image by dlisbona via Flickr
This post was originally published in 2011 but has been completely updated.
With the threat of war, the home front command has a new phone number for gas mask distribution information: 104. There may be a long wait.
You can also order home delivery, via the post office. Phone: *2237 or leave a message.
Municipalities all have a hotline at 106, which should help with local questions.
Helping Kids Cope with Rocket Attacks
Home Front Command Facebook Page
English Home Front Command website
Tips for those with special needs
Times of Israel has a partial list in English of distribution points.
There are private companies named Dakar, Shalon, and Firecenter who sell gas masks in Israel. Only Israeli citizens are eligible for gas masks from the government.
Here is some information that was posted by a friend in a Facebook group for parents. I have the author’s contact information.
Guys, I understand that given the current situation in Syria parents are getting more and more anxious and concerned about what it means for Syria and what may happen if there is a strike on them by the Americans and its allies. I’ve been responding to a lot of posts in the past couple of days from people who are spreading false information or hearing rumors that aren’t true. As I’ve said a few times now, my husband is an officer in Homefront Command and deals with preparing for this and other kind of emergencies on a daily basis and has participated in dozens, if not over a 100 drills and exercises dealing with worse case scenarios that you can’t and wouldn’t even want to imagine.
In the interest of dispelling fear and giving people the correct information, here are a few things you should know:
- First of all, and I can’t stress this enough, DO NOT TAKE THE GAS MASKS OUT OF THE BOX! You do not need to take it out and practice how to use it. The filters on the mask have a very limited shelf life, and they start to deteriorate the second you open the box and take them out. Even if you believe that the gas masks have to be able to last longer than what you’re being told, please don’t think that you can calculate how long that is because none of us know when, G-d forbid, we may have to use them. If you have opened your gas mask box and taken it out, please call up the Homefront Command hotline and find out if you need to return them and get new ones. If, G-d forbid, the time comes when we have to use them, we will be informed on how to use the masks by the news and Homefront Command. They will give us detailed instructions. Again, this won’t be a last minute thing. If the government, army and intelligence think there’s a possibility of an imminent strike, they will tell us before it happens. Missiles with chemical weapons on it are not the same as Katyushas and Kassam rockets.
- People are clamoring like crazy to get gas masks right now. You do not need to bring your passport. You do not need to bring pictures. All you need is your Tehudat Zehut (ID Card). If you just had a baby and haven’t been able to add them to the piece of paper with the rest of your family, all you need is the hospital paper that you got that has your baby’s T.Z. number on it. That’s it. You can call the post office or Homefront Command to find out where the nearest station is by you and when their hours are. If you don’t want to deal with lines, you can pay to have the masks delivered to your home. However, please know that that will take longer than just going and picking them up. But if waiting in line for hours, as they’re talking about now, is something you can’t do, then getting them delivered might be the best option right now.
- In case there is an emergency situation and you haven’t gotten your gas masks, the army is capable and prepared to set up tent stations all over the country and get gas masks to every single person currently in the country, citizen or not, within a day or two and is prepared to fly in thousands of gas masks on a moment’s notice if needed. So please don’t be afraid that you’ll be left out in the cold, especially if you’re not Israeli. You will get a gas mask if necessary. Right now, they’re still voluntary. Because of that, if you’re not Israeli and don’t have a T.Z. number, you will not get a gas mask. They don’t have enough for everybody right now as it is. From what I’ve been instructed, it’s still business as usual in the army. They haven’t changed alert statuses and aren’t doing anything special right now. If it had, it would have been announced that everyone is being distributed a gas mask RIGHT NOW.
- Finally, if you have any questions or concerns, please don’t listen to what other people have been telling you they’ve heard from other people or what rumors are going around. If you have any questions or concerns, call up the Homefront Command hotline or your local municipality and ask them if anything has changed, what you need to do, if you don’t have a Mammad (sealed room) in your house, where the nearest shelter is, etc.
- And really finally, let’s all take a deep breath and try and relax. Put faith in the fact that there are extremely competent people watching out for us and practicing every possible scenario on a daily basis and are looking out for our best interests. If something changes, they will not keep us in the dark. They have great protocols in place that will activate in an emergency situation that are meant to keep the public calm and effectively protected without chaos and commotion. We will be informed if we need to do anything different than what we’re doing now. If they haven’t done so, then we can just relax and live our normal lives.
If you have other useful resources, please share in the comments. May we not need any of this information.
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*2237 (double two, not two double three)
Thanks, fixed. 🙂
I tend to say ‘ Plan for the worst and hope for the best