No one ever expects war to have a positive effect on a society, but in Israel, where war and violence are as much a part of life as eating and breathing, the arts are becoming a major unintended casualty. The combination of political pressures, frayed public nerves, and economic doldrums are threatening the artistic infrastructure of the region in a fashion which ought to alarm arts advocates worldwide. And yet, in a time when the world, and particularly the Middle East, seems to be perpetually at war, the problem goes largely unnoticed by the larger global community.