IN 1982, FOLLOWING the massacre of 800 Palestinian civilians in Beirut, about 500,000 Israelis took to the streets.
Although the Palestinians had been killed by a Christian militia and not by Israeli troops, the demonstrators demanded the ouster of Defense Minister Ariel Sharon, who had sent the militiamen into the Sabra and Chatilla refugee camps.
The protesters were also furious about a war that was intended not, as the government originally claimed, to defend northern Israel from Palestinian rockets but to alter the balance of power in Lebanon, a goal they considered optional. As a result of the rally, Sharon was forced to resign.
Twenty-four years later, the Israel Defense Forces are back in Lebanon, occupying swaths of the south and bombing Beirut. Hundreds of Lebanese civilians have been killed -- by Israelis, not by their proxies -- and immense damage caused. Much of the world and the media are as critical of Israel's conduct in this war as they were in the previous one, insisting that the Israeli attacks have been "disproportionate."
Yet, in contrast to 1982, Israelis today are overwhelmingly supporting their army's actions. And apart from expressing regret over the loss of civilian lives, they show no sign of wavering. Israeli flags and banners proclaiming "Be of Strength and Courage!" (a biblical quote) literally line the streets.
Why? What makes this Lebanon war different from the last one?
To begin with, Israelis, too, are under fire this time. During the last few weeks, Hezbollah has shot more than 2,500 rockets and mortars at Israel, killing at least 17 civilians, wounding 500 and forcing more than half a million people to flee. The attacks from Lebanon coincided with aggression from Gaza, where Hamas terrorists fired about 1,000 Kassam rockets at Israeli towns and farms.
On both fronts, Israeli soldiers were the victims of unprovoked ambushes and kidnappings. And these attacks have come despite the fact that Israel is no longer occupying any part of either Lebanon or Gaza. The war, Israelis now know, is not about borders but about the existence of the Jewish state.
Israelis also know that Hezbollah cares nothing about civilian casualties on either side. On the contrary, Hezbollah wants Israel to cause the maximum amount of collateral damage among Lebanese in order to expose Israel to international condemnation. That's why Hezbollah missile launchers are routinely deployed in civilian neighborhoods.
