Israeli Innovation: The Mamad Law
- Mar 11
- 1 min read
After the Gulf War, when Iraqi Scud missiles hit Israeli cities in 1991, Israel changed its building code.
From 1993, every new home had to include a reinforced security room known as a mamad.
It looks like any other room, but it has:
concrete walls
reinforced ceiling
steel blast door
sealed window designed to protect against missile fragments and chemical threats.
The room is built into the structure of the home itself. It is used every day as a regular room, perhaps a bedroom or games room.
But when sirens sound, it holds whole families.
Across Israel, millions of people now have immediate shelter inside their own homes because of a decision made more than thirty years ago.
The mamad is civil defence built into daily life. It is what a country does when it takes the safety of its citizens seriously.
More information: Times of Israel - The Mamad: The room that saves lives in Israel