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the high level of individualism. The great majority of people serve temporarily through their
mandatory service and then in the reserves, and even full-time offi cers retire early to pursue
second careers. Thus, Israel has no military caste or even a military lobby, in contrast to other
countries.
The army itself operates in a specifi c Israeli style, with its successes owed in no small part
to values that are the opposites of the usual military virtues. The Israel Defense Forces are
characterized by informality, anti-hierarchical sentiments, continual self-criticism, and close,
constant contact with civilian society. The preference for improvisation over systematic plan-
ning has at times led to serious shortcomings, as in the war against Hizballah in Lebanon in
2006. But, by the same token, these problems were quickly identifi ed and were resolved soon
afterward.
Overall, Israel lacks an aggressive nationalism in the sense understood in other countries.
There has never been any signifi cant expression of a desire to dominate the region or to rule
over other people except in pursuit of limited, defensive-oriented aims, beyond the borders of
the pre-1948 Palestine Mandate.
Due to the trajectory of Jewish history, there is no word in Hebrew for “patriotism.” Anti-
semitic conspiracy theories notwithstanding, the Jewish nation does not have global ambi-
tions. The maximum goal, and the objective of the more militant nationalists, has been to rule
the full territory of the historic Land of Israel, and even this aim has never received anything
close to consensus support.
Given the powerful tendency of Israelis toward complaint, self-criticism, and endless re-
evaluation of even the most basic assumptions, one might assume that Israeli society is full
of dissatisfaction, pessimism, and low morale. Yet expectations to that effect are shattered by
public opinion polls conducted regularly since the 1990s. These show that a sizable majority of
all Israelis have a positive view of their country and personal circumstances.
In 2007, for example, according to the Israel Central Bureau of Statistics Social Survey, al-
most 85 percent of Israeli adults were happy and almost 54 percent believed their lives would
continue to improve. Equally, 53 percent said they were satisfi ed or very satisfi ed with their
fi nancial situation, and 45 percent said they believed their fi nancial situation would improve.
This annual poll has shown very similar results every year.
Israeli Jews are more satisfi ed but less optimistic than Israeli Arabs, although even the Arabs
have quite positive views: 86 percent of Jews, compared to 79 percent of Arabs, are satisfi ed
with their lives. Even more remarkably, although a high percentage of Jews think their lives
will improve, an even higher percentage — 61 percent — of Arabs have that expectation. Among
Jews, Haredim are the most satisfi ed, with 95 percent expressing satisfaction, compared to
89 percent of those identifying themselves as Datim, 84 percent of those identifying themselves
as “traditional,” and 86 percent of those identifying themselves as “secular or not religious.”
Women and men report similar rates of general satisfaction (86 percent of men compared
to 84 percent of women), but men report slightly higher fi nancial satisfaction levels, with
56 percent of men satisfi ed or very satisfi ed as opposed to 51 percent of women.
A 2006 survey taken by the Institute for Policy and Strategy found that 85 percent of the
population would fi ght to defend Israel, a percentage signifi cantly higher than is found among
