IDF Homefront Command to Hack "Kosher" phones

For those in Israel, "air raid siren" testing is part of our routine, and every few months there are siren tests to ensure everyone will be able to hear them in case of an emergency.

The IDF Homefront Command tested a new, additional system today; in the event of a critical emergency, urgent messages can be sent to entire geographic locations in Israel, by the IDF.

Of course, this presented a problem for the Chareidi population that only uses "Kosher" cellphones, which in addition to zero internet connectivity, these phones also blocks all SMS reception and sending.

Therefore, in conjunction with the "Board of Rabbis for Communications", the IDF is creating a "workaround" which allows for SMS messages to be sent even to those "Kosher" cellphones, which under normal circumstances do not receive any SMS messages.

In an interview with Kol Chai Radio today, Lt. Col. Gil Hoffman, head of "Computer, Networking, and Emergency Alert" division of the IDF's Homefront Command, said that about three hundred thousand "kosher" devices will be connected to the emergency broadcast service. "We're currently in an initial phase of the project. Only we [the IDF] are allowed to send these messages and security posts. It not only alerts for missiles, but also warnings against dangerous events, hazardous materials, fires, or urgent warnings from the Ministry of Health, for example, if residents Bene Brak would need boil their water prior to drinking it."

Source: rotter


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IDF Homefront: You're on the Map!

Greeted by cheerful dolphins, scuba divers, ski bums, and a large Azrieli Shopping Center located in the center of geographic Israel (in the Shomron instead of Tel Aviv) -- the IDF Homefront Command is trying its best to take a very scary concept and make it palatable to all: All of Israel is now in rocket range from any of our numerous enemies.

(click image map to see it very clearly)

This map gives you a very accurate indicator of the minimum amount of time you need to find serious shelter in case of an missile detection Air Raid siren going off.

Our friends up north unfortunately have close to zero lead time, and must find shelter "immediately" upon hearing the siren. Based on the other generous amounts of time that other regions have, "immediately" means 0-15 seconds...

Different people cope with emergency situations in a variety of ways, but my personal recommendation has always been: preparedness is the best way to deal with an emergency. That's why we built a bomb shelter in our home, despite it not being mandatory from a zoning perspective (though 2 years after we built our home, it did become mandatory). All our cellphones (and our kids phones) have the emergency IDF dispatcher hotline programmed to a speed dial and we know who to call for emergencies, and how to act in case of different situations -- earthquakes, sirens, etc.

Just this past weekend, I showed our kids how to put on gas-masks (currently, the IDF only plans on redistributing them within 2 years), and I'd rather kids be aware of them now -- then only seeing them for the first time during an emergency.

The IDF Homefront says their new program of missile/emergency preparations and awareness does not mean a war is imminent, so I'll let you draw your own conclusions.

In the meantime, for residents of Israel, I seriously advise taking some time to read through the IDF Homefront website in English, Hebrew, Russian, and even in Arabic.

The Arabic is mildly disturbing, considering the fun graphics of missile launches, Qassam rockets and fires with Arabic captions look slightly more like something from a Hamas website.

OK people - you know what to do.

Be prepared, discuss it with your kids, and don't bury your head in the sand. Missile threats are reality -- and the best way to prepare is to take the outlined, necessary steps from the IDF Homefront command.

And make sure your bomb shelter/MAMAD has an internet connection in it, so you can see real-time updates from the Muqata blog.

Lets be careful out there!

hat-tip: Shulamith I.

Wherever I am, my blog turns towards Eretz Yisrael טובה הארץ מאד מאד