The missile attacks from Iran over the past year have made one simple truth clear to all of us: a reinforced safe room (Mamad) is not a nice architectural addition, but a basic layer of protection for the personal safety of Israeli citizens. Since last June, more than 39,000 property damage claims have been filed. In many cases, the difference between a building that was heavily damaged and one that remained stable was the presence or absence of a standard protected space.
For years, the reference point for urban renewal was based on concerns about earthquakes. Indeed, statistics show that a deadly earthquake occurs in the area approximately once every 100 years. This led to fixing 1980 as the watershed the year in which Standard 413 for earthquake-resistant construction came into effect. But reality has changed: the main threat to buildings in Israel is no longer limited to ground movement along the Syrian-African fault; it also includes precise and frequent missile attacks. And yet, the regulations have remained in the same place.
Hundreds of Thousands of “In-Between” Residents
In practice, an absurd situation has emerged-buildings constructed before 1980 automatically fall under urban renewal arrangements; buildings built from 1992 onward generally include a Mamad and are therefore protected. In between lies a large group of buildings built between 1980 and 1991, 30–45 years old, usually with elevators and parking, but without a Mamad or protection. Hundreds of thousands of residents live in these buildings, yet they do not benefit from the programs and incentives simply because they are “too late” for the earthquake criterion and “too early” for protection standards.
This gap is not theoretical. It affects people in real time: elderly populations who struggle to move quickly, pregnant women, families with small children, and entire neighborhoods that discover with each siren that they have nowhere to go, simply because the planning definition has not been updated to match the current security reality.
“A Small Change Can Create a Huge Impact”
In my view, the required correction is not dramatic, but it is critical: updating the threshold year for urban renewal from 1980 to 1992, to allow residents of buildings without a Mamad to access assistance, financing, and incentives. This move specifically addresses the population that fell between two regulatory worlds,” says Gotenberg.
Policy makers should seriously consider this update. Around the world, the focus is less on the “age of the building” and more on its “resilience level” against contemporary risks. Israel can, and in my opinion must, align with this approach and direct resources to where the gap between existing construction and the required safety level is the greatest.