Chief Clown Officer: David "Dosh" Brashi, the medical clown at Hadassah Ein Kerem Hospital, was drafted into the reserves in order to do what he does best - make contact through humor, and help soldiers coping with emotional damage.
"Humor is not just laughter, it's a very important resource that people use to lift their heads off the floor," says David "Dosh" Brashi, who routinely manages Hadassah's clown unit, and is currently called to the flag to accompany and support soldiers being treated at the IDF's rear rehabilitation center.
Activity of the 36th Division forces in the area of al-Bureij // IDF Spokesperson
David Brashi has been a medical clown at Hadassah Ein Kerem for more than twenty years, and in recent years he has been the director of the clown unit at Hadassah Ein Kerem and Mount Scopus.
At the beginning of the war, the veteran clown reported to reserve duty at the IDF's Center for Rear Rehabilitation, where he provides accompaniment and support to soldiers suffering from shell shock who cannot return to their unit after physical treatment and who also need a mental response. In the first week of the war, Dosh, together with five other clowns, created a series of visits for all the war wounded who arrived at Hadassah Ein Kerem and Mount Scopus.
"It is precisely in these places that the clown comes to make a colorful mess, but when really necessary, the clown also makes order," explains Brashi. "We brought calm, family and empathy into the departments. We had a wounded man from Bari who was hospitalized in the plastic surgery ward, and we were with him the first time the children came to see him, to ease his encounter that could have been difficult."
"Connecting figure"
Before he was drafted into the reserves, "Dosh" managed to impart his professional knowledge in intensive work with evacuees from the Gaza envelope who were transferred to Eilat. There he coined the phrase "mourning clowning". In the process he promoted, the clown is with people sitting shiva, walking around in a reality of mourning and bereavement and absorbing the situation. In such situations, the work is not only to smile and laugh, to work with dolls and balloons as usual, but mainly to hold the people, so that they do not fall to a lower place.
"Dosh" together with "Jonem", photo: Hadassah Spokesperson's Office
"The clown is a connecting figure who connects people. Shared pain creates empathy and hope. It's a very significant part of rehabilitation," he says.
Brashi then began his reserve service in the IDF's Home Front Rehabilitation Center, in which mental health professionals treat soldiers injured in combat responses who cannot return to their unit.
"Humor pack"
The commander of the reserve unit is Yoram Ben Yehuda, who lost his son Itamar on 7 October fighting in Nir Oz. He recruited "Dosh" to the care and support system, who also brought with him the clown Keren Asor, "Jonem".
"I've known Yoram since 2016, when I started volunteering at the 'Hamama' club, a rehabilitation club for shell shock, victims of hostilities and bereaved mothers. The club takes place within the framework of the Drachim Institute for Health Psychology, and together with Yoram, the director of the institute, we created a new field called 'restorative clowning.'"
"This is home." Hadassah Hospital, Photo: Oren Ben Hakon
Together with the clown "Jonem" they created complementary content for the treatment system, and provide resilience workshops, restorative workshops and group meetings called "Humor Pakal" - in which basic principles of acting and clowning are learned, and building confidence for standing in front of a group, environmental humor and even self-humor.
"We try to give soldiers tools to return to the joy of life. Humor is an important resource that helps lift your head off the floor," he explains.
Between reserve days, "Dosh" comes for short visits to Hadassah. "It won't be easy to get back to normal, but my home is Hadassah," he says.
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