Life Goes On

By Merav Kaplan
University of California, San Diego

I have been observing the reactions of individuals to the events of September 11.

Some people fear the repercussions of living in a country which might not be as powerful as they had thought. Others feel an anger and a frustration towards the individuals who found the need to attack the symbols of our country.

I must admit that I can understand, as this is not something new for me. I was born in Israel, a place where the events of September 11 seem to happen on a semi-regular basis. That does not downplay the tragedy or magnitude of the event here. However this is not the only place where things like this happen.

I was raised on a Moshav in the Negev, the southern desert of Israel, only a few miles from the Gaza strip and seven kilometers from the Egyptian border. My childhood was wonderful -- we lived in a communal type neighborhood where everyone grew agricultural products, and my backyard included hothouses in which grew babies-breath and tomatoes. I went to school with other kids who lived in the area and spent hot summer days at the community pool.

There were things which differentiated my childhood from most of those around me today. Across the street from my house was a bomb shelter. Unlike the shelters which are relics of the cold war, this bomb shelter is most likely still functioning and ready to be used in case of an emergency.

When most schools around the world were having fire drills (and in California, earthquake drills), I remember having bomb shelter drills. The sirens would sound and my classmates and I would line up and walk to the shelter. We would walk down the stairs and we would sit there for a little while until told to return to class.

I do not recall fearing for my life. The only way I can explain life in Israel is by saying that it is a life of heightened awareness, but not of looking over your shoulder and suspecting anyone who looks at you funny. There are things that become second nature to you when you live there.

Whenever I return to visit, I return to that heightened sense of awareness. I pay closer attention to my surroundings and to what goes on in them. It is a known fact that if one leaves an item unattended in a public place, it will most likely not be there within the hour, not because it was stolen, but rather, because it was disposed of by the police or bomb squad. There is even a name for such an item, it is called a "hafetz hashood" (suspicious object).

I know of people who have left luggage or backpacks on benches in the airport only to return to them in less then 20  minutes and find that the bags have been blown up by the police, to ensure that they are not bombs. Another aspect that leads to this heightened awareness is the fact that everyone over the age of 18 serves in the army. There are a few exceptions, but in most cases, men serve for three years and women for two. Men, once they have finished service, are in the reserves until their fifties. This translates to an entire country of people who have served in the armed forces to some degree or another.

Those serving at the time are not permitted to leave their weapon anywhere unattended. So as you sit for lunch at a café on the beach, you learn to find a level of comfort in the fact that these people have been trained to use these weapons and will be able to protect you if it is necessary.

Another misconception about life in Israel is that all Israelis do is walk around persecuting Arabs and Muslims. I had neighbors, with whom my parents are still friendly and the husband is an Iraqi Jew and the wife an American Jew. Though the husband is an Arab he is Jewish and he is an Israeli citizen. I went to school with children from all over the Middle East whose families moved to Israel for various reasons. My mother served in the army with Arabs, both Jewish and non-Jewish. There is a certain level of peaceful coexistence between the groups.

Life goes on.

When you are raised in a place where people going into pizza parlors and public places and blowing themselves up is a normal occurrence, you adjust and live your life accordingly. If we were to stop whenever something like that happened, Israel would no longer exist. Life goes on there and so too can life go on here.