# How common is it to see armed people walking around in Israel **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [April 18, 2021, 1:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-common-is-it-to-see-armed-people-walking-around-in-israel/940230 "2021-04-18T01:22:42Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2021, 6:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-common-is-it-to-see-armed-people-walking-around-in-israel/940230/21 "2021-04-20T06:44:44Z")
> [@JRDelirious](#): > > American gun-fans sometimes refer to “Israeli carry”, to point out _they_ instead prefer to carry locked and hot. (The U.S. National Guardsmen posted to DC in the recent months don’t go around locked and loaded at all times, either. The mags are in the pouches. ) The rules I was taught were: magazine out when in the base or off duty, magazine in but barrel cleared when on duty (guarding, travelling outside the base on the job), weapon chambered only when you’re expecting trouble. Gun safety is hammered into Israeli soldiers from the very beginning, and having a round chambered without orders (or without being under fire, of course) can get you into serious trouble. Most Israelis still obey this rule as civilians. Personally, I can sling a rifle across my back for hours and almost forget it’s there, but the moment I chamber a round it’s like I can feel the weapon humming with nervous tension. It’s purely psychological, of course, but it’s a useful feeling. Chambering a round turns a rifle from a hunk of metal into something _immediately_ dangerous, something that can kill you or your friends at any second. ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2021, 7:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-common-is-it-to-see-armed-people-walking-around-in-israel/940230/22 "2021-04-20T07:19:21Z")
> [@mordecaiB](#): > > Gotcha, thanks. You guys are getting a lot of years out of those rifles. The IDF is a big believer in “if it still works, why throw it away?” ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2021, 7:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-common-is-it-to-see-armed-people-walking-around-in-israel/940230/23 "2021-04-20T07:23:10Z")
> [@Gadarene](#): > > Haha hi! I really don’t know what made me randomly revisit the forum, but I’m glad I did. Good to know that I’m still remembered a bit. How have you been? Hey, **Garderene**! Good to see ya. ---
**Author:** ![RivkahChaya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rivkahchaya/32/8919_2.png) [@RivkahChaya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RivkahChaya)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2021, 10:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-common-is-it-to-see-armed-people-walking-around-in-israel/940230/24 "2021-04-20T10:43:51Z")
> [@Alessan](#): > > I think they’re old M16A1s that the U.S. dumped on Israel, > > > [@Alessan](#): > > > > The IDF is a big believer in “if it still works, why throw it away?” Apparently. The M16A1 was obsolete when _I_ was in basic training in the US in 1992. We used the A2. Our sergeants told us if we were guard or reserve, we _might_ see an A1, but we could learn how to clean it then if we did. > [@Alessan](#): > > having a round chambered without orders (or without being under fire, of course) can get you into serious trouble. In the US military as well. Very big time. Almost every person I know with a concealed carry permit has no military nor law enforcement background. Not saying that military and law enforcement don’t like their guns, they just don’t feel the need to conceal-carry all the time. They might open carry at work, if they work at a place with lots of cash on hand, like a check-cashing place, and they have their hunting rifles on the wall. I even target-fired as a sport for a while, but I got rid of the gun entirely when I was pregnant, and I never had a conceal-carry permit. The people who feel the need to have a gun all the time for some kind of status are usually wannabes, IME. ---
**Author:** ![DPRK](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4491bb/32.png) [@DPRK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DPRK)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2021, 2:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-common-is-it-to-see-armed-people-walking-around-in-israel/940230/25 "2021-04-20T14:13:07Z")
What about the guards (in Israel) at the entrances to shopping malls and school campi who would look through people’s bags and ask them if they were carrying any weapons? I suppose that those were gun-free zones? I can’t picture them letting people carry firearms into bars, concert halls, government offices, and airport terminals. ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2021, 4:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-common-is-it-to-see-armed-people-walking-around-in-israel/940230/26 "2021-04-20T16:26:27Z")
Most places will let you in with the weapon if you present your license or military ID. ---
**Author:** ![Kimstu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ecd19e/32.png) [@Kimstu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimstu)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2021, 6:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-common-is-it-to-see-armed-people-walking-around-in-israel/940230/27 "2021-04-20T18:07:39Z")
> [@Alessan](#): > > Hey, **Garderene**! Good to see ya. Yeah, welcome back! ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2021, 8:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-common-is-it-to-see-armed-people-walking-around-in-israel/940230/28 "2021-04-20T20:13:46Z")
> [@JRDelirious](#): > > Ah, but the difference lies in that the Americans may say that, but by their behavior and attitude you can tell they want to make a point to be seen carrying and to make sure you **saw** them carrying. America has a much larger population, and thus a much larger population of jerks. Even the “gun nuts” I know think that the dudes carrying their AK47 in Walmart are idiots. Sure, they might carry a holstered handgun in a open carry state, but they think those guys are jerks just like we do. ---
**Author:** ![Gadarene](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e47c2d/32.png) [@Gadarene](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gadarene)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2021, 3:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-common-is-it-to-see-armed-people-walking-around-in-israel/940230/29 "2021-04-23T03:08:29Z")
Aww, that’s cool. I definitely will. And my lawyer has advised me not to answer any further questions about ghosts. (It’s me. I’m my lawyer.) ---
**Author:** ![Gadarene](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e47c2d/32.png) [@Gadarene](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gadarene)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2021, 3:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-common-is-it-to-see-armed-people-walking-around-in-israel/940230/30 "2021-04-23T03:09:19Z")
Thank you guys! I remember both of you very fondly. Message me; I’d love to know what you’ve been up to. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-common-is-it-to-see-armed-people-walking-around-in-israel/940230.md?page=1)