What Happens When You Bring An Umbrella To A Knife Fight?

An article was posted by Arutz Sheva, an Israeli national news company, regarding the recent string of terror attacks in Israel, and the Israeli’s response to these attacks.  Arutz Sheva interviewed a Member of the Kenneset, Amir Ohana, a new comer to the Kenesset and a member of the Likud party, on his lobbying efforts for reforms in Firearm Laws in the State of Israel. This article posted by the news company reviews Ohana’s stance on current gun laws, what he thinks should happen, and why they should happen. This article also reviews terror attacks that were carried out by Hamas operatives onto the citizens of Israel in the past few months.

Likud MK Amir Ohana

To begin the interview, Ohana cited official state percentages regarding private firearm ownership in Israel. According to Arutz Sheva and MK Ohana, between 2 and 4 percent of private citizens in the State of Israel own a firearm, as opposed to the percentage of the United States, which they both stated to be 112, due to the ownership of multiple firearms for some of the firearms owners in the United States. Ohana was very clear about his intentions in regards to legislation for firearm distribution in the State of Israel. In his video interview with Arutz Sheva, he called for slow and regulated easements on current legislation, and he would like to eventually change that legislation. Currently, Israeli firearm regulation is strict, barring the recent lifting of restrictions to the standing legislation.

According to the Law Library of Congress, Israeli firearm legislation, in short, is restricted and highly regulated by the Israeli government, who issues the firearms to a certain group of people; those who are employed by ministries within the Israeli government, leaders of communities within Israeli towns who have been cleared by the government, military personnel, and those who cover a plethora of background and qualification tests, including residence and prior training on the handling of firearms. The only military personnel that may carry fire arms outside of the base and while they are on duty are those who are in combat units, and those who are stationed in the West Bank and other specified areas. Ohana would like to make large changes in legislation, but would like to still restrict it to those who fit a certain list of qualifications, such as law-abiding citizens with clean legal and medical records (in regards to mental health), and above all he would like for all military personnel, including the Reservists in the Israeli Defense Forces, to be able to carry military issue assault rifles even when they are away base.

The reason Ohana feels so strongly about correcting the current legislature on firearms is due to the recent string of terror attacks performed by Hamas operatives onto Israeli citizens. According to Israel’sMinistry of Foreign Affairs, since September 13, 2015, 33 people were killed along with another 375 injured (4 of who was Palestinian). These recent attacks have varied through different, methods, although the most frequently used method is stabbing attacks. 195 stabbing attacks and attempted stabbing attacks were made, while 77 attacks involved a gun, and 39 were ramming attacks involving vehicles.  

Arutz Sheva broke a story a week prior to Ohana’s interview, about a terroristattack carried out on Israeli civilians. During their Sabbath shopping on a Thursday evening, Israeli shoppers were attacked at a super market by two terrorists with knives. One of these terrorist killed an Israeli man who, without any weapons, attempted to disarm and stop this terrorist. The other terrorist was shot down and thwarted by a civilian legally carrying a firearm before the terrorist could attack anybody else.  Ohana uses this scenario as a prime example to bolster his argument in the Kenesset, and help the people of Israeli defend themselves against what seems to be the inevitable and relentless threat of waves of Palestinian terror attacks carried out against Israelis.

According to Ohana, in the past few months, 8 attempted attacks were suppressed by armed citizens in Jerusalem.  Ohana believes that this type of reward is much higher than the risk of an armed Israeli citizen committing mass shootings and attacks, much like what we see in the United States. His hope is that with clear, honest, and strict legislation, the distribution of firearms can be managed by Israelis and they can keep terror attacks from Palestinians onto Israelis from happening, and keep mass shootings by Israeli citizens from happening as well. 

In this article, the author and interviewer, Ari Soffer, remained neutral and did not provide his opinion. He only listed factual evidence based off of state numbers and other stories broken by the news company he reports for, and only mentioned the things Ohana mentioned during their interview.