Collective Shelters
For most people, the preferred option for sheltering is in a private protected room within the home (known in Hebrew as a Mamad). However, most homes do not have these, as contractors have only been required by law to provide them in new homes since 1993.
According to data from the Israel Builders Association, of an estimated 2.96 million homes across Israel, 56% (1.67 million) do not have a mamad as of the end of 2024. While mamads are everywhere in newer cities and neighborhoods, as well as homes that have undergone urban renewal, most residents lack access to a private shelter.
In the minutes after Israel’s Home Front Command told Israelis to remain close to shelters early Monday morning, nearly 100 residents of the Rehavia neighborhood in Jerusalem trickled into a public shelter at the Evelina de Rothschild School. A series of classrooms and a computer lab for students during regular times, the protected space suddenly bustled with neighbors in pajamas, pets, sleeping bags, and people desperately staring at their phone screens for updates.
