What the inhabitants of the Gaza Strip have unfortunately experienced every day for almost two years, aside from the comparisons many media outlets have made to the Jewish genocide during World War II, has made me think of the extermination at Masada. Let me explain. Masada, from the Hebrew word metsudano, what does it mean strength, is an ancient fortification located in the Judean Desert, overlooking the Dead Sea. Its strategic location, atop an isolated rock plateau, makes it an ideal natural refuge.