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Source: http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/b18dce82-eb04-11dd-bb6e-0000779fd2ac.html
Gaza War Unites Israelis
[Financial Times-UK] Tobias Buck - Officials and analysts say they have been surprised by the degree of Israel's national unity and sense of common purpose during the Gaza war. The change in attitude is palpable. Polls show the overwhelming majority of Israelis backed the war, which they saw as a just assault on an implacable and dangerous enemy. Yossi Klein Halevy, a fellow at the Jerusalem-based Shalem Center, notes: "The soldiers fought with more motivation than at any time since the 1973 Yom Kippur war, the home front bore up with weeks of shelling without complaint, and the country was unified. Even most of the Israeli left supported the operation." The lesson that Israelis take away from three weeks of war is one that has echoed throughout the country's history: that being strong is preferable to being popular.