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Israelis Learn to Live with War as the New Normal
(Wall Street Journal) Feliz Solomon - In Tel Aviv, which bears the brunt of Iranian drone and missile fire, people are woken several times each night by air-raid sirens. Many who don't have a special reinforced room in their home choose to camp in communal bunkers instead of scrambling to safety every time an alert goes off. Some have turned into little underground villages, with families living in tents and children's toys strewn about. Still, an overwhelming majority of Israelis support the current war against Iran, seeing the Islamic Republic as an existential threat to the Jewish state that has to be dealt with sooner rather than later. A new poll by the Israel Democracy Institute found that 12 days into the operation, 81% of those surveyed were still in favor of the war. Virtually everyone with a smartphone has installed an app from the military's Home Front Command, which overrides silent mode to blast out early warnings. Above ground, Israel's cities still have the appearance of normalcy. At Tel Aviv's Dizengoff Square, cafes are crowded with customers, ready on a moment's notice to put down their coffee cups and file calmly toward the nearest bunker in the event of an air incursion.