Most Americans wonder why our society has become so polarized and how we can turn that trend around. As counter-intuitive as it may sound, the tiny, beleaguered nation of Israel offers a promising solution for reversing the centrifugal forces that are tearing the U.S. apart.

In their 2023 best-selling book, “The Genius of Israel: The Surprising Resilience of a Divided Nation in a Turbulent World,” journalists Dan Senor and Paul Singer analyze the secret of Israel’s extraordinary ability, against long odds, to overcome the formidable security challenges it has faced since its founding 76 years ago while also building a robust economy that punches well above its weight.

Senor and Singer sift through statistical and anecdotal evidence to identify Israel’s secret sauce — an intense communal, can-do spirit that keeps the country united and its economy innovative. Though written before Hamas’ deadly Oct. 7, 2023, on Israel’s southern border and the ensuing multi-front wars against Hamas, Hezbollah, Houthis, and their Iranian backers, the book’s thesis remains valid.

You’d think that the Israeli people, who’ve either been at war or on a near-wartime footing since the nation’s inception, would be plagued by stress, pessimism and mental illness. But in 2022, the United Nations annual World Happiness Report ranked it ninth of over 150 countries. In other measures of societal well-being, Israel scored impressively as well. In 2019, it was ninth in the world in life expectancy, had the highest birth rate and youngest population among the affluent democracies, and suffered the lowest incidence of “deaths of despair” (fatalities from suicide, alcohol and drugs) of any wealthy OCED country. In all these metrics, it way outstripped the United States.

To be sure, the current violence enveloping the Middle East and the hostage crisis has cast a pall over Israel’s public mood, and political tensions between political factions, already simmering over issues like judicial “reform” and draft exemptions for the ultra-religious, have reached a boiling point. Yet somehow, Israelis manage to steel themselves and continue to work together for the good of their country.

Israel’s economy is also vibrant. It’s a world leader in cybersecurity, the creation of innovative software applications (such as Waze, a navigation program designed to help drivers avoid traffic jams, and Mobileye, a semi-autonomous driving system), healthcare, agriculture, and aerospace. In 2019, it became the seventh nation (or coalition of nations), after the U.S., former Soviet Union, Japan, European Space Agency, India and China, to orbit a spacecraft around the moon, accomplishing this feat for a fraction of what previous programs had spent.

So how do the Israelis remain fertile, healthy, optimistic, productive and innovative in the face of ominous threats that would drive the citizens of most other countries to the brink of madness? The answer seems to be that they think and behave more communally than we do.

Senor and Singer point to two words that underpin the Israeli spirit — “gibush” (translating roughly to “bonding” or “cohesiveness”) and “hevreh” (any close-knit group to which a person belongs). The spirit of “gibush” encourages Israelis to join a “hevreh” or, more accurately, a series of them, throughout their lives. These include neighborhood friendships, schoolmates, scouts, community service projects, military units and workplace groups.

While Americans prize individual success, Israelis are more likely to value the success of their “hevreh,” the ultimate exemplar of which is their country. When it comes under attack, Israelis living abroad flock to the nearest airport to return to help defend it.

Perhaps the greatest uniting factor in Israeli life is its system of compulsory military service. Several years of active service in the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) after high school is mandatory for most Israeli men and women, followed by decades of reserve duty.

I’m old enough to remember the compulsory Selective Service System of our country. Being drafted was not something most young people of my generation eagerly looked forward to. The authors emphasize that in Israel, by contrast, “there is a deep social relationship between the military and the citizens. Serving is both a requirement and a right. It can be a terrible blow for a young person if the military tells them they cannot serve.”

Furthermore, the military takes great pains to assign recruits to positions which best suit their individual talents and to quickly move them into positions of responsibility and leadership, thereby instilling personal growth, confidence and pride. The skills and relationships formed in the IDF form the basis of lifelong careers and social connections.

In addition, many young Israelis participate in community service projects, the equivalent of a “gap” year between active military and college, where they bond with others their age and further develop their commitment to service.

Is such a system achievable in the U.S., where citizens are no longer required to do much more for their country than pay taxes? Unlike Israel, our geographical size, decentralized political system and relative security from external threats would certainly make it a heavy lift. Moreover, any compulsory element would be subject to constitutional challenge.

Yet the idea of creating a sense of common purpose for young people through some form of universal service is appealing. In secondary and post-secondary education, community service could be made a requirement for graduation. Though our armed forces no longer need millions of recruits, civilian programs like Americorps could be greatly expanded or private non-profit service organizations linked together under a national umbrella, with college tuition assistance used to entice participation.

There would undoubtedly be substantial obstacles to initiating such a program. However, these pale in comparison to the alternative of an increasingly fractured polity.

In short, the best antidote to American polarization may be a dose of Israeli “gibush.”

Elliott Epstein is a trial lawyer with Shukie & Segovias in Lewiston. His Rearview Mirror column, which has appeared in the Sun Journal for 17 years, analyzes current events in an historical context. He is also the author of “Lucifer’s Child,” a book about the notorious 1984 child murder of Angela Palmer. He may be contacted at [email protected]