Well, this is an interesting development.
For those who watched the October 7 attack videos, it was very noticeable that the civilians targeted by Hamas were basically sitting ducks. In Israel, a person is allowed to own a pistol; however, it is well regulated, and there’s a bureaucracy a civilian has to navigate to own and carry a firearm.
In the aftermath of the attack, Israeli officials removed the regulations using an emergency order, citing that the country was on a war footing and wanted their people able to protect themselves.
Then Israel’s National Security Minister was pictured handing out AR-15s (supplied by the USA) to what we would call community watch groups across the county, and that created a diplomatic spat.
We know if the left could ban the AR-15 in the US, they would, and the last thing they want is Israeli citizens defending themselves with that rifle.
After a back and forth with the Biden administration, the country agreed to only hand out the weapons to its police and army units.
A State Department spokesperson said: “President [Joe] Biden directed his team to ensure Israel has what it needs to defend itself, consistent with international law, and we are actively providing additional security assistance to the Israeli Defence Forces.
“Our assistance will flow quickly to meet Israel’s urgent needs.”
Since the war started Israel has created numerous armed volunteer security squads to protect themselves in case another uprising occurs in civilian areas.
In the meantime, a record amount of Israeli’s are flooding gun stores after the attack.
“I applied for my licence a month ago, and if the attack hadn’t happened, I’d have postponed this training – I wasn’t in a rush. Instead I decided to do it immediately,” said 29-year-old Yonatan Elbaz, a resident of the nearby Beitar Illit settlement. Elbaz chose an Israeli-made handgun because he “wanted to buy a gun from Eretz Yisrael”, he said, using a biblical name for Israeli people.
Israelis are arming themselves after the Hamas attack caught the IDF entirely off guard.
“I guess it serves as a kind of protection, as a deterrent. There’s a general feeling of insecurity,” another Israeli said.
“A lot more people are coming – everyone wants a gun now. They’re shaken and they don’t feel secure. There’s a completely different feeling now; they want guns to protect themselves,” Yael Gat, Israeli gun store owner, said.
Ben Shapiro posted a great show about why he is not giving up his AR-15. He also argues that the Israeli people in the Kibbutz probably wished they had one, too.
No, I Won’t Give Up My AR-15
— Ben Shapiro (@benshapiro) October 27, 2023
