A growing number of American Jews are taking gun safety courses and going to shooting ranges across the country because they fear for their safety following the Hamas attack on Israel.
More Jewish customers have been purchasing guns amid rising anti-Semitism following the Hamas attacks on October 7, according to David Kowalsky, owner of Florida Gun Store in Hollywood, Florida.
“We’ve definitely seen a tremendous increase in the number of religious and Orthodox Jews purchasing firearms,” Kowalsky told NBC News.
“I’ve seen an increase in individual training as well as group training.”
Many of Kowalsky’s firearms instructors and others across the country they have been teaching have never held a gun before, including many women. Some have even spoken out in favor of gun control.
“These are mothers, teachers, most of them are people who have never interacted with firearms or thought about owning them,” Kowalsky said.
“There is a safety concern,” he said. “I think people are nervous about what’s happening and what can happen.”
Among those seeking guns is Henya Chein, who attended a gun safety seminar at her synagogue in Florida last week and then attended a one-on-one session at a local shooting range.
A growing number of American Jews are taking gun safety courses and going to shooting ranges across the country as they fear for their safety following the Hamas attack on Israel.Getty Images
She said she has always been afraid of guns, but felt “forced to do it because Jews are not safe anywhere right now.”
Endi Tennenhaus, a preschool director and mother of seven in Hollywood, Florida, also helped organize gun safety training for women at her synagogue.
Her husband, who serves as the congregation’s rabbi, had already organized a group of men to go to a local shooting range.
“I said, ‘What about women? I’m sure some women would love to do that too,” Tennenhaus told NBC News.
“If all our husbands buy guns, we want to make sure we also know [how] use them and also be able to protect our children and be able to keep guns safe in their homes.”
Many of the American Jews whom firearms instructors across the country have been teaching over the past week have never held a gun before, including many women. Some have even spoken out in favor of gun control. Sygma via Getty Images
Tennenhaus said about 25 to 30 women attended the introductory class and a shooting range session is scheduled next week.
An unidentified 41-year-old woman in Miami Beach told NBC News that she is pro-gun control and had no desire to pick up a gun.
But she decided to sign up for a weapons training session after receiving death threats from unknown accounts on Instagram, where she had previously posted about being Jewish.
Some contained graphic images of dead bodies, he said.
“It’s not like, ‘Hey, I’m proud and happy and I want to do this,’” said the woman, who wished to remain anonymous for the safety of her family. “I have no choice, it’s very sad.”
Some synagogue congregations in the United States have organized gun safety courses and outings to local shooting ranges.Getty Images
The surge in American Jews buying guns and seeking gun safety courses isn’t just limited to Florida.
In Los Angeles, California, Rabbi Yossi Eilfort said the nonprofit he runs to provide classes and firearms training to the Jewish community received more than 600 calls last week.
And Danniel Lombard, a Chicago police officer who runs DAVAD Civilian Defense, a firearms training company, said he has seen a massive increase in interest from the local Jewish community and will “definitely” add more classes to meet the demand.
Meanwhile, David Prince, who runs Eagle Gun Range in Dallas-Fort Worth, Texas, said demand at his two locations has skyrocketed 300% since Hamas’ surprise attack on Israel.
“It’s been a really big change these last three or four days,” he told WFAA. “People coming in and saying they fear for their lives, that because of their religion they expect to be attacked.”
The rise in gun sales and training lessons among American Jews comes amid fears of anti-Semitism.Getty Images
The rise in gun sales and training lessons marks a shift for the American Jewish community, Hank Sheinkopf, a veteran political strategist and Orthodox rabbi based in New York, told NBC News.
“Historically, the majority of Jews in the country have been left-wing liberals, pro-gun reform, pro-gun control, opposed to personal gun ownership,” he said, stating: “Jews with guns were always seen as a strange event. “
But now, he said, it appears that the long-held belief that the United States is “a place in the world where Jews were safe is coming to an end.”
Since the Hamas attack on October 7, 107 anti-Semitic incidents have been recorded across the United States, according to the Anti-Defamation League.
It also found that there were 347 messages on Telegram from extremists calling for violence against Jews, Israelis and Zionists in just the first 18 hours after the Hamas surprise attack, about 488% more than the previous day.
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Source: vtt.edu.vn