Yuval Neria

Yuval Neria was born in 1952 in Holon

Yuval Neria was born in 1952 and grew up in Holon. His parents, Zipora and Jacob Neria, had served in the Harel Brigade of the Palmach. He attended Kugel High School and was a member of Hashomer Hatzair.

He joined the IDF in 1970 and served in the Armored Corps. In the 1973 Yom Kippur War he fought on the Sinai front, was wounded, and received the Medal of Valor. In the First Lebanon War he commanded Battalion 708 as a reservist.

He was one of the founders of Peace Now. In 1992 he was placed on the Meretz list for the Knesset. He also published a war novel, Fire, based on his war experiences.

He studied at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and earned a doctorate in psychology from the University of Haifa in 1994. He taught at Tel Aviv University and later moved to Columbia University in New York.

At Columbia he became a professor and directs a program on trauma and PTSD. His research covers former prisoners of war, people affected by the attacks on New York, and brain markers of PTSD. He is married to Mariana and has three children.