They wont help serve, mostly, at least, they get everything others have, but for less, and now they expect the country to finance air pump masks, which are very costly to them?? Life is more important and if need be, they will shave. It is a very temporary situation. What leeches! Get but no give!

Shows how much you love your family and children if you're willing to risk yourself or them so much. They don't pay taxes but they still demand special treatment or they call foul. During the gulf war you had to shave your beard as well. That's how the standard adult gas mask works. Entitled, irresponsible pricks.

petz. GROW THE HELL UP! Should the bombs fall I can guarantee you that you wont give a damn about your beards. At a time like this every single effort must be done to save ones life. My son wears a beard and payos. He is stationed in the tanks. Should he be given a command to shave in order to don his gas mask, he would do so in a nanosecond. GROW UP! Enough of your continuous nonsense. The situation is very serious. Saving ones life should be your main priority.

Eichler: "...proof that the government does not tolerate a Jew with a beard" There bearded Jews and bearded non-Jews. They are in clearly in the minority, and since there is no halakhic proscription to wear a beard, and even if there were, protecting oneself takes precedence, and since they are very expensive to make and thus would come at a cost for everybody (including the Haredim) all these claims are ridiculous. And besides, why doesn't Eichler just trust the Lord?

"Better a Jew without a beard than a beard without a Jew." Long forgotten saying. The Haredi have simply gone mad. The State which they do not recognize refuses to spend a fortune on scarce funds because they refuse to trim their beards (and a long beard is something not even mandatory under Jewish law) and they think this is a crime? Or they think God will watch over them so they should not wear a mask, rather than trim a beard? And if their streimels do not fit under the gas mask will they refuse to wear one on Shabbat? They are mad - simply mad. Yeshivah education is producing literal mad men.

to start on the Haredim. I have just collected the masks from bet shemesh point . There were haredim ,No one at all complained. about any thing and specially not about that issue. So please get on with your life. enough of this non sense..its a critical time for israel and we need to be good to each other so G-D would have mercy on us.

Being a matter of "extreme necessity", I am sure religion will allow Haredim a cut in their beards so as to fit inside the gas masks.

Therefore, it is OK to shave your beard in order to LIVE through a gas attack.

Pullleeez, if there is a chance of war then take the normal gas masks just in case and shave your beard if the need does arise. I do not understand why it is a crime against Hareidim...this is just another excuse to have sinat chinam for fellow Jews...which is counter productive. The only ones looking dumb are those making a fuss.

I believe that the government has more pressing issues, nor the budgets, to deal with than your beards. If it doesn't fit I hope your rabbi is sensible enough to have God make am exception. If not, you're on your own.

Eichler: "...proof that the government does not tolerate a Jew with a beard" There bearded Jews and bearded non-Jews. They are in clearly in the minority, and since there is no halakhic proscription to wear a beard, and even if there were, protecting oneself takes precedence, and since they are very expensive to make and thus would come at a cost for everybody (including the Haredim) all these claims are ridiculous. And besides, why doesn't Eichler just trust the Lord?

we waste enough money on them they can shave or pay for them. No reason the state has to pay for this!!!!!!

B"H I'm Haredi and my beard is quite big.I keep my beard untrimmed for kabbalistic reasons. But when time comes to put on my Gas Mask G-d forbid, the beard goes in a flash, no second thoughts. It's a Mitzvah that can be put aside in a life and death situation. You don't want to shave your beard? Go ahead, make your day. But don't cry out about unfair. The so called "entire population that is left out" does not bring in enough money to the state, so why should the state provide for them for something that is not a Torah prohibition?

Don't they rely on their g, or is it the beginning of a movement? I sense a deep contradiction with faith and a statement of mistrust. It looks to me like the Haredim are not obedient any more. Another step in this direction and they will be flocking to lishkot ha'gius.

My husband is asthmatic and has a short beard. He submitted all his medical information that they wanted..twice and was told...shave your beard and no special mask for the asthma... So much for our government protecting its citizens...We have only Hashem to rely on to protect us...

They have a secret plan, not just for themselves but for the whole nation. Beni Gantz will sit on top of Tel Abu Nida overlooking the battlefield, Eichler to his left and Porush on his right. When the going gets tough--------,well you probably get it by now.

our rabbi, an orthodox, bead-wearing rabbi, while in Israel during the First Gulf War, had to shave his beard so that it would fit properly into a gas mask. It's hard to sympathize with those who are so psychotic that they can't remove a beard in order to save their own lives. hair grows back, dummy

It is not right that people with beards are discriminated against by being refused masks with pumps but the idea they will not shave their beard that plain stupidity and possibly they may even be commuting a sin in their own right with that attitude. The protection of life is supposed to take precedent over just via out everything short of renouncing God and that includes shaving your beard. Beards prevent gas masks from creating an airtight seal which stops gas getting in so by refusing to shave they cannot stop gas getting in, the gas will kill them and then they will have died as sinners. They want to be good God fearing men then as these are dangerous times get rid of the beard so you can wear a mask if needed and when the threat is gone grow a nice new beard.

There's no need to give yeshiva bochrim gas masks.

People that are not satisfied with the regular gas masks are free to purchase more sophisticated products at their own expense.

These fanatical fundamentalist parasites sure have a weird set of priorities. I thought the Torah has a thing called "Pikuach Nefesh". Funny how shaving one's beard doesn't fit into that.

bullshit. If according to halaha one is allowed to eat treif to save one.s life, shaving is certainly allowed

Sorry guys, I'm not scared by your story. I have a beard, I'm not getting a gas mask under any circumstances, and the Creator of the World will protect me against all the people who want to destroy my way of life. Including you.

What's the point anyway? Women prefer beardless men. Shave, guys, shave!

I don't understand why the authorities don't explain the bearded haredimor other citizens with beard how to use a gas mask. You have to apply a generous amount of Vaseline or a product like it around the seams of the masks thus reaching the desired effect of a tight seal. It takes a few tries to get it right but armies all over the world instruct their bearded soldiers to do just that. So there is no discrimination going on but it is simple a lack of the right instructing.

the goal is to get as many people as possible with gas masks, not custom design gas masks for each citizen. its not practical, and Israel can't afford to do that.

It isn't necessary to cut a long beard to achieve a gas tight seal around the face. Simply smear the beard heavily with with petroleum jelly (Vaseline), margarine or kosher chicken schmaltz before putting on the gas mask, and with the straps very tight. Messy, but this will provide a good seal against toxic gas or aerosols ("nerve gas" is not really a gas but a mist of liquid drops that settle on the surface. Washing with strong household bleach or lye soap will destroy it. Leave the mask on while decontaminating ones self or items. But #9 and others are 100% correct about Pikuach Nefesh - it overrides Halaka,and it is permissible to cut a beard to put on a gas mask in an emergency. Not a single reputable Rabbi anywhere will disagree. As usual, we are hearing typical Haredi drama and whining about "discrimination".

There's just not enough masks period. I took off early from work and traveled for over an hour to find that they were out of gas masks in Haifa. There were none in Ma'alot either. Forget who the masks aren't good for, there aren't enough period and there needs to be more!

the issue with wearing a gas mask with a beard is the leaking of air into the mask, around the filters, correct? So, if one would fill his beard with wax or a thick fatty-substance and don the mask tightly, wouldn't that go a long way to block air leakage? Has anyone checked? And if beards are long and bushy, couldn't they be trimmed closer to the skin and still meet even the most radical of rabbis demands?

I have mine since more than a year . There was a "campaign" asking people to come and take masks . There were plenty of them , no queue . Don't blame the State for your own negligence