Israel is a wonderful country but the apathy indeed is striking. People have become used to comfortability here to some extent that they want to blind themselves from reality. The real questions are tough, so the Israeli chooses to shut his eyes, ears. (The mouth won't, this is quite impossible. :)) It seems like social change and progress here is dangerously slow. People just don't CARE. Start caring, Israel, because at some point it might be too late.

in many countries among many people.

In my expeirience, an average israeli talks to his nieghbours, an average israeli runs to catch some one elses child if he is about to fall off a swing, and average israeli is upset by stories of in humanity, an average israeli is aware of the in equalities in his society and the average israeli does a good deed more than every now again. admitedly I live in a small city and I dont have the sophistication of those living in Tel Aviv, but in the complex enviroment we live in I am immpressed by the level of humanity we have in our country, the openess to give, and most importantly the wish to make things better. It is all to easy to see the half empty cup..... it maybe that if you really want to see a change stop moaning and start giving postive feed back about the positive sides of our society, the nature of humanity is to try and feel good so try and lead poeple in in the that direction , running behind them with a rod or shaking them tends just to make them scared and apathetic.

I'm not so sure it's apathy...I think it's more like battle fatigue.

we all have good intentions but don't do anything with them..so true and so sad, hoping this is a wake-up call for my beloved Israel...

The apathy of Israelis is not limited to Israel. Look at Jews in the Diaspora. Remember the Jews in Europe. Remember the "Don' upset the Goyim! If we are quiet they will leave us alone". Remember the Jews in Germany who proclaimed they were "Germans" and nothing will happen to them! Hitler didn't quite see it that way. So it is no surprise that country made up of a people so "tuned" in to apathy that we are apathetic. Of course, the apathy ends the moment our country is in danger or attacked. The apathy turns into the will to fight and to destroy those who want to destroy us. That is how Israel has survived for 63 years and will survive any onslaught. We all know to lose is not an option and we have to defend ourselves even when our "friends" are displeased. Nothing ever changes. The world maintains its OK for Arabs to kill but Israel may not even defend itself when our survival is in jeopardy! Ben Gurion said "Uuumm Shooom"! Today we say we are less polite!

There ain''t such a thing as an average Israeli, nor an average person of any kind. All of us have sufficient nature and personality so as to differ from the "average" (what ever that might be) to a significant degree and to be individual. The writer is close to bigotry in his unfavorable interpretation. We have many movements aimed at specific political, ethical and human ideals so as to be unaverage more than all being similar or the same!

Very primitive and narrow-minded

is that supposed to be an ironic comment, highlighting the prevalent general apathy and quick to excuse oneself with a "everybody's doing it, so why shouldn't we?" attitude or do you truly have no grasp of what the article was saying?

Its very simple. The entire world see's israel as the aggressor and the occupier of palestinian land, in clear violation of international law. End the occupation so both sides can benefit.

Who says? Vague, unsupported tripe. There are no average Israelis, anyway. And much of what is said could apply to almost every nation on earth. This seems like space-filler. When you haven't got anything to say, ten find something witty or odd or playful or curious to amuse us with. Endless absolutist Op-Ed writings with heavy judgements that make it sound that we Israelis are somehow always worse than others. This op-ed could have easily been in a British or Danish or American or Russian newspaper. Probably was. YAWN pi shtayim.

Apathy is not limited to Israel. Due to the turbulent times we live in, we universally tend to be more focused on our survival than the politics we are surrounded with. Most of us couldn't care less what happens on the other side of the continent as long as we are still living comfortably in our swanky apartments with our cushy jobs.People grow more indifferent about what transpires around the world as long as it doesn't affect them.Humans are naturally programed to be selfish and self centered. Those traits can simultaneously work in our favor and work against us. We feel that it doesn't matter what happens because it doesn't make a difference what we do.It may be due to the fact that we feel powerless and unable to alter the circumstances so why bother?Or we would rather be left alone and live our lives the way we want to. I don't agree its the right attitude to have but the lack of bona-fide leadership sort of attributes to our apathy. When we read about enemy countries threatening to attack us at all fronts while our "leaders" are on vacation or if our economy is on a verge of bankruptcy while the treasury department is splurging our tax money for their own purposes, what kind of example is that suppose to set for us?The morale is so low that sometimes we question the leadership of the country we live in. If our leaders won't give a damn, then why should we?Who is governing our country exactly? How is a country suppose to function and run its course without a solid virile leadership?

You don't speak for "the world" but I'll accept that YOU believe what you say. Israel has an ancient history in the West Bank, as do Palestinians. Jewish history in that place is much much older, but both are important histories nonetheless. Israel has offered the Palestinians a state 6 separate times, did you know that? Perhaps one day the Palestinian leadership will actually accept. Unless by "occupation" you mean all of Israel, "river to the sea." In that case, you'll have to either learn to compromise, or learn to live with disappointment,.

One need only consider the untold thousands of Israelis involved in hundreds of volunteer projects across the country. Or coalitions like IsraAid that do such work across the world. Or the IDF which provides planes on standby to deliver aid wherever it's needed. Whatever her work with Strive Israel, it's just one of many such initiatives. Such claims as presented by the author are merely impressionistic. Where's the evidence for her claims, or the comparisons with other countries or cultures? I suspect if the author did a comparative study, Israel would score rather high. But that would involve work, and sanctimony is so much easier.

#11. It's pretty hard to end an "occupation" when one is occupying land which one legally owns. Judea and Samaria legally belong to Israel. This fact has been proven by countless international law experts. See, for instance, "The Myth of Israel's Illegal Settlements' by Prof. David M. Phillips, Northeastern University School of Law.

The Philistines and Canaanites lived on the land between the river and the sea for centuries before Abraham (the so-called Father of the Jewish people) was even born. Oh, and Abraham was born 600 miles to the east of Palestine in a city called Ur (in southern Iraq). Please check your information before speaking.

The modern Palestinian identity became a nationality in the 1960s, but many Palestinians recognize cultural roots going back to about 700 AD, shortly after the Prophet Mohammad introduced Islam to the world. By that time Christians had been living in the West Bank (then called "Judea and Samaria) for about 6 centuries, in places like Bethlehem and Jericho. And by that time, the Great Temple and its Western Wall (which still stands today) had been a center of Judaism for over 1000 years. Palestinian ancestry, like all human ancestry, goes back to the beginning of time. But if you are claiming a cultural identity from periods of time BEFORE the origins of Islam then you are simply claiming that your ancestors are Jewish. And ironically, that is probably at least partly true. You have a beautiful history. Learn it.

Actually, the Philistines and the ancient Israelis arrived in the region at not too far apart from different directions, so it is a stretch to claim Philistine history in the region long predates the Israelites. But more importantly, genetic evidence shows no linkage between the Palestinians and the Canaanites. The Canaanite culture and people are no longer in history, and so of all the peoples living today, Jews actually have the most ancient claim to the land. This is not to say that only Jews should live there, but just that it is dubious to claim the Palestinians have a more ancient right. In fact, Israeli Jews and Palestinians are genetically more similar to each other than to anyone else.

If you are a "christian", then tell the truth. Please quote the International Law you claim says Israel is occupying "palestinian land". I would love to hear it as, just like the state of Palestine, it doesn't actually exist.

"People just dont care" not quite so. People do care, they simply dont know how to bring about change. The majority of Israelis know exactly whats going on here. Due to all the red tape, not many know how to make their voices heard. Not many know how to make their complaints heard. Israelis need to learn how to unite for the good of this country, to make our leaders hear our grievensess. There is nothing wrong with complaining, as long as we do it in an orderly fashion. Talking is easy, putting our words into peacefull actions is 100 times more difficult.