Alone in the face of the rockets: Southern residents feel that the state has abandoned them to Hamas

In the background of security tensions in recent years, more than a third of the citizens living in the Gaza Strip live in danger. A study examining the sense of security and the degree of government assistance shows that the ability to cope with lower stressful conditions in the south than in the north. "The results should worry decision makers"

Alone in the face of the rockets: Southern residents feel that the state has abandoned them to Hamas

(Video: Day at the Resilience Center in Sderot)

66% of Southern residents feel that the State of Israel supports them to a limited extent or very little during the periods between the fighting, according to a new academic study examining the perils of danger and community and national resilience of southern residents following the "Black Belt" operation in the Gaza Strip last November. In addition, close to 60% of the respondents say that the State of Israel is of little help to the southern residents who experienced rocket fire and about 30% of the respondents responded moderately.

According to the researchers, these feelings of state support for southern residents are of great importance in predicting community and national resilience. These and other findings, emerging from the study that will soon be published, demonstrate the feelings of Southern residents who have been exposed for many years to rocket fire and a tense security situation.

The research was conducted by Professor Shaul Kimchi, Dr. Hadas Marciano and Professor John Eshel of the Center for Stress and Resilience at Tel-Hai Academic College, and Dr. Bruria Adini, of the Department of Emergency and Disaster Management at the School of Medicine, Tel Aviv University. The study is based on a collaboration in an ongoing research project, "The Israel Resilience Index" of the Center for Stress and Resilience Research and the Tel Aviv University School of Medicine. The study will be presented in early March 2020 at the 22nd Galilee Research Conference to be held at Tel Hai Academic College.

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The study focused on three issues: community resilience, national resilience, and perceptions of danger. In addition, the study examined the sense of security and the extent of the state's assistance to southern residents. The study is based on questionnaires sent to a sample of 508 residents living in the southern region, within a range of up to 40 km from the Gaza Strip. The data were collected approximately two weeks after the end of the "Black Belt" round. The results of the study were compared to two studies conducted in Israel on resilience: Resilience research in kibbutzim of the Upper Galilee Regional Council , Living near the northern border (this study was conducted in January 2019 at the discovery of the Hezbollah tunnels) and the study of the Israel Resilience Index (National Rule Sample, 2018).

The findings indicate that the average community resilience of southern communities is lower than the community resilience of the upper Galilee communities: 32% report low community resilience, 44% report moderate community resilience, and only 24% report high community resilience. In the northern communities, however: 22% report low community resilience, 50% to a moderate extent and 27% to a high degree.

The findings on national resilience show that 24% of southern residents, compared with 39% of northern residents, report low national resilience, 44% of the south and 41% of the north report moderate national resilience. In addition, 31% in the south and 23% in the north report high-resilience.

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One of the worrying findings from the study relates to the feelings of danger. A significant proportion of southern residents live in a high-and middle-class sense of danger and a lower percentage, but a significant number of northern residents also feel this way: 37% of southern residents say they live in a high-risk sense and 46% in a moderate degree, while in the north, 18% say they live Feeling dangerously high and 49% moderate. The findings of the study indicate that the smaller the person living in a smaller settlement, the less danger he feels. Surprisingly, the study indicates that the more people report greater community resilience, the more danger they report and the higher their national resilience, the less danger they report.

Regarding the sense of security of those who are interrogated in their home (during a war), the study reveals that the more residents feel protected in their home, the higher their national resilience. "The study shows that the greater the sense of security in the home, the stronger the perception of national resilience."

The links between demographic characteristics and resilience show that the more religious the individual and the more right-wing political positions, the more he reports national resilience. In the south, the distance from the border also has an effect, the more the individual lives farther away from the Gaza Strip, the higher his national resilience.

When surveyed, the survey found that 27% of the sample of residents in the South felt that they were protected in their home to a lesser extent, and so did 29% of those in the north. Twenty-four percent claimed they were moderately protected compared to 33% of Northern residents and 48% of the Southern sample and 36% of the Northern sample claimed they were largely protected.

"The results should worry decision makers"

"The study indicates a more significant role of the psychological variables in determining resilience (feelings of danger, sheltered at home, the state's assistance to southern residents during and between) and demographic variables. This finding is of practical importance: unlike demographic variables, some of which are not. Changeable, various steps can be taken to change the psychological variables. Many efforts have been invested in recent years to provide assistance to the victims of anxiety and to increase the resilience of Gaza residents. "

The researchers explained that "as part of this effort, resilience centers have been established in several areas in the region designed to assist residents in both routine and times of security instability. In spite of the very important activity of resilience centers, they do not suffice to significantly increase community and national sense of resilience. Without addressing and strengthening feelings that are protected in the home and reducing the feelings of danger for all residents. "

"The finding that community resilience in the southern sample is significantly higher than the national sample indicates, in our opinion, the investment of many different institutions in improving preparedness for emergencies in the southern region. The rest, this result can be linked to the feeling of southern residents not receiving sufficient help from the state. These results should worry decision-makers, assuming the security problems in the southern region are not going to go away any time soon. "

High national resilience in the South relative to the national sample. Residents in the south run to shelters (Photo: Reuters)

People run to shelter in Ashkelon, November 13, 2019 (Photo: Reuters)

Community resilience refers to the ability of the community to cope with stressful situations. Accordingly, a community with good resilience in stressful situations will have a better recovery capability than a low resilience community. The components of community resilience include five key factors: community leadership, collective efficiency, level of emergency preparedness, connection and affinity for the place of residence, and the nature of social trust. National resilience refers to the resilience of a broad society or state, after experiencing an urgent event. The National Resilience Index is based on four main social components: patriotism, optimism, social integration and trust in political and public institutions.

National resilience is a broad concept and includes elements such as the company's sustainability and durability in diverse areas. The National Resilience Index is based on four main social components: patriotism, optimism, social integration and trust in political and public institutions. High national resilience is essential for a society that constantly faces threats and dangers from the inside and outside.

Feelings of danger relate to the extent to which the individual perceives him or herself as well as his family as data at risk. Many studies indicate that a low sense of danger and few worries have been found to be positively associated with post-traumatic resilience and ability, and negatively associated with stress symptoms. Among the questions in the study: "How do you feel that your life is in danger?" "How worried are you that a war will break out on the northern front in the coming year? And more.