Public disorder results in premature closure of Jerusalem gas mask dispensary.

Public disorder results in premature closure of Jerusalem gas mask dispensary.(JPost).

A chaotic scene, characterized by unruly and rude citizens cutting in line to receive government-subsidized gas masks in anticipation of a potential Syrian chemical weapons strike, resulted in the premature closure of a dispensary at a Jerusalem mall Wednesday afternoon.

Although the dispensary, located at the Kanyon Hadar mall in Talpiot, was supposed to distribute the masks between the hours of 11 a.m. to 7 p.m., it shut down shortly after 1 a.m. due to the disorderly and impatient crowd.
“It was a balegon (mess),” said the owner of an adjacent women’s clothing store, who requested her name not be published. “People were given numbers, but no one respected this and just jumped to the head of the line.”
Despite the mayhem that ensued, many of the Israelis who left empty-handed said they were not overly panicked by the increasingly volatile situation with Syria.
Retired Rabbi Ruben Landman and his wife Gila, who made aliya from Silver Springs, Maryland in March, said the present state of affairs is being presented as far more dire in America’s media than Israel’s.
“The only reason I came [to the mall] was one of my former congregants from Maryland said he saw the story [of a possible chemical attack against Israel] on page one of all the papers there,” said Ruben. “So he said I should hurry and go get a gas mask.”
“They seem more worried about what’s going on here in the US than they are in Israel,” Ruben added.
Indeed, Gila said when she and other students in her ulpan studied Israel’s Hebrew newspapers Wednesday, mention of a chemical attack was relegated to the back pages.
“What I found really interesting is that the front page of the newspapers in Israel were all about first-graders starting school – then maybe on page 8, there was news about Syria and the repercussions for Israel, including the use of chemical weapons,” she said.
“So, despite what happened [at the mall] today, the impression I’m getting is that people aren’t that worried.”
Ruben said he attributed the preceding commotion to general Israeli impatience and intolerance for waiting in lines.
“My experience being here in Israel is that everywhere you go that involves waiting on lines there’s always unnecessary pushing and no order – especially when things are free,” he said. “I don’t think what happened here today was about panic at all.”
Oren Ilouz, a former IDF soldier who moved to Israel five years ago from France, said that while he was not panicked about the alarming situation, he did sense a palpable sense of “urgency” among Israelis to be prepared for the worse.
“People are feeling the urgency to get the masks because of the situation with Syria, whereas most people didn’t care that much [about the masks] beforehand,” said Ilouz. “They’re not panicked, but people definitely think something is going to happen in Israel and they want to be ready.”
Erica Sender, a 23-year-old who made aliya from Atlanta less than two months ago, and is presently living in an absorption center with immigrants from 26 countries, described the experience as “emotional” and “surreal.”
“It’s kind of emotional because I now live in the turmoil and it’s so strange to go to the mall not to shop but to get a gas mask,” she said. “I’ve never done anything like this. It’s surreal.”
Filipe Sichel, who moved to Israel from Rio de Janeiro in July, and resides at the same absorption center as Sender, also appeared calm, despite not being able to acquire a mask.
“I think this is very unusual, that’s for sure,” he said. “But I’m not terribly worried. My hope is that we won’t have to use them.”
Meanwhile, Alisa Meir Epstein, who was perusing books at a nearby shop, expressed frustration at the prospect of another conflict.
“I’m not particularly concerned,” she said. “I’ve lived here since 1969, through at least a dozen wars, and I’m just pissed off that we have to deal with this again. Been there, done that.”Read the full story here.