More Israelis want to own a weapon

There’s a crowd at the Hollander Shooting Club in Kfar Saba, north of Tel Aviv. Hundreds of customers come for the training required to obtain a gun license. The training, both theoretical and practical, lasts for one day. In the gymnasium, a group of nine men, ranging in age from their twenties to their sixties, practice drawing, shooting blanks, kneeling on the floor, and exchanging magazines in front of their instructor, a member of the Israeli special forces. “Reload without taking out the enemy’s eyes. You’re not Rambo yet, but with a little practice, you will be.”He insists.

“I came to own a gun. Since the attack took place on October 7, no one felt safe. Israel will never change again. It changes people, politics, military… I live next to Arab territories. What Hamas did could happen to us. It’s not science fiction.”, worried Amir Erez, 49 years old. The father of three teenage girls, the owner of a small software company, spent 25,000 shekels – almost 6,000 euros – to get all the training, as well as the gun and ammunition. The goal for him and his comrades is to be able to hold on while waiting for help in the event of an attack.

“Most people don’t want guns in their homes. But that has changed. We will probably be hiring to handle the influx of new applications.”, comments Ricky Hollander, Club Manager – A family affair. Roy, who completed his service as a marksmanship instructor in the army, said his son, 24, believes a weapon can be useful: “This will slow down the attack. In case of fire, terrorists will not be able to move freely outside. »

Exact limits

After the carnage by Hamas, Israel faced an unprecedented demand in its history: 180,500 new applications for a private weapon have been submitted, according to the Ministry of National Defense, headed by Jewish supremacist Itamar Ben Gvir. This trend is already increasing: in 2021, there were 19,000 requests. By 2022 they will double to 42,000. As a result of the May 2021 riots, the mixed cities were the scene of communal clashes between Israeli resident Jews and Palestinians. On the country’s streets, reservationists brandish their assault rifles with ease. Yet only 2% of Israelis legally own guns.

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