Terrorist attacks aren’t just another news headline, it’s the destruction of human lives cut short, and it’s the panic and chaos that rocks an area in their wake. Fear spreads and settles in the psyche of people who experience it. For two weeks, terrorists have targeted a series of brutal attacks in Israeli cities, and again last night at a popular nightlife spot in Tel Aviv that claimed the lives of three young men.

Anxiety has dominated people’s mentalities. Everyone walks down the street with caution, suspicion, vigilance, and automatically looking for a place to escape to if another terrorist motivated by Islamic fundamentalism strikes again. Every ambulance howl evokes thoughts of despair and worry.

As Israelis, there is no need to pretend that nothing is happening and act as if everything is normal. We all need to take care of ourselves and each other and be vigilant. We must also open our eyes to what is happening on a more internal level, and open our hearts to what the sages of Israel wrote: “The main defense against calamity is love and unity. When there is love, unity and friendship among them in Israel, no calamity can come upon them” (Maor vaShemesh – light and sun). Likewise, The Book of Consciousness writes: “We are commanded in every generation to strengthen the unity among us so that our enemies do not dominate us.”

All of Israel is an amalgam in which everyone is connected to each other, but we certainly don’t see it and feel it. But the spiritual connection is direct: the connection of our hearts radiates favorably to the whole of society. So, faced with the phenomenon of terrorists who must be uprooted, we must act with all our might to unite and be mutual guarantors.

Only if we can wholeheartedly support each other can we gain a sense of security on our streets. But as long as we prefer to live in our own bubble, caring only for our own personal well-being, then this cold snowball of indifference forms between us, rolling downhill picking up more layers of coldness and alienation, and wraps each in an icy shroud that separates us, until the next catastrophe forces us to briefly ward off the peril.

Our Torah is all about love. He understands the greatest rule, “love your neighbor as yourself”. We must apply it in times of peace, not just in times of terrorist attacks, but always because, as our ancient wisdom tells us, awakening love between us will awaken a supreme power, and that it is He who will protect us from all evil.

Michael Laitman is a Doctor of Philosophy and Kabbalah. MSc in Medical Bio-Cybernetics. Founder and President of Bnei Baruch Kabbalah Education & Research Institute. Author of over 40 books on spiritual, social and global transformation. His new book, The Jewish Choice: Unity or Anti-Semitism, is available on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Jewish-Choice-Anti-Semitism-Historical-anti-Semitism/dp/1671872207/