From My Friend Jaymie:

Recently, 7,500 vibrating beepers were distributed to deaf residents of Israel to alert them of an Iraqi missile attack. There is a siren that blares and anyone in the Israel proximity would hear it and take refuge and attempt to avoid getting hit in the missile attacks. What about the deaf Israelis? The IDF Home Front Command implemented the distribution of the beepers. When the beepers vibrate (go off), a message with instructions will appear on the screen. This is wonderful for those who are able to read Hebrew, but how does it help those who do not. There are about 1,000 deaf immigrants from the former Soviet Union living in Israel and several hundreds from other countries. Most of them have never learned to read Hebrew. The level of anxiety among deaf immigrants and illiterate Israelis is increasing as the war in Iraq escalates. Makes me wonder how ready anyone is in any circumstance. Take deaf Americans for instance, how are they alerted when a tornado hits in the Midwest, or a volcanic activity takes place in Hawaii. Hmm....