ice bathing and discussions about coping with PTSD-related sleep disruptions.
“What I fell in love with is how you can do super professional work that’s based on knowledge, research, and the most advanced techniques, but you don’t need a clinic for it — you can do it on a pouf, on a mat, during things that are very healthy and part of their world without making them feel that they are now in crisis,” Shoshani-Rom says.
Beyond traditional therapy
“There’s something in conventional treatment that doesn’t actually look at you as who you are,” says Ahia Meir Malul, a 28-year-old artist and Supernova festival survivor who has thrived in the informal space of David’s Circle after struggling in Israel. “You exist more than just your problem; you are a whole world in itself. When [therapists] only address the problem, they miss 99% of what’s actually happening.”
What sets David’s Circle apart is not just its relaxed setting, but its embrace of a peer-support model.
“The trauma was collective,” says Shoshani-Rom. “Therefore, the idea was to create a community that is healing and being healed at the same time.”
Yarden Asher, a 27-year-old Supernova festival survivor, who trained to be a mentor at the center, sees his role as essential to his own recovery.
“It gives me meaning. It’s one of the stages in post-traumatic growth, this stage of giving back. Because if until now I received and learned and gained knowledge from people, the next stage is you give, that you’re in a position where you can give,” he says.
Finding connection and hope
For Daniel, the IDF reservist, David’s Circle in Thailand became an anchor amid emotional chaos.
“I remember the day I first arrived,” he says. “I was going downhill — nothing looked possible, nothing looked hopeful.” Through consistent Monday and Wednesday visits, Daniel gradually found stability.
“I experienced this medicine drop by drop,” he says, noting how arts workshops and community connections transformed him. “Now it’s already different. I’m speaking from an angle where I’m looking back, it’s a completely different world.”
Among the participants, artist Ahia Malul perhaps embodies the center’s essence of healing through creativity, peer support and connection.
“I understand that what happened to me there is not what defines me,” he says. “What’s important is to give hope and a point of light… my mission is to show people that it’s possible to translate emotion into material, to draw words in colors.”
The Times of Israel Community.