For many years, Israel has shown itself to be an island of stability in the Middle East.
A free life was possible, the economy flourished, the population enjoyed almost the standard of living in Western Europe - at least if you earned enough money and were able to ignore the lives of others, which were often only a few kilometers away.
Now this picture is being painted over by reality.
For days, Hamas has been bombarding Israeli cities that are within range of their rockets with unprecedented intensity. Inside the country, no less dangerous, Jewish and Arab Israelis attack each other. Even in the Tel Aviv district of Jaffa, right behind the trendy cafés and luxury apartments, incendiary devices were thrown into the apartment of an Arab family, a Jewish soldier was beaten up on the street, and vehicles were set on fire.
For years promoted by politicians who declare Arabs enemies of the state, who approve of repression and harassment, but also by Arab nationalists and Islamists, the seeds of hatred have sprung up.
Its deeper cause lies in the lack of a political solution to a conflict that has smoldered since the state was founded and has not been negotiated for ten years.
Afraid of Hamas
Hamas' rocket terror fueled this hatred. The Islamists want a civil war to break out in Israel. The counter-attacks and the civilian casualties that accompany them make Hamas a victim in the minds of many Palestinians. In doing so, Hamas has usurped the pursuit of self-determination and Palestinian identity and is posing as the head of the struggle for the Al-Aqsa mosque in Jerusalem, the national symbol of all Palestinians.
There and in many parts of the country Jews and Arabs live close together. In East Jerusalem, in the West Bank and in core Israel, however, Palestinians each have different rights, but nowhere do those of the Jewish population. And although more Palestinians are integrating in Israel, graduating from universities and being politically active, it is now also becoming apparent that the sense of belonging among the Arabs living in Israel to the group of Palestinians does not simply disappear.
In occupied East Jerusalem, Israel has always banned the Palestinian Authority from operating.
That was enough for him to justify canceling the long overdue parliamentary election.
In the background, however, was Fatah's fear of rival Hamas and the impending loss of importance.
Especially among the younger Palestinians, who have long since formed the majority, the Palestinian Authority stands for corruption and a long-failed policy that is still based on the 1995 Oslo Peace Agreement.
At that time a partial spatial separation of the two peoples was agreed, but a separate state never came about.
The general uproar now also stands for the failure of the separation logic.
Incidentally, Hamas always fought the Oslo Agreement.
Great resentment among Israelis
It has also become clear that the normalization treaties with the Gulf States have not calmed the Middle East conflict. In a way, they have rather helped to leave Israel and the Palestinians to fend for themselves. The weakness of the backing of the Palestinians in the Arab world can also be seen in the fact that the autonomy authority in the West Bank publicly complains that it has not even received calls from the Arab capitals.
Hamas in Gaza is even more isolated, which makes it dangerous. The Islamists rule over a blocked stretch of coast and in reality have no close allies. The exiled leadership in Qatar has ties to Iran, but they are less close than is often assumed. Tehran also seemed surprised by the hail of rockets targeting Israel and was only reluctant to show solidarity in order not to endanger the nuclear negotiations in Vienna.
For many years, Israel found it easier to administer the occupation than to find a political solution. To do this, one would have to recognize that one nation dominates another in a one-state reality and keeps most of the Palestinians under military rule. It is possible that this situation could be maintained for a few years after a ceasefire with Hamas. But the internal and external unrest to which the country is exposed show that the postponement of political negotiations endangers democracy and internal stability of Israel - which extremists know how to exploit.
Twenty percent of Israelis pay ninety-two percent of the country's taxes - this, too, increases displeasure among large sections of the population. The statistics also show how much Israel depends on those who keep the country economically alive and who have relied on being able to lead a peaceful life on this island of stability. Should this feeling of security disappear and the top performers migrate, it would be difficult for everyone.