We live in a poor neighborhood. It isn't something that I'm unfamiliar with. In fact, I lived in a neighborhood in Santa Cruz which had me more worried than this one.
However, there is something to be said about low income populations here as opposed to the United States.
I realize that this is a horrible, sweeping generalization, but bear with me. In the 'Merica, a rather large percentage of the poorer population has no idea as to what is happening around them. Politically, they are uninformed, unaware, and couldn't tell you (just about) anything about international politics. I don't claim to be more informed than them, I happen to be one of the least informed individuals I know.
The poor population here, on the other hand, is the opposite. Every person I speak with has strong opinions on politics, both national and international. This notion stems from, I believe, the last time Jews as a population didn't examine a situation for what it was. I understand that this falls into the category of 'sweeping generalization' as well, but here it is. When Hitler rose to power before the war, Jews didn't take it seriously. German Jews, from my understanding, thought it would all blow over.
As we can see, history did not pan out that way. The last time Jews didn't consider the worst, millions died.
Now, the lives of every inhabitant of this nation are constantly under strife. Right now is a rather peaceful time, and there isn't open conflict with the surrounding nations. Yet this could change in an instant - Syria's tensions with the United States - and everything could get fucked. Hard.

Understanding political climates, political relationships (particularly those pertaining to the Middle East), and strife within nations is crucial to the survival of every person living here. They can see, from the past, that without the knowledge of what is happening around them, they die.
This is the biggest difference between the poorer populations of Israel and the United States.
It's pretty nice back there. The only people that want to kill you is all of you, rather than all of them. You is predictable.