Masada has become a symbol of "Give me liberty or give me death". Masada has significance in the Israeli mindset and in the strategy many expect will be used, should any nation ever attempt to attack Israel with a nuclear weapon....or even as a preemptive strategy if such an attack is presumed imminent.
http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/Judaism/masada.html
Color me saddened by the Jewish reation to commit suicide rather than to be taken prisoner. I really thought it was against their religion. Was there mass suicides during the holocaust?