Is it safe?

It would not be an understatement to say that Israel is a country absolutely obsessed with security. I'm not judging whether that should or should not be, but it is a fact. It pervades everything here: from car and house alarms to houses built like fortresses, internal and foreign policy, strategy and tactics, the army, public policy toward weapons, the massive wall separating Israel from its occupied territories (which I'll treat to a separate blog soon), where and what building is allowed to be constructed, the manner in which roads are routed and excavated—just everything. Almost all policy, whether Israeli or from the Palestinian Authority, is rooted or expressed as a subset of public security.

I don't feel threatened here at all. In fact, I would not think twice in walking through almost any Arab or Jewish neighborhood (except one of the Orthodox on a Saturday, where I would grievously offend and might suffer consequences). I had more qualms yesterday when getting into an elevator alone with a fully-equipped young woman soldier. It didn't seem to bother her, but then, she had the gun. I just smiled "hello" and kept my hands in sight.

You can find this security mind-set in the way houses are built. Windows are double or triple secure, often with a glass pane, a metal shutter and heavy steel bars. Doors are reinforced steel with multiple, high-tensile-steel bolts, have enormous locks that could defy a nuclear attack, and are also often doubled with a welded steel outer door. The irony is that the precautions would not keep anyone from gaining entry if suitably equipped or passably motivated, like the police or a determined burglar. Every design I've seen so far has weak points that makes much of this shielding ineffective; you could get in with a simple battery-powered reciprocating metal saw in less than a minute or two.

Thus, I think most of this precaution is just to make you feel good, which is not bad in itself, if you get my drift. Like governments faced with threats, you want to do what you can, even if it's not as effective as you would like it to be. Even though the Jewish poor (or less rich) are heavily subsidized, Israel is a country with a lot of haves and have-nots. Think Gaza, here. And as for tension among the populace: Yikes! Yet, I have heard very little about burglary and theft other than normal criminal background noise. This speaks particularly well about the Arabs' moral compass. I have done some very stupid things in my life in some very dangerous places, but being in Jerusalem is not one of them.

I can't let this finish without a least one complaint about the damn alarms going off all the time here. People seem to think that you have to set the car or house alarm off periodically just to make sure it works. Believe me, it will work when needed. Time Magazine recently listed the multi-toned car alarm as one of the top-ten annoying sounds known to man. They are spot on. The thing is: everyone ignores the alarms anyway, so why have the accursed noise-makers.

Oh, I forgot, it makes you feel like you're protected. Point made.