Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
WAR'S EFFECT ON SOCIETY
The premise of the terrorist campaigns against Israel is that constant threats and warfare will
eventually break down the confi dence of Israeli society and even its ability to function. These
predictions have proven wrong. As PLO leader Yasir Arafat explained in 1968, violence should
be focused on Israeli citizens and facilities “to create and maintain an atmosphere of strain and
anxiety that will force the Zionists to realize that it is impossible for them to live in Israel.” Two
years later he added, “The Israelis have one great fear, the fear of casualties.”
Arafat also predicted that attacks on civilians would “prevent immigration and encourage
emigration, destroy tourism, prevent immigrants from becoming attached to the land, weaken
the Israeli economy and divert the greater part of it to security requirements.” By achieving
these objectives, the PLO would “inevitably” lead to Israel's disintegration. “A quick blow by
the regular [Arab] armies at the right moment,” Arafat said, would then fi nish Israel off.
Yet Israeli society worked despite threats and tensions, although there was certainly trauma.
Israel's wars and the widespread participation of Israelis in the military mean that there are
many military casualties, and these losses have affected everyone in society. It is said that every
Israeli knows someone who has fallen in military service. Such losses take a toll in a country
whose citizens are used to facing security threats and death.
In general, Israelis deal with events by moving on, although the need for psychologi-
cal help and counseling has become increasingly recognized in recent years. The fallen are
commemorated, and dead soldiers are elevated to mythical status in the Israeli narrative. The
poet Natan Alterman immortalized those who died in the War of Independence as the “silver
platter” upon which the state was served.
On the annual Remembrance Day (Yom Ha-Zikron), held the day before Independence
A memorial outside the Frank Sinatra International Student Center at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem,
August 7, 2002, following a terrorist attack there in which seven people were killed. (Getty Images / Image
Bank.)
