I cannot recall a more deceiving reality in Israel. On the face of it, life goes on as usual. Yet it takes place in the shadow of war that dictates to Israelis a different way of life — one that is tense and fraught with dangers. The war in Gaza is about to enter its fourth week, extending beyond the limited time Israelis allot to wars. They have gotten used to short wars. Their two biggest wars — the 1967 Six-Day War and the 1973 Yom Kippur War — during which Israel was pitted against the entire Arab world, took less time.
Although this is a limited war between Israel and Hamas in the Gaza Strip, it has cornered Israel into a situation of stress, which is playing tricks on many Israelis who sway between normality and anti-normality. Take last weekend as an example: July 25 kicked off with sirens that paralyzed most of Israel’s cities. The streets emptied and many businesses closed their doors before the start of the Sabbath. During the evening hours, negotiations about a cease-fire between the two sides were held, culminating in a one-day humanitarian lull. The following Saturday morning, many Israelis ventured out of their homes to make the best of the hoped-for respite.