What is the importance of Israel in the short-story collection, The UnAmericans?

Israel, the ancient land of the Jewish people, is the primary setting for "Minor Heroics" and "A Difficult Phase"; is one of two principle settings for "Retrospective", and is referred to, with varying degrees of attention and/or significance, throughout almost all the other stories in the collection. In all these references, and again to varying degrees, there is a sense of "home", about Israel, a sense of safety and belonging associated with being there even though, for characters like Talia ("Difficult Phase"), Oren and Asaaf ("Minor Heroics") and Mira ("Retrospective), there is also a sense of restlessness and discontent associated with being there.