Yuval Neria

Who is Yuval Neria?

Yuval Neria is a clinical psychologist, Professor of Medical Psychology at the Departments of Psychiatry and Epidemiology at Columbia University Medical Center., Director of Trauma and PTSD Program, and a Research Scientist at the New York State Psychiatric Institute and Columbia University Department of Psychiatry.

Neria grew up in Israel, and spent his childhood in the city of Holon with his younger sister, Nurit, and two parents, Zipora and Jacob Neria. At the age of 18, he joined the Israeli army and subsequently participated in the 1973 Yom Kippur War and the 1982 Lebanon war. He was injured in the Yom Kippur War and at the age of 22 he was awarded the Medal of Valor, the highest decoration for combat bravery in Israel.

Neria's political views and body of work were deeply influenced by his war experiences. He was one of the founders of the Israeli grassroots movement "Peace Now," which sought to facilitate reconciliation between Israel, the Palestinians, and Arab countries., has published a war novel, Fire, based on his painful experiences in the Yom Kippur 1973 War, and was later involved in efforts to improve policies regarding mental health care for returning war veterans and prisoners of war with post trauma psychopathology.