Border Patriotism

Visiting the Lebanon border on Friday brought up an important question that Israeli society faces everyday: to what extent do you allow terrorism to affect you? In particular, those living in towns that border other countries and territories are faced with the decision to uproot their lives for living in peace or to live their lives where they want to live with the fear of rockets coming in occasionally. If I were in this situation, I would continue to live in my town because I would allow no terrorist group or national army to deter me from my freedom to reside in any community. For every inch one moves because of enemy violence, the enemy comes an inch closer to winning.

Perhaps it’s best to look at Sderot to really understand the implications of living in a border town. When we went to visit this town a little more than a week ago, I left with a heavy heart filled with Israeli patriotism. This town is constantly the target of rockets from Gaza and the only thing that protects the people from an incoming rocket are shelters and a warning siren that gives people 15 seconds to take cover. The IDF liaison with the Sderot Police Department explained that mothers have to choose sometimes whether to take one son versus the other into the shelter because there is not enough time to get both children into the shelter. Furthermore, children are constantly reminded of the threat of rockets because their schools are shelters and their playgrounds house several small concrete shelters reinforced with steel in case the children cannot make it back into the school in a timely fashion. So why in the world would someone want to raise a family in such a place? As I have already explained, I believe it is a stance against the enemy. Israelis have a hard life, they have to work two or three jobs to make ends meet sometimes, food prices are outrageous, and almost all children go off to the IDF after high school.  Given all of this, I do not think it is unreasonable to think that people willing live in environments where a rocket could land in their neighborhood at any time. I believe that all of the hardships Israelis face makes them a stronger nation in terms of patriotism, and I think those living near  the borders have somewhat more patriotism and  adrenaline in times of war then those in safer areas that rarely see rockets or hear an air siren.

One personal example of this is my friend who I stayed with this past weekend. When he was young, tensions between Syria and Israel were high. In fact, he spent an entire summer playing video games with the other children in the neighborhood in a room right next to a bomb shelter. Anytime they heard a rocket coming, they would run into the shelter with a pager to alert other people that they were okay and that others should take shelter. Currently he is finishing up his third year in the Golani Brigade, and I am sure that his childhood experiences helped him become a great fighter in the best (or second best according to the Paratroopers) brigade in the IDF. After meeting and talking with his family and friends, I am 100% sure that they would die trying to defend their community before they ever left it because of enemy violence. Although some may contend that all Israelis would defend their local communities, I believe that those living in border areas are more willing to die for their communities then those living in relatively safer areas, such as Tel-Aviv, because they grow up with the enemy violence and  thus it is ingrained in them from a young age that you never settle for anything, especially limitations on your freedom, in times of war.