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US Jews Seek Gun Permits, Armed Congregants After Synagogue Attacks
Confirmed
In Short: Three years after the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas attack, some US Jews are seeking gun permits and pushing for armed congregants in synagogues.
Among the responses to the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas attack, some US Jews are applying for gun permits, calling for synagogues to allow armed congregants, and questioning current security measures.
New York City influencer Lizzy Savetsky, a right-wing pro-Israel advocate, posted a call to arms from a shooting range, writing, “It’s open hunting season on Jews,” to her nearly 500,000 followers.
Michael Masters, CEO and national director of the Secure Community Network, emphasized the need for structured and coordinated policies if synagogues decide to allow armed congregants. He stated, “We are saying that if a facility is going to allow individuals into the facility carrying firearms, that it is critical they do it in a well structured, well coordinated, well thought-out way, given the implications.”
The Secure Community Network, which coordinates security for Jewish institutions nationwide, has published new recommendations for synagogues on how to handle armed congregants.
Jewish gun ownership has historically been low, but the situation has grown intense, with the Jewish firearms club Lox & Loaded experiencing rapid growth. A Jewish mother in Cleveland, who was previously uncomfortable with guns, now feels the need to own one.
The Jewish mother, who asked to remain anonymous, said, “It’s unfortunately just a different world today than it was.” She got her training through Lox & Loaded, a Jewish firearms club that has chapters in 15 cities around the country.
The push for armed congregants has been fueled by recent attacks, such as the incident in Belleville, Ontario, where a gunman shouted, “You’re going to die for the Jews,” before opening fire on a synagogue during Yom Kippur services.
The Jewish Telegraphic Agency reported that personal guns in the United States are far more likely to result in accidental deaths or suicides than to fend off attackers, raising concerns about the effectiveness and safety of armed congregants.
Despite these concerns, some synagogues are pushing for armed congregants, citing the need for immediate action in the face of increasing threats.
The Orthodox Jewish community, which comprises about 10 percent of US Jews and tends to be more politically conservative and pro-gun, is leading this push.
The Silver Spring Jewish Center in Maryland, for example, devised a plan to arm the synagogue during prayer services with members ready to fire a gun, in response to the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas attack.
The push for armed congregants is not without controversy, with some synagogues facing legal challenges. The Silver Spring congregation is suing Montgomery County, Maryland, which passed a law prohibiting the carrying of firearms in or within 100 yards of houses of worship.
Background
Three years after the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas attack, some US Jews are seeking gun permits and pushing for armed congregants in synagogues.
Three years after the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas attack, some US Jews are seeking gun permits and pushing for armed congregants in synagogues.
What's confirmed
- Among the others: surging applications for gun permits in some areas with many Jews (fueled as well by a sweeping 2022 Supreme Court ruling striking down New York’s gun rules ), calls to synagogues about their gun policies and at least one prominent Jewish influencer, New York City’s Lizzy Savetsky, posting a call to arms from a shooting range.
- “It’s open hunting season on Jews,” Savetsky, a right-wing pro-Israel influencer, wrote in the post to her nearly 500,000 followers.
- (Photo courtesy SCN) Each of the 141 Jewish federations in North America has a dedicated professional on staff directing security for the Jewish institutions in its geographic area, including synagogues, schools, community centers and camps.
- BELLEVILLE, Ontario (AP) — A former Canadian soldier who opened fire on a police officer outside an Ontario synagogue during Yom Kippur shouted “you’re going to die for the Jews” moments before shooting, police said Thursday, declaring the attack was motivated by hate.
- Belleville Police Chief Murray Rodd disclosed the alleged words of 29-year-old Sean Ward as police for the first time publicly identified a motive for Sunday’s attack outside the Sons of Jacob Synagogue.
- The congregation is now suing Montgomery County, Maryland, which passed a law in July prohibiting the carrying of firearms in or within 100 yards of houses of worship.
- “I would have hoped that one of the people in the synagogue that morning, one of the members from the synagogue, had had a gun on them to have ended things a little bit earlier,” Cytron-Walker told JTA of his escape from the synagogue with the two remaining hostages.
- But the Hamas attack, in which 1,200 Israeli civilians and soldiers were killed, jump-started the Silver Spring congregation’s resolve to bear arms.
- “Salam Ahmadyan 36 of Liverpool and Rahman Salehi 34 of Salford, both Iranian nationals, were arrested in Manchester on Sunday, 20 September,” Friday’s police statement said.
- “Make no mistake, this was a targeted attack against the Jewish community,” Belleville Police Chief Murray Rodd said at a news conference.
What's still developing
- You can reach her at jprinsley@thejc.com Vote in favour of policy is 1,022 to 813 against, as party also rejects safeguards for Jews attending Zionist synagogues A motion defining Zionism as racism has passed at the Green Party annual conference 1,026 votes to 648.
- Going virtual “was a new challenge but it was also full of possibilities. For example, the ability to be interactive and also the possibility to include new material, documents, photos, without a physical limitation,” said Marcelo Polakoff, senior rabbi of the Masorti Centro Unión Israelita synagogue, Córdoba’s main temple.
- You are about to be charged £0.00 * WATCH NOW: Extra police and patrols promised to Jewish communities to protect synagogues on Holy days One has already been granted asylum, while the second has a live asylum claim Join the fight for free speech and fearless journalism.
- A visitor stands in the sanctuary of Templo Libertad, Buenos Aires’ first synagogue.
- The arrests come nearly a year after a deadly knife and gun attack on the Heaton Park Hebrew Congregation Synagogue in northern Manchester where worshippers had gathered for Yom Kippur, the holiest day in the Jewish calendar.
- Its families are getting back together Where to observe Yom Kippur in St. Louis in 2026 Why Southern Jews and synagogues mourned Robert E.
- Antisemitic flyers were found at the Sons of Jacob Synagogue in Belleville, Ont., and on nearby residential streets on Oct. 1, prompting a police investigation less than two weeks after a gunman attacked the synagogue during Yom Kippur services.
- About two dozen people were inside the synagogue marking the start of Yom Kippur, the holiest day on the Jewish calendar.
- “For 40 minutes, hundreds of people insulted us and spat at us,” he said.
- A mob surrounded seven French Jewish tourists after they left a synagogue in the port area of Barcelona, Spain, last month, spitting at them and shouting antisemitic slurs in an incident that lasted nearly 40 minutes.
- While there have been widely publicized examples of personal guns being used to end deadly violence against Jews, particularly in Israel, where gun ownership surged after Oct. 7, data shows that personal guns in the United States are far more likely to kill children in accidents or their owners by suicide than to fend off attackers.
- But while hard data about changes in gun ownership among Jews is scant, Lox & Loaded’s rapid growth is one of several signals that more Jews may be packing heat in the wake of Oct.