Israelis worry about calm before storm

Nirvana said it best: Just because you’re paranoid don’t mean they’re not after you.

Rocket fire from Gaza has markedly declined. The Lebanese border is quiet. Terrorist attacks from the West Bank are rare. The national airport processed a record number of travelers in the first week of August. The currency is so strong that the central bank has bought billions of dollars to keep the exchange rate down.

Israel is flourishing this summer, and one might imagine its people and leaders to be breathing a sigh of relief after nearly a decade of violence and unease. That, however, is far from the case. On every front, Israel is worried that it is living a false calm that could explode at any moment. Its airwaves and public discourse are filled with menace and concern.

“This is a deceptive quiet,” said Daniel Ayalon, the deputy foreign minister. “When a sunny day turns cloudy, it can happen very quickly.”

Read the rest from The New York Times here.