A Personal Perspective of the Power of Music and Mass Communication, Prior to and During the Gulf War Crisis in Israel: Implications for music therapy

On January 17, 1991, the US and Allied Coalition Air Forces began bombing the city of Baghdad, Iraq. President Saddam Hussein of Iraq retaliated by attacking Israel with Scud missiles; he threatened to use both conventional and nonconventional (gas and chemical) warheads. This article highlights a defensive maneuver utilized by the government of Israel prior to and throughout the Gulf War crisis. Through mass communication, the power of music was used to assist the entire population in developing adaptive coping methods, including instilling feelings of national unity and establishing support systems. These events are presented as perceived through the eyes and ears of a music psychotherapist. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved)