From Cities of Refuge to Bomb Shelters in Tel Aviv:The Long, Twisted History of the מקלט

Where does the word מקלט (shelter) come from—and when did we even start building ממ"דים?

Surprisingly, in the literature of the Sages, מקלט only appears in the context of biblical ערי מקלט (cities of refuge). The word only gains new life later—mainly in medieval poetry, prayers, and liturgy. For example, the 6th-century poet Yannai writes: “מקום מקלט בגבול משנה, ניתן כן בהר אפרים” (a place of refuge on a changing border, thus given on Mount Ephraim).

By the Haskalah (Jewish Enlightenment), מקלט started showing up in more secular contexts—always tied to the idea of safety. In 1788, Baruch Linda wrote in his book Reshit Limudim that the cathedrals of Madrid were "בתי מקלט for the condemned, thieves, murderers, and rebels against the monarchy."

By the mid-19th century, the term מקלט was already appearing in the Hebrew press as a translation of the German word Asyl. It took on multiple meanings: from shelters for the poor (מקלט לאביונים) to political sanctuaries—especially in the Zionist context of a “מקלט לאומי” (national refuge). That political meaning still echoes today in phrases like "מבקשי מקלט" (asylum seekers).

Other meanings—like monasteries or even Jewish ghettos as מקלטים—faded out over time. The big exception is "מקלט לנשים מוכות" (shelter for battered women), still very much in use.

During the British Mandate, מקלט began to evolve toward its modern meaning—though one major usage was still missing: shelter from bombs or missiles.

That changed in 1933.

Ahead of a major disarmament conference in Geneva, a collection of essays was published and translated into Hebrew by Aharon Reuveni. It was called HaMilchama HaBa’ah (“The Next War”), and it was nothing short of prophetic. In a piece published in Haaretz, Professor André Meyer warned about new weapons—chemical, biological, and conventional—and the threat they posed to civilian populations. His advice, in Reuveni’s translation: “Prepare the מקלטים during peacetime and equip them for their role once war breaks out.”

As World War II drew near, reports started popping up in the Hebrew press about מקלטים being built across Europe. In February 1938, for example, HaBoker reported that the French government had constructed several מקלטים in key cities, designed to withstand bomb and air raids.

Not long after, the need reached Israel too.

In 1940, the Italian air force bombed Tel Aviv, killing 137 people. That tragic event led to the installation of the siren system we still use today—and the first wave of מקלטים construction, though at the time they were few and far between.

Then came the 1948 war. From May to mid-July, Egyptian air raids hit Tel Aviv multiple times, killing around 150 people—including five Haaretz employees who died from a direct hit on the paper’s offices.

By 1951, Israel passed the Civil Defense Law, requiring מקלטים in all new buildings. But the big turning point came during the 1991 Gulf War. Iraq launched Scud missiles at Israel—and it became painfully clear that many homes still had no shelters, and public מקלטים were often too far away.

So in 1992, the law changed.

Enter the ממ"ד: the מרחב מוגן דירתי—a private, fortified room in every apartment, designed to serve as your own personal bomb shelter. A new phrase for an old reality.

Sirens. Dashes to shelter. The constant low-level dread of rockets, missiles, or UAVs. It’s a grim but integral part of life in Israel. But even the word מקלט didn’t always mean a concrete bunker.

Originally, מקלט appears in the Bible as part of a unique legal structure: ערי מקלט, designated cities where someone who killed unintentionally could flee for protection from blood vengeance.

"And you shall designate cities for yourselves—ערי מקלט they shall be for you—and the manslayer who struck down a soul by mistake shall flee there." (Numbers 35:11)

But were these cities ever real?

Probably not. Most references to ערי מקלט are found in the books of Numbers and Joshua—part of what scholars call the “Priestly Source,” believed to be some of the latest layers in the Hebrew Bible.

Earlier biblical texts paint a different picture. In the Book of Kings, for example, the killer doesn't flee to a city but rather to the Temple itself, clinging to the altar for safety: “Adoniyahu feared Solomon, and he went and grasped the horns of the altar.” (1 Kings 1:50)

Similar customs existed throughout the region—in Mesopotamia, in Greece. But it seems ערי המקלט were a later literary invention by Second Temple-era priests—those who couldn’t accept the idea of multiple temples, or the notion that a murderer (especially a non-priestly one) could physically touch a sacred altar.