It’s a very Israeli “thing” – so much a part of our identity that we don’t even have a word for it. I call it the “quiet alert.”
Photo: Soldiers of the IDF’s Home Front Command via IDF.
When the Israeli government prefers to not cause panic or tip off its enemies, when it wants to project confidence and strength, it sometimes announces…nothing at all. And yet somehow, we all know to prepare.
Despite the ongoing progress toward all out revolution in Iran, the Israeli government has not put out an official warning or any particular instructions to all of us here on the “Home Front” — but we’re already double checking our bomb shelters. When away from home, we’re aware of our surroundings, and we note the location of the nearest shelters, as we did for almost two years. We’re just a little more careful about keeping our phones charged, and our kitchens stocked.
Why?
The superficial, intellectual reason:
If the United States strikes Iran, then Iran will likely respond by striking us. There’s precedent: after Iraq invaded Kuwait in 1991, Saddam Hussein fired massive Scud missiles on Israel, an absurd response given that Israel was one of the only countries in the Western world that had NOT joined the international strikes on Iraq.
Photo: Entrance to the bomb shelter at the RealityCheck offices in Tel Aviv, by RealityCheck.
Yet there is another, deeper and more Israeli reason: we just know.
Israel is a small country, where everyone knows everyone – not literally, but almost.
Soldiers are not unknown figures on some distant base or overseas – they are our parents and children, our neighbors and co-workers, our friends and in my case, many of my students. Small talk by the פינת קפה (Israel’s equivalent of the “water cooler”) or discussions over family dinner, are basically low-key intelligence briefings.
Of course we don’t know the specifics of secret capabilities in advance, such as the stunning “pager operation” against Hezbollah in 2024, or the myriad of tools brought to bear against Iran last June, but we know when “something’s up.”
For example, in 2024, despite no official instructions, almost every Israeli home stocked up on non-perishable food, bottled water, batteries and even old-style analogue radios: because we knew a war was coming with Hezbollah, and that the terror organization was planning to target our electrical grid, water system, roads and communications. Fortunately, Israel managed to defeat that threat before it fully materialized, but the danger was real.
Days before last June’s “Twelve Day War,” Israel’s stunning strike on Iran’s nuclear facilities, Israelis were already bracing for a hit. In the last 24 hours, some (including RealityCheck) were even beginning to predict the strike.
As an aside, this is also how we know that our army is incredibly careful and ethical, that our country is not committing a “pretendicide” in Gaza (a more accurate term for the claimed “genocide”), and that the threats around us are very real. Sure we have data, statistics and news reporting, but more importantly, we know the people in the field: personally, and often intimately. We don’t know the details of every operation, but we know how our soldiers feel and speak, we know what’s really in their minds and in their hearts. The women, men and canines of the IDF go to battle not for anger, revenge or conquest, but with a sense of seriousness, professionalism, and heavy responsibility.
Photo: Israeli soldiers provide water to a local boy in Syria. Photographer unknown, via Hayalim Mitzayizim, posted by journalist Haninya Naftali.
And so we come back to our “Silent Alert.”
Intellectually, we remember that some of Iran’s most deadly attacks during June’s “Twelve Day War” came in during its final days, with notable improvements in both targeting and munitions power. If the Iranian regime is truly nearing its end, it may decide to use the most powerful weapons it has been holding in reserve. Even chemical weapons, though not expected, are not entirely out of the question. On the other hand, Israel’s defenses have improved as well, including the unveiling of Iron Beam, IDF’s new laser-based missile defense system.
Yet beyond intellect, we all “just know.” Like Hezbollah’s plan to wipe out Israel’s civilian infrastructure, these concerns might not come to pass. Yet for now, the danger is real, and Israeli civilians remain on “Silent Alert.”
Our thoughts are primarily with the astonishingly brave Iranian protesters, risking their very lives just to march and speak out, but in the coming days please also spare a thought for us, here in Israel.
