Israelis shouldn’t contemplate suicide at night. As of Thursday night, citizens facing a mental health crisis who call the Eran mental health hotline will get a recording asking them to call back in the morning. The recording states, “Sorry, we’re closed at night from 12 a.m. until 8 a.m. due to the Israeli government’s refusal to assist us. Please call back during opening hours.”
The veteran mental health hotline which provides telephone assistance to over 200,000 Israelis annually and over 200 callers daily is in its own crisis – a financial crisis of a NIS 5 million deficit. One-third of the hotline’s expenses were paid by American donors. However, the global financial crisis has taken its toll on the organization’s budget. And pleas to the Finance and Health Ministry have fallen on deaf ears. Facing closure, Eran decided to reduce hours. Dan Ginsberg, Eran’s director, told Voice of Israel government radio, “Our decision to cut back hours was based on budgetary reasons." Although more callers might be 'down in the dumps' at night, Ginsberg said that operating at night is more expensive than by day.