Q&A of the Day – Israel’s Gun Control Policies
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Today’s Entry: I am a little confused. Israel is surrounded by her enemies. It is my understanding that everyone must serve in the military as an adult. If they are surrounded by their enemies, why doesn't everyone have a weapon in their home to protect themselves from their enemies? I would imagine that they are all familiar with weapons from their military training. Do they have some type of anti-weapons culture like the anti 2nd amendment people we have here in the US? It would have made a difference if they had weapons to fight back.
Bottom Line: You raise an interesting question in the wake of the worst terror attack on Israel, in its history and the Jewish people specifically, since the Holocaust...gun control policy. I’ll start by answering your second question first as it’s instructive in Israel but also throughout most of the world. The genius and success of the United States is that this country was founded essentially as the opposite of all others. That as Americans our rights are God-given not government given. Thus, generally, we have the right to do as we please provided that we don’t use our freedom and our rights to inhibit those of others or to cause harm generally. Your 2nd Amendment example is on point for two reasons. There are only three countries in the world in which the right to bear arms is constitutionally protected and no, Israel isn’t one of those. So essentially almost the entire world has an “anti-weapons” culture as you put it, including all of the most violent countries in the world. So about what Israel’s policy towards guns has been and about gun ownership levels in Israel...
Prior to 2018 Israel had some of the most restrictive gun control policies in the world among countries which do allow any ownership. Under the country’s previous policy there was a burden of proof of one’s need to possess guns that had to be overcome in order for ownership. That burden of proof came down to one’s profession, (police and security personnel were allowed to purchase and own), or that they were living or working in areas considered to be especially dangerous (border communities). And even for those who were granted the ability by the government to bear arms, there were significant restrictions on gun type, and significant and ongoing firearms training and competency testing was required. Permits were also only granted for up to ten years. The result was that only 2% of the country’s population legally possessed firearms.
In 2018, in response to growing regular terror attacks by Islamic terror groups – most commonly Hamas – and with largely conservative leadership at the time, the restrictions were loosened. The change allowed for all former military and law enforcement personnel to continue to legally possess once they’ve completed their service. The ongoing competency testing was dropped, and the limited 10-year permits were also dropped. Also, a larger array of guns were legally made available. As a result of the rules changes gun ownership rates more than tripled over the 5-year window preceding the recent Hamas terror attacks to an estimated 7%. If you’re wondering why rates might have still been that low, there’s another key cog in the puzzle that was referenced in today’s note that is often not known by non-Israeli's...mandatory military service.
While it’s true that all able-bodied Israeli's are to enlist and serve with the IDF starting at the age of 18 – there's a big ‘ole but. There’s a religious exemption. Various religious sects are at odds with military service. Ultra-Orthodox Jews and Arabs fit into that category for example. Historically, since its founding in 1949, Israel’s religiously exempted population has been about 30%. However, the sects with exemptions are by far the fastest growing within the country and most recently represent about 60% of the country’s population (that’s largely because Arab populations have been the fastest growing within Israel). So essentially about half of the country isn’t serving these days which has factored into the gun control conversation significantly given the laws in place previously and even most recently preceding the current war. As for what’s happened most recently.
In the immediate aftermath of the Hamas terror attacks, Israel issued an emergency order lifting most restrictions on gun ownership and also handed out 10,000 rifles to civilians as part of creating armed citizen defense teams. The result of the order was that every gun shop in Israel reported they’d sold out of weapons within a day. This means in real-time there’s record gun ownership within Israel – though it’s unclear exactly how many people are now owning...early estimates suggest there are hundreds of thousands of new owners – which in a country of fewer than 10-million people is a significant number. Clearly, the country has recognized the need for people to better defend themselves.
If you look for stories of those who successfully defended their families because they were armed and capable of doing so, you can find them, though they’re rare. While clearly having the ability to defend yourself and your family at least would give you a literal fighting chance, often the families which did possess a gun or guns were outgunned. In addition to the use of grenades and other explosive devices, the terrorists most commonly were carrying Russian AK 47’s. While the Russian AK do come in semi-automatic styles that can be legally purchased in the US, their original and primary purpose is as an automatic military use rifle with the ability to fire up to 600 rounds per minute. The element of superior firepower and military-trained terrorists using the element of surprise provided an overwhelming advantage to the terrorists in the immediate minutes surrounding the attack. With all of that being said, there’s no doubt greater possession could have been helpful in the door-to-door attacks which ensued.
It’s likely times have forever changed in Israel related to gun control policy as the country is literally fighting for its survival. It’s hard to imagine the government suggesting families who want to use firearms to protect their families won’t be able to do so after everything we’ve seen.