The call came a little after 3 AM Wednesday, September 12th, about 12 hours after terror attacks were launched against the United States. ?I apologize for waking you?, said the caller, ??but we need you on stand-by for our mission to the United States.?
On the line was an officer from the Homefront Command of the IDF, preparing to dispatch a squad of rescue specialists to the United States. My role, as a psychological trauma expert, was to help rescue teams understand the special function terror plays in survivor recovery. After providing me with details on when our Air Force plane would leave, the officer again apologized for waking me.
?No need to apologize?, I said. ?I?ve been up all night watching what?s been going on.?
The United States ultimately declined the Israeli offer of assistance and the mission was scrapped. As I, along with many born-and-bred New Yorkers, anxiously watched the unfolding events, we began to sense and feel a palpable ?Uh-oh?. You see, we?ve been through this for a while and we know what?s next.
Much has been written about how Israelis cope with a reality that includes being constantly aware that tragedy might literally be waiting around the corner. Although coping strategies differ, one common thread felt here is that whatever happens, our fate is inextricably tied to the fiber of Jewish history.
How will New Yorkers cope as the initial stage of shock and disbelief passes? Unlike most Israelis, New Yorkers did not realize that they had been at war. Also, unlike Israelis, New Yorkers had a ?normal? life till that terrible Tuesday morning. Whereas Israelis have had a diet that included scuds, intifadas, bus bombs, ambushes and kamikazes over the years, New Yorkers had little time to digest the new reality that was thrust upon them.
Most importantly, what do New Yorkers think they are being killed for?
Undeniably, one of the basic rights of an American is the right of freedom. Freedom to think, to choose, to express oneself and the freedom to go about one?s daily life as one desires. Israelis too are entitled to enjoy freedom, and in many respects we do, but one freedom we have never really experienced is freedom from war. We see it every day and every family is affected. We raise our children, plan for their future and then hold our breaths for 3 years as they enter an army that forces them to age overnight. We are addicted to the news and the inevitable tragedies that are reported daily. We try to plan our lives but know that an order for reserve duty may be in the next mail call. Everywhere we go, we are reminded of war. In the mall, the supermarket, the airport or the bus, we are constantly reminded that, at any given moment, someone is trying to kill us. We have learned to live in a way that Americans, till now, could not begin to understand.
American visitors often comment on the somewhat fatalistic, laissez-faire attitude Israelis have when dealing with reality. Tourists experience a stark contrast between the freedom of movement they have at home and the constant vigilance felt as ordinary pedestrians here. This contrast is all too familiar to Israeli tourists in the U.S., as it was for my wife and I during a recent visit. What struck us was the absolute freedom people had walking into stores, shopping centers and restaurants. When my wife reflexively showed her opened pocketbook to a security guard after walking into a store in New York, the guard gave a somewhat quizzical glance and walked away.
How suddenly and unexpectedly this has all changed. New Yorkers certainly now know fear and uncertainty, but still don?t realize what?s next. If the war that President Bush says started on September 11th indeed continues, expect your personalities to take on the veneer that many of us in Israel have adopted. Israelis know what happens to a people under threat. We also know what we are fighting for and why we are being targeted. While it doesn?t diminish the anxiety, it does give us a purpose and helps us cope with our fate. We are Jews and our destiny is to continue fighting for what is important to us, here in Israel. When terror becomes a reality, those threatened ultimately need to find a reason for continuing to live under that threat.
New Yorkers will now have to find that reason.
For Israelis, our Jewish identity provides the answer.
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Dr. Irwin J. (Yitzchak) Mansdorf is the Coordinator of the Israel Citizens? Information Council (ICIC) for Natan Sharansky?s Yisrael B?Aliya party. The article originally appeared in the New York Jewish Week.
On the line was an officer from the Homefront Command of the IDF, preparing to dispatch a squad of rescue specialists to the United States. My role, as a psychological trauma expert, was to help rescue teams understand the special function terror plays in survivor recovery. After providing me with details on when our Air Force plane would leave, the officer again apologized for waking me.
?No need to apologize?, I said. ?I?ve been up all night watching what?s been going on.?
The United States ultimately declined the Israeli offer of assistance and the mission was scrapped. As I, along with many born-and-bred New Yorkers, anxiously watched the unfolding events, we began to sense and feel a palpable ?Uh-oh?. You see, we?ve been through this for a while and we know what?s next.
Much has been written about how Israelis cope with a reality that includes being constantly aware that tragedy might literally be waiting around the corner. Although coping strategies differ, one common thread felt here is that whatever happens, our fate is inextricably tied to the fiber of Jewish history.
How will New Yorkers cope as the initial stage of shock and disbelief passes? Unlike most Israelis, New Yorkers did not realize that they had been at war. Also, unlike Israelis, New Yorkers had a ?normal? life till that terrible Tuesday morning. Whereas Israelis have had a diet that included scuds, intifadas, bus bombs, ambushes and kamikazes over the years, New Yorkers had little time to digest the new reality that was thrust upon them.
Most importantly, what do New Yorkers think they are being killed for?
Undeniably, one of the basic rights of an American is the right of freedom. Freedom to think, to choose, to express oneself and the freedom to go about one?s daily life as one desires. Israelis too are entitled to enjoy freedom, and in many respects we do, but one freedom we have never really experienced is freedom from war. We see it every day and every family is affected. We raise our children, plan for their future and then hold our breaths for 3 years as they enter an army that forces them to age overnight. We are addicted to the news and the inevitable tragedies that are reported daily. We try to plan our lives but know that an order for reserve duty may be in the next mail call. Everywhere we go, we are reminded of war. In the mall, the supermarket, the airport or the bus, we are constantly reminded that, at any given moment, someone is trying to kill us. We have learned to live in a way that Americans, till now, could not begin to understand.
American visitors often comment on the somewhat fatalistic, laissez-faire attitude Israelis have when dealing with reality. Tourists experience a stark contrast between the freedom of movement they have at home and the constant vigilance felt as ordinary pedestrians here. This contrast is all too familiar to Israeli tourists in the U.S., as it was for my wife and I during a recent visit. What struck us was the absolute freedom people had walking into stores, shopping centers and restaurants. When my wife reflexively showed her opened pocketbook to a security guard after walking into a store in New York, the guard gave a somewhat quizzical glance and walked away.
How suddenly and unexpectedly this has all changed. New Yorkers certainly now know fear and uncertainty, but still don?t realize what?s next. If the war that President Bush says started on September 11th indeed continues, expect your personalities to take on the veneer that many of us in Israel have adopted. Israelis know what happens to a people under threat. We also know what we are fighting for and why we are being targeted. While it doesn?t diminish the anxiety, it does give us a purpose and helps us cope with our fate. We are Jews and our destiny is to continue fighting for what is important to us, here in Israel. When terror becomes a reality, those threatened ultimately need to find a reason for continuing to live under that threat.
New Yorkers will now have to find that reason.
For Israelis, our Jewish identity provides the answer.
--------------
Dr. Irwin J. (Yitzchak) Mansdorf is the Coordinator of the Israel Citizens? Information Council (ICIC) for Natan Sharansky?s Yisrael B?Aliya party. The article originally appeared in the New York Jewish Week.