Masking the Mask: An Israeli Response to the Threat of Chemical Warfare

This paper analyzes a form of visual euphemism which we call “masking the mask.” During the Gulf War, Iraq fired 40 missiles on Israel. Citizens were issued with gas mask kits and were ordered into sealed rooms in their homes during attacks. Thousands of Israelis of all ages decorated or covered their gas mask kits. Although no chemical warheads were fired on the country, Israelis were unusually fearful of gassing because of associations with the Holocaust. Masking the mask served important psychological and communicative functions. It provided a means to express one's fears, to attempt a modest form of mastery over a threatening environment, as well as to rebel against dehumanization and personalization, and to express solidarity with the group under threat, while reasserting one's individual identity.