Spies R Us - NYTimes.com WASHINGTON - A solid majority of Americans say it is "unacceptable for the United States to monitor the phones of allied leaders," according to a recent poll by the Pew Research Center. But Israelis aren't so fussed. While close to 49 percent of respondents in a poll by the Israel Democracy Institute and Tel Aviv University, said it was "more important" for the United States to maintain the trust of friendly countries than "gather important information" about them, 41 percent answered the opposite. More revealing, almost 58 percent said they would support Israel's secret services for spying on its allies" leaders and citizens. News that the American government has been eavesdropping prompted barely a shrug in Israel. Officials past and present readily acknowledge that the Americans spy. The Israeli public isn't surprised: More than 85 percent of respondents to the I.D.I.-T.A.U. survey said they were "sure" or "thought" that American intelligence services listened in "on conversations of leaders and citizens in Israel." The difference between outraged Americans and impassive Israelis is striking, and illuminating. It is the difference between a public for whom security is largely a theoretical issue, and a public for whom defending the homeland is a perpetual concern. It is the difference between a society that is concerned for its privacy no less than its security, and a society that won't hesitate to trade some privacy for more security. The explanation is basic. According to a Pew Research Center survey from 2011, "just one-half of one percent of American adults" served on active duty at any given time over the previous decade, even though it was a period of sustained war for the United States. By contrast, a vast majority of Israelis serve in the military at some point. As many as one in five personally witnessed a terrorist attack. And according to the Israel Defense Forces, in 2012 more than one million Israelis were living under the threat of rocket attacks from Gaza. Israelis cannot afford to not worry about their safety, and so they look at the indignation of Americans and, say, Germans over Washington's spying on Chancellor Angela Merkel as hypocrisy or naiveté. They're thinking: Keep on spying, America, because as long as you do we know you're still helping police the world.