Effects of Terrorism on Israeli Society
Since its founding in 1948, Israeli society has been suffering from the multiple effects of terrorism. Unfortunately terrorism remains the number one problem of Israeli society. Although the Israelis have put measures in place to fight against terrorism they have not eliminated civilian deaths. Death is not the only problem associated with terrorism, though it is one of the main concerns. The Israeli economy and Israel 's relations in the international community are also affected by its war on terrorism. Terrorism is a conscious formation of fear to bring about change. All terrorist acts involve violence or the threat of violence. Terrorism is commonly used to undermine confidence of the government and leadership of the targeted country and its people. The word "terrorist" originated in France during the French Revolution, which lasted from 1789 until 1799 (Hoffman 1). Terrorism is usually associated with acts against governments or political groups. Israel and France are not the ! only countries that suffer the acts and effects of terrorism. The United States of America was recently struck at its heart, shaking our feelings of safety. The US is now making strides to defeat terrorism along with its allies and other members of the United Nations (UN). Terrorist organizations attack civilians because they cannot overcome the Israeli Defense Forces (Tucker 1). Israel was founded on May 14, 1948 and has faced terrorist enemies such as from groups such as Hamas, Palestine Islamic Jihad and the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine. According to the Jewish Virtual Library, Hamas started out as a social welfare organization although it has developed into a group with its goals set high at destroying Israel and promoting Palestine ("Potential Threats" 1). According to the BBC News, Hamas recently formed the Palestinian government in March of 2006 (Patience 1). The Library also defined the Palestine Islamic Jihad (PIJ) as a group of Palestinian fundamentalists
Cited: "About AIPAC" AIPAC. Online. (22 March 2007)
Blumberg, Arnold
(20 Dec. 2006)
Geiger, Greg "A New Playground for Terrorists" Institute for Counter- Terrorism
(10 Dec. 2006)
Hoffman, Bruce
"Incitement, Anti-Semitism and Hatred of Israel in Palestinian School Textbooks
(November 2001)" Jewish Virtual Library
"Potential Threats To Israel: Palestinian Terrorist Groups" Jewish Virtual Library (12
March 2007)
Reich, Bernard. "Israel (country)" Microsoft Encarta. Online. (12 March 2007)
Tucker, Jonathan B