The Iranian missiles are not the only test facing Israel these days. Wars do not examine only air defense systems and military capabilities; they also test the boundaries of citizenship.
In times of emergency, the power of the military expands – and, at times, the space of civic belonging contracts. Gradually, a different discourse seeps in: one that casts doubt, demands proof, and implies that some citizens must justify their place more than others. For Arab citizens of Israel, this feeling is not theoretical.
When missiles are fired at civilian populations, a sovereign state has a duty to defend its citizens. Military action aimed at removing such a threat is not an ideological position but a fundamental responsibility. Yet defending the country from external danger does not absolve us of the responsibility to safeguard democracy from within.
The question is not only how Israel responds to Iran. The question is how we respond to one another.
As someone who lives and works within Israel’s Arab society, I see two parallel processes unfolding: genuine anxiety over escalation, and clear civic responsibility. Local leaders are calling for restraint and rejecting incitement.
Municipalities are organizing protected spaces. Civic initiatives are providing information and services to their communities. This is not alienation; it is an expression of shared fate.
Line blured between threat and identity
And yet, alongside this responsibility, another discourse is gaining ground – one that blurs the line between external threat and internal identity. A discourse suggesting that in times of war, certain citizens must prove their loyalty.
Some are quick to use moments of security tension to sharpen civic divisions – not in the name of sober security analysis, but for short-term political gain.
Turning an entire community into a suspect is not a security strategy. It is a strategy of polarization.
A missile does not distinguish between a Jewish town and an Arab one. The past days have made that painfully clear.
Missiles showed no mercy – not in Beit Shemesh and not in East Jerusalem. The security interest is shared. When Arab citizens find themselves repeatedly required to declare their belonging to be regarded as legitimate participants in the public sphere, the principle of equal citizenship erodes – and with it, security itself.
Security is not only about interception systems and high-quality intelligence. Security is also civic stability. It is the assurance that the state protects its citizens without casting inherent suspicion on some of them.
As a mother, I know that children sitting in shelters – Arab and Jewish alike – are not asking who must prove their loyalty. They want to return to a safe routine. As a society, we must ask whether we can provide them not only with physical protection, but also with a civic space that is not conditioned on identity.
The current confrontation presents a double test: Israel’s ability to confront an external threat, and its ability to uphold its democratic principles even in wartime.
The writer is an emotional therapist, founder of the Popular Forum to Combat Crime in Arab Society, and an activist in the movements We Have No Other Land, Women Wage Peace, and Ogen La’Atid.