In Israel, Orthodox Men Demand Beard-Friendly Gas Masks

RELIGION NEWS SERVICE 
By Michele Chabin

ISRAEL---In recent days, as Orthodox Jews and other bearded men have gone to distribution centers to retrieve their protective hood-like gas masks, they learned the government has only a limited supply, earmarked solely for the elderly and people with breathing problems. Demand for protective hoods – as well as standard-issue gas masks — has soared since the U.S. administration confirmed that Syrian civilians were killed last week by chemical weapons. The Orthodox Shas party is demanding that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu order the mass production of the Bardas, a hooded device that was available to bearded men during the Gulf War, when Iraq attacked Israel with conventional weapons. Unlike traditional gas masks, which cannot form a seal over a beard, the hoods cover the entire head. [link]