During the 2006 war between Israel and Hezbollah I was living on a kibbutz in the North of Israel. I was part of an archaeological excavation and was recently evacuated from Haifa when the rocketing began on July 13th. I was in a small van carrying 14 people and an announcement came on the radio: Call ***** in case of an emergency. The Army will make every effort to come to your location. As I was listening I looked out the window and there was a convoy of helicopters flying north. I felt pride for Israel like I have never felt pride for the US. War is very removed from the lives of citizens in the US, we send our people overseas and feel a little tug when we see pictures of dead soldiers in the newspaper. In Israel it's in everyone's life, almost like an addiction.