Does this website frighten you? Does it give you the impression that life in Israel is much less secure than abroad?
Well, perhaps it's time to balance that information with some good news. There's a way in which Israeli life is more secure than that in some places abroad.
Fires
Houses in Israel are rarely made of wood. As a result, an entire house cannot burn down.
Okay, there are some tents, caravans, tin huts, or asbestonim (just as they sound: they're made of asbestos planks). However, most Israeli houses are made of solid, non-flammable material.
The floors have solid stone tiles. They look like square plates of stone, so they are called balatot in Arabic and modern Hebrew. The walls are made of solid cinderblock or plaster; the floor, ceiling, and frame of the house are made of solid concrete with a facade of non-burhing stucco or stone. Don't knock it.
That means that you don't hear your neighbor unless he tries to disturb you. Of course, many neighbors do go to the extra mile. They helpfully take the effort to let you know that they are there. They might pound on tables or drums, slide chairs along the floor, sing loudly, or share their radio or TV entertainment with you.
On the other hand, in other countries the paper thin walls almost encourage you to hear your neighbor's quiet friendly conversations. Israeli homes let you kee secrets. They also require you to make a major effort to drive a nail into a wall.
As a result, the damage caused by a fire to a single residence is limited. Fires will not spread to another room unless a trail of combustibles helps them along.
In Israel, you know that you will not be burned alive in your home by a fire.
That's security.
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