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When Threatened or Attacked, Israel's Disparate Parts Always Come Together

(Jerusalem Post) Herb Keinon - Last week, Israelis coped with three days of fighting in Gaza that left millions knowing that their cities may be targeted by indiscriminate missile fire by Islamic Jihad and Hamas. Life went on, and the country rallied around the military, as well as those living closest to Gaza who were under the immediate threat of a rocket crashing into their children's bedrooms. One might think that rocket fire on population centers would stir panic. But it didn't, because we've been here so many times before, because we know what to expect, and because we generally have a pretty good idea about how it will all turn out in the end. Israel has launched five major campaigns in Gaza since it withdrew in 2005. There have also been about 10 other "minor" campaigns to retaliate against rocket fire or to strike at terrorist leaders. Israelis know that every few months or years, there is going to be some kind of fight with Gaza that will lead to days of anxiety, and then relief when it finally ends. The sheer volume of Gaza campaigns over the last 17 years has made them routine. The upside is that they become easier on a national level to cope with. The downside is that there is something deeply troubling about hundreds of rockets shot toward Israel's population centers becoming routine. Something else has become routine as well: Israeli solidarity in the wake of these campaigns. When Israel comes under attack or feels threatened, it comes together as one to deal with those threats. This has been demonstrated time and time again going back to 1948, when the country displays amazing solidarity when under fire. While Israelis are not unified in thought or opinion even in times of war, the solidarity they demonstrate can be defined as a deep empathy one for another, mutual responsibility, a willingness of the individual to mobilize and even put himself at risk for the common good, and a belief in the rightness of the cause for which the country is fighting.
2022-08-15 00:00:00
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