Routine Emergency: The Meaning of Life for Israelis Living Along the Gaza Border

This book explores the meaning of life for Israelis from communities bordering the Gaza Strip, whose lives are bound to the intractable conflict between Israel and the Hamas regime. Based on a psychosocial qualitative study of narrative interviews, photographs, YouTube videos, and Facebook posts created by residents, the book presents the life stories of ordinary people, their perspectives of patriotism and Zionism, and their perceptions of the Gazan Palestinians. Routine Emergency captures these perspectives through analyses of residents’ interviews and photographs, the social media materials and poems fashioned from interviewees’ words. The results challenge simplistic notions of what it means to live in this warzone, offering a multi-layered analysis of life in this region, which alternates between being Heaven and Hell. Written in a reader-friendly format, Routine Emergency, offers new theoretical insights into societal beliefs connected to living in an intractable warzone on the personal, family, community and national levels.

Table of Contents:
Part 1: Introduction to the Study, History of the Region and Methodology.- Chapter 1. Otef Aza, the Israeli-Arab/PalestinianConflict and the War Relations with the Hamas Regime in the Gaza Strip.- Chapter 2. Methodology.- Part 2: Psycho-social Aspects of Living with the War and the Meaning of this Life for Otef Aza Residents.- Chapter 3.Psycho-social Aspects of Living with the War.- Chapter 4. Routine Emergency, Emergency Routine and War.- Chapter 5. I Am My Others’ Keeper: Mutual Concern, Belonging, Volunteerism and Creation in the Otef.- Chapter 6. The State of the Western Negev versus the State of Israel.- Chapter 7. Life in the Otef – It’s Complicated, Conflictual, Paradoxical.- Part 3: Patriotism, Zionism, and Interviewees’ Perceptions of Self and Gazan Other.- Chapter 8. Patriotism and Zionism: A Review of the Literature.- Chapter 9. Otef Aza Residents’ Understandings of Patriotism and Zionism.- Chapter 10. Otef Aza Residents Talk about the Gazans.- Part 4: Summary and Conclusions – Implications for Living with Intractable Conflicts and Thoughts about the Future.- Chapter 11. Summary, Discussion, and Conclusions.- Epilogue.

About the Author :
Julia Chaitin has a PhD in social psychology from Ben-Gurion University of the Negev and is an Emerita from the School of Social Work at the Sapir College. Julia completed three post-doctorates in the field of conflict resolution and peace building; one with The Peace Research Institute in the Middle East, one with the University of Missouri-St. Louis and one on the long-term, intergenerational effects of the Holocaust at the School of Social Work at Tel-Aviv University. For years, she has worked to bring together Palestinians and Israelis, as well as Jewish-Israelis, who hold opposing political orientations, for peace-building efforts. Sharon Steinberg holds a PhD in Epidemiology and Applied Biostatistics from Ben-Gurion University of the Negev. She is a Senior Lecturer at the Kaye College of Education, which has a diverse population of Jewish and Arab students from the Negev. Sharon teaches both quantitative and qualitative research courses, focusing on thetopics of narratives, inclusive classrooms, as well as a research seminar on poverty-aware education. Shoshana Steinberg, PhD, is a senior lecturer (Emerita) in psychology from the Kaye Academic College of Education in Beer-Sheva. Her topics of interest are the theoretical and practical aspects of inter-group relations, dialogue, conflict resolution, peace building and peace education. Shoshana teaches in the Conflict Management program at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, and her courses focus on Narrative and Conflict and Peace Building. Elad Avlagon has a BSW from Sapir College. As a social worker, he has experience working with old people and people living in poverty and social exclusion. Over the years, he has gained expertise in narrative interviewing and analysis. Elad interviewed most of the participants for the research in this book.