During this current war, we here in Israel have been advised multiple times a day by the Home Front Command to enter the “protected space” as incoming rockets or drones are launched from Iran (or from Hezbollah if one lives in the north of the country) and are expected in our area shortly.

To be sure, those of us living in and around Jerusalem have had it easier than our countrypeople in other areas, as Jerusalem tends to be in the enemy’s sights less often than Tel Aviv or the coast in general. Nevertheless, it is a harrowing experience each time the warning notice comes in on our phones and are generally followed by air raid sirens shortly thereafter.

People around the world are aware of all of this but might not realize the “back story” as it were of what it means to actually be in the “protected space.”

First of all, the meaning of those words is different for different people. For those of us who live in buildings constructed during the last 30 years or so, we generally have a “safe room” or ma’amad in Hebrew, as one of the rooms of the apartment. In our case during normal times, it serves as both a........

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