Loyalty under stress: The communal psychology of loyalty to a place

This study shows that life under stress as a result of a security threatand terrorist attacks directed at the communities in the area, strengthenedthe resident's loyalty to their place of residence. This is reflected in theirunwillingness to leave the communities in which they lived under anyconditions, even at the risk of their own lives and the lives of theirchildren. The settlement residents developed a variety of measures fordealing with security threats, including strengthening their religious faithand providing ideological meaning for their choice to remain. Thespiritual leadership in these communities supported and helped theresidents handle the situation, and as a result of their support, theirdependency increased. On the social level, the residents developedorganized forms of help and mutual support which strengthened theirsocial cohesion. Using ethnographic analysis, in-depth interviews andreadings of settler writings from the time of the Second Intifada, aconceptual model is presented that describes the various ways thepopulation channeled their stress toward positive routes, whiledeveloping place loyalty.