According to Lesnik, the IDF has a very strong support network for the parents of fallen soldiers. From the moment parents receive the tragic news — and for many years afterwards — psychologists are there to help them cope, as well as peers who have experienced the same loss. What Lesnik discovered was that for the siblings of fallen soldiers, there is a double loss: their brother or sister is dead, and their parents are falling apart.
Lesnik produced a film made up of interviews with the siblings of three such families. A decade later, he interviewed these siblings again, and used this second set of interviews to produce the film “My Younger Elder Brother.” By offering a better understanding of what the siblings of fallen soldiers experience, Lesnik’s work has spurred changes within the IDF. Now, when a young person is killed during his or her military service, psychological support is provided to the siblings too.
Lesnik’s own military experience includes serving as a paratrooper in the first Lebanon War in 1982 and as a team commander in a special forces unit. During his 25 years in the reserves, he served as a combat soldier for the paratroopers unit, and later, joined a special squad responsible for screening and identifying soldiers who would become part of an elite IDF unit.
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