Rela Mazali, Jewish Peace News, 8 May 2008
Growing up and living mostly in Israel, I have long been aware of children’s complex reactions to the state sirens used in Israel to commemorate both the victims of the Nazis and the soldiers and para-military personnel killed while serving terms of duty. Many children find it hard not to giggle, others openly and subversively enjoy giggling, grimacing to make others laugh or squirming, still others are terrified or angry and defiant. Usually, as they grow up, they learn to contain these responses and comply with the national 60 second freeze. I note this because I think that children’s “borderline”, pre-socialization conduct can serve as a forceful illustration of how this ritual functions.
I won’t unpack the full complexity of what I believe the sirens are and do. This introduction to the following piece by Tamar Rotem is just a partial sketch in which I’d like to highlight the surveillance that I see as a central component of their function. Though moderately critical of the sirens’ use, Rotem’s opinion piece, from Haaretz, clearly illustrates of the power of this surveillance mechanism.