Safety and Emergencies in Israel: What to Set Up in the First Week

What you're trying to get done

You've arrived, or your child has. You don't need to become an expert on security. You need to know who to call, how official alerts reach a phone, what the program expects of students, and how your family will reach each other when something is in the news.

This guide doesn't assess how safe Israel is right now. That changes, and the people who publish current guidance are the Israeli authorities, your own government and the program itself. What follows is the setup that stays useful whatever the news is.

The three emergency numbers

Israel has separate numbers for each emergency service. They work from any phone in Israel.

• 100: police
• 101: Magen David Adom (מָגֵן דָּוִד אָדֹם), the national ambulance and emergency medical service
• 102: fire and rescue

Save all three in the student's phone as contacts, with clear names. Add the program's emergency phone number, the dorm address written in Hebrew and English, and the student's Israeli phone number for parents. In an emergency you'll be asked where you are, and a new student often doesn't know their own street address yet.

Parents: Israeli short numbers like 101 don't work from abroad. Your contact in an emergency is the program's emergency line, so make sure you have it before the year starts.

Alerts: the Home Front Command

The Home Front Command, Pikud HaOref (פִּקּוּד הָעֹרֶף), is the part of the Israeli army responsible for instructing civilians in an emergency. It runs the national siren and alert system, an official phone app, and a website at https://www.oref.org.il/eng.

The app, listed in the App Store as Israel Home Front Command, sends alerts to the phone. The U.S. State Department's advice for Israel tells travelers to download it, and notes that it's available on devices inside Israel. The UK government notes the same about the website. That means a parent abroad may not be able to open the site or install the app, and that's normal.

The Home Front Command also has an information line, 104, which the Australian government's travel advice says has English-speaking operators. It's for questions about instructions, not for emergencies.

1. 1Install the official Home Front Command app in the first few days, while a staff member can help with the settings.
2. 2Set the language to English if the app offers it, and set it up for the area where the dorm is.
3. 3Ask staff which other areas to add, such as where the student spends Shabbat.
4. 4Keep notifications for the app turned on, including when the phone is on silent.

What a protected space is

When an alert sounds, the instruction is to get to a protected space. In Home Front Command guidance, that means, in order of preference: a reinforced room built into an apartment, called a mamad (מָמָ״ד), a reinforced room shared by a floor or by a whole institution, a public or building shelter, or, if none of those can be reached, an inner stairwell or an inside room with as few outside walls and windows as possible.

Indoors, you go to the protected space and close the door and windows. Outdoors in a built-up area, you go into the nearest building. In open country, you get down low and cover your head with your hands. In a car, the driver stops safely and everyone goes into a nearby building if they can.

How much time you have to get there, and how long to stay, are set by the Home Front Command and have changed over time. Don't rely on a number from an article, including this one. Follow the current instruction in the app and what the program teaches.

• In the first week, the student should walk the route from their bed, the classroom and the dining room to the protected space.
• Find out where the protected space is in any apartment or home where they spend Shabbat.
• When traveling, look for the shelter signs in bus and train stations.

What the program is responsible for

A program that houses students is the one that knows the building, the neighborhood and the rules for that week. In general, programs set their own policies on where students may travel, when trips are canceled, and how they update parents. These policies differ a lot, so ask rather than assume.

• Where is the protected space for each dorm building, and has every student been shown it?
• Who is the staff member on call at night and on Shabbat, and what's the number?
• How does the program tell parents what's happening, and how fast?
• What are the rules on travel, and how are students told when they change?
• What's the plan if a student is away from campus during an alert?
• Under what conditions would the program send students home or move them, and who pays for flights?

Register with your home country

Governments publish travel advice for Israel and most offer a way to get updates. None of it replaces the program's instructions, but it's the official source for what your own government advises its citizens.

• United States: the Smart Traveler Enrollment Program, STEP, is free. It sends email updates and alerts from the U.S. embassy and lets the embassy contact you in an emergency. Enroll at https://step.state.gov. The travel advisory is published at https://travel.state.gov.
• Canada: Registration of Canadians Abroad is a free service that lets the Canadian government notify you in an emergency. Register and read the advice at https://travel.gc.ca.
• United Kingdom: the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office publishes advice at https://www.gov.uk/foreign-travel-advice/israel, where you can sign up for an email whenever it's updated.
• Australia: Smartraveller publishes advice at https://www.smartraveller.gov.au. Check that page for whether a registration portal for Australians in Israel is currently open.

Parents can read the same pages, which give the official wording instead of a headline.

Agree on a family check-in plan

The hard moments for parents are the hours when there's news and no message. Agree on a plan before that happens, when everyone is calm.

1. 1Pick one channel, such as a family group chat, where the student sends a short "I'm fine" after any alert in their area or any event that makes the news.
2. 2Agree on how long is reasonable to wait. Students may be in a protected space, in class, asleep or without their phone on Shabbat.
3. 3Decide who the parent contacts if there's no word: the program's emergency line first, not the student's friends.
4. 4Agree that the student follows staff instructions first and messages home second.
5. 5Write down the student's passport number, insurance details and the program's address, and keep a copy at home.

For medical care that isn't an emergency, see health insurance and medical care. For keeping a phone working, see phones and internet.

Common questions

What number do you call for an ambulance in Israel?

Call 101 for Magen David Adom, Israel's national ambulance service. Police are 100 and fire and rescue are 102.

Can parents abroad use the Home Front Command app?

Often not. The U.S. State Department notes the app is available on devices inside Israel, and the UK government notes the website is available in Israel only. Parents are better off relying on the program's updates and their own government's email alerts.

Is STEP required for American students?

No. STEP is a free, voluntary service from the U.S. State Department. Enrolling means you get embassy alerts by email and the embassy can reach you in an emergency.

How long do you stay in a protected space after an alert?

Follow the current Home Front Command instruction shown in the app and what your program tells you. The instruction has changed over time, so don't rely on a fixed number of minutes you read somewhere.

Who decides whether students can travel to a certain area?

Each program sets its own travel rules, and they can change during the year. Ask the program for its current policy and how students are told about changes.