JERUSALEM (JTA) — Israel will halt almost all of its gas mask production due to a decline in the threat of a gas or chemical attack.

The decision, according to Haaretz, comes a year after the Defense Ministry decided to reduce production and stop distributing gas masks to Israel’s civilian population. Now, Defense Minister Moshe Yaalon has also decided to halt gas mask production for the Israel Defense Forces. First responders will still receive gas masks.

Israel restarted mass distribution of gas masks last year in response to the threat of a chemical weapons attack from Syria. But Syria’s agreement later in the year to dispose of its chemical weapons stock sharply reduced that threat. Syria completed the disposal process in June. When Israel stopped distributing masks to civilians, 60 percent of Israelis were estimated to have gas masks.

"Why I became the Forward’s Editor-in-Chief"

You are surely a friend of the Forward if you’re reading this. And so it’s with excitement and awe — of all that the Forward is, was, and will be — that I introduce myself to you as the Forward’s newest editor-in-chief.

And what a time to step into the leadership of this storied Jewish institution! For 129 years, the Forward has shaped and told the American Jewish story. I’m stepping in at an intense time for Jews the world over. We urgently need the Forward’s courageous, unflinching journalism — not only as a source of reliable information, but to provide inspiration, healing and hope.

That’s where you come in. Gifts of any size keep the Forward free and accessible to everyone and ensure we have the resources we need to power the Forward at this critical time for American Jews.

Don't just read the Forward - invest in it. That’s only possible thanks to the support of readers like you. Will you support our work today?

Support our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.

$120 $180 $360 OTHER AMOUNT