Arriving in the Holy Land, the pilgrim notices many people in civilian clothes carrying an automatic pistol on their belt, or even an assault rifle slung over their shoulder. How does a young mother taking her child to daycare end up carrying a weapon of war?
In Israel, civilians can obtain primarily handguns, while long guns, like assault rifles, are reserved for military personnel and professions with specific permits.
Framed legislation
The manager of a private gun shop and shooting range explains: “It’s the only country in the world where it’s like this. It's because of the political situation. If we were safe, the state would take our guns away, and we wouldn't mind. » His response implies that unlike the United States, carrying weapons in Israel is not a right but is authorized by the Israeli state which exercises strict control over their possession and circulation. To obtain a permit, you must be 21 years old, an Israeli citizen, and have completed part of your military service – one year in a combat unit or two years of service for a man, one year of service for a woman. Exceptions may be granted on a case-by-case basis for civilians living in “dangerous areas”. Applicants must also provide proof of address, a work or study certificate, a clean criminal record and a medical certificate attesting to their good physical and mental condition. Next, a licensing official from the Ministry of National Security assesses the suitability of each applicant.
If the candidate is approved, he receives a permit and goes to a private gun store where he undergoes training on safety rules and behavior to adopt with a handgun. A gunsmith employee compares this training to that of a driving school: “There is a manual accessible online with all the state guidelines. We ask candidates to prepare, we train them to these standards, and then we give them exams. If they pass them, we can sell them a weapon. » According to the law, an Israeli citizen can only own one weapon, declared to the state in the event of sale, and can only hold 50 rounds of ammunition. This ammunition is accounted for by the State and can only be repurchased after having been fired in a controlled shooting range or returned to an armory. Illegal carrying of weapons is punishable by one to two years in prison. “Those who have done their military service, I trust them. It's rare that I make them fail exams. It’s those who haven’t done it who worry me.”
“Those who have done their military service, I trust them. It's rare that I make them fail exams. It’s those who haven’t done it who worry me.”
This process requires a significant amount of paperwork. In the armory, dozens of men of all ages jostle with overflowing piles of documents for secretaries while screens broadcast advertisements showing actresses hiding small pistols in their jeans. In an adjacent room, an instructor wearing a cap adorned with the Israeli flag gives a lesson to a group of young men, fake weapons in hand. He tells us: “Those who have done their military service, I trust them. It's rare that I make them fail exams. It’s those who haven’t done it who worry me.”
The second idea mentioned by the manager is that Israelis do not feel safe in their country. Questioned in the streets of the Old City about their feelings, Israeli citizens say they feel safer knowing that civilians are armed. Their argument is recurring: when a terrorist attack occurs, it is most often civilians who kill the attacker. Solitary attacks, with knives or car ramming, have increased in recent years and experienced a resurgence in recent weeks. On October 27, a truck drove into a crowd in Glilot, leaving one dead and thirty-two injured. The driver was shot dead by armed civilians.
Explosion in the number of requests
According to the Times of Israël, since the attacks of October 7, 2023, requests for permits to carry weapons have exploded: 260,000 requests have been submitted to the Ministry of the Interior, with processing of 3,000 permits per day compared to 100 previously. Of these requests, 42,000 come from women, of which 18,000 have already been approved. The gun store reports that its sales have increased 25-fold. National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir encourages Israeli civilians to arm themselves. In March 2024, he was pleased to have exceeded the milestone of 100,000 armed civilians since October 7. He criticizes the Israeli left, which advocates restrictions, for opposing a policy that “saves lives”. Following the Glilot attack, he declared: “My policy of arming civilians is proving its worth. Police officers and civilians neutralize terrorists. » In addition to lowering the minimum license age to 21, Ben-Gvir distributed 10,000 weapons to “civil security” groups in areas near Gaza, the West Bank and cities with large Arab populations . However, the risks incurred by arming the civilian population were revealed during an attack on November 30, 2023; Yuval Castleman, who tried to neutralize the perpetrator of the attack, was shot dead by a reserve soldier, Aviad Frija, mistaking him for the attacker.
The Israeli population, in a Hobbesian way, does not consider carrying weapons a right and prefers to leave the monopoly of violence to the State.
Concerning long weapons, such as assault rifles, their carry is limited to military personnel on duty or to civilians who receive authorization for specific reasons. Civilian carrying of weapons is mainly limited to handguns. Exceptions exist for other categories of weapons, but they are justified mainly on professional grounds and handled on a case-by-case basis. Farmers, tourist guides, hunters, and members of civil security companies can thus obtain assault rifle permits. Most Israelis carrying these long guns in civilian clothes on the street, however, are serving military personnel or reservists. Their weapon does not belong to them, it is a service weapon, provided by the army.
As the newspaper says The Times of Israelin an article comparing American and Israeli legislation on the carrying of weapons, the Israeli population in a Hobbesian manner does not consider the carrying of weapons as a right and prefers to leave the monopoly of violence to the State. However, the current political situation is pushing this state to temporarily arm its population, taking advantage of a strong feeling of insecurity.
