Yosithet, a lot of that was a matter of "back at ya" by Northerners and ethnic divisions within Israel.

Residents of Kiryat Shemona (which in those days was overwhelming populated by lower-income Sephardi Jews) had long been criticized by what we Northerners call "Dizengoff Commandos" -- people who sit in coffee houses on Dizengoff Street in Tel Aviv pontificating on how brave everyone should be.

They felt that those who left Kiryat Shemona when the rocket firing became too heavy were cowards.

During the first Gulf War, the situation quickly became reversed. Kiryat Shemona was safe but Tel Aviv was being hit by SCUDs.

The "Dizengoff Commandos", on a whole, are financially better-off Ashkenazi Jews and a large percentage of them were able to fly out of the country or take vacations either in Eilat or the Galilee. I remember that my kibbutz guest house was jammed with them.

Sephardi Jews in Tel Aviv were less apt to be able to afford to leave, so they joined with Northerners in condemning those who did. It didn't help matters any that the mayor of Tel Aviv, seeking to boost his popularity with the Sephardis, joined in the chorus.