What You Need to Know: In Israel, open carry of firearms reflects a focus on national defense rather than individual rights like America’s Second Amendment. While citizens may carry firearms, Israeli gun laws are stringent, requiring extensive IDF training and justifications for ownership.
-Israel’s unique security context, including threats from Hamas, Hezbollah, and neighboring tensions, drives its policies. Following the October 2023 Hamas attacks, gun license approvals surged dramatically. Unlike in the U.S., Israel's armed citizenry is vetted and tied to collective defense rather than self-defense.
-For Americans, Israel’s model underscores a balance of gun control and readiness, shaped by constant security challenges.
Even before I visited Israel in 2009, this reporter knew that I could expect to see guns on the streets. Not because I was heading into a warzone, but because it was a cultural norm in the Middle Eastern state. As a fairly well-traveled individual – I've been to around two dozen countries on five continents – I'm no stranger to seeing soldiers and police carrying firearms in public locations.
It was almost expected in Cairo, and even in modern London.
Terrorism has reared its ugly head in those cities. The armed police in London are part of the "new normal," even as the average police "Bobby" with the ubiquitous dark helmet remains unarmed. For the record, it was more alarming to see the rise in armed police in New York City after 9/11.
As a nearly two-decade resident of the City That Never Sleeps, prior to the terrorist attack I expected to see the boys in blue carrying sidearms. Afterward, it wasn't unusual to see DHS or Coast Guard personnel with H&K MP5s in lower Manhattan, while on........