Home Front Command tests rocket-proof windows for hospitals

• Published date: 17 January 2021
• Author: UDI SHAHAM
• Date: 17 January 2021
• Publication title: Jerusalem Post, The: Web Edition Articles (Israel)

Until now, shielded windows in secure spaces and protected rooms (mamad) usually have been small and located higher up on a wall. This new type of window is meant to start near the floor and provide the patient with an option to be exposed to the sun and the outside.

These tests follow ongoing dialogue with the public and different government bodies and demonstrate the ability to think out of the box and find solutions to unresolved protection issues, Col. Dudu Abada, head of Home Front Command's protection division, told The Jerusalem Post.

"We call it health windows," he said. "The Health Ministry approached us and told us that they have a problem with those who are hospitalized and can't get out of bed. They said the windows in a safe room are too high and too small."

"For many of us, it might sound like a minor problem," he added. "But these kinds of things could really impact one's physical and mental health. So we picked up this initiative, connected manufacturers and companies and developed this window that is both wider and lower."

The experiment is just a part of a series of tests Home Front Command conducted last summer, which are meant to find protection solutions in areas that are still insufficient.

In 1991, the Knesset passed a law that required every new building, private and public, to have a secure space within it.

Despite various initiatives to build such spaces in older buildings, there are still protection gaps in some areas, Abada said.

As part of the experiments, Home Front Command tested five different methods of solutions for those who do not have a secure...