The IDF has made frequent use of what is known as “knocking on the roof”: Militants are warned by phone when a residential building used to store arms will be bombed, and told to vacate the premised together with their neighbors. The weapons caches are hit only after the residents leave.

The government has built 351 prefabricated homes in Nitzan. The “caravillot,” an invented Hebrew word combining caravan and villa, range in size from 60 square meters (646 square feet) to 150 square meters (1,615 square feet) for the largest families.

The youths chuckled at the Hebrew term used to describe them, shabachim, which comes from a government acronym referring to people staying illegally. The same term is used for Palestinians who enter Israel without permits.

As many as 50% of them fit into the category of the “Boeing Aliya”—an expression coined to describe families in which the husband commutes. “It is a quality aliya: They come from a rich country and it’s hard for them to give up the standard of living they were used to,” explains Feldman. The husband leaves his family in Israel and keeps working in France until he can find a job in Israel that allows them to live here without sacrificing their former lifestyle.

As the soldier advances in pazam (acronym for perek zman, or “amount of time served”), he will without a doubt experience more and more chuparim, or “goodies.” These can take the form of an after (from the English, meaning a few hours’ leave from the base to roam around town and catch a movie)