I’ve heard stories about a lot of people being armed in Israel - not “armed” in the American sense, meaning a shotgun at home or a pistol in your glove box or on the rare occasion, actually on your person. Armed in the sense of, a submachine gun just hanging right there. I know a few people who have been there and none of them seemed like they were afraid when they were there. The news makes it seem like a lawless place where people are being blown up or shot on a regular basis.
Is it hard to get a gun in Israel? Since everyone is supposed to serve in the military, like in Switzerland, I’d imagine everyone is also supposed to own a gun (as they do in Switzerland.) Are guns cheap and readily available? And is armed robbery a common thing there? I’ve noticed a few posters here who reside there, so maybe I could get some first-hand stories.
What the previous post doesn’t mention is that (IIRC) there’s also a 3-month waiting period and a tax equal to roughly 100% of the value of the weapon. By U.S. standards, Israeli gun laws are tough but practical - no limitations on the size of magazines or other such laws passed by legistlators with limited knowlege of firearms, mainly because we don’t have many legislators with limited knowlege of firearms.
However, there are exceptions: regular and reserve soldiers on active duty take their weapons home when on leave (and in such a small country, soldiers go on leave very often) and can carry them while out of uniform. Additionally, many small towns in high-risk areas have official armories, which often issue submachine guns and carabines to citizens for their personal protection. I don’t know what the requirements are to carry a weapon in cases like that, but I assume it involves a police permit and mandatory range time…
Israeli resident checking in:
Americans find it hard to believe that holding a gun is not some sort of religious experience that has to be enshrined in the constitution and debated forever.
Israelis are much more practical–they know that a gun is simply a tool, to be used on the rare occasions it may be necessary.
Israeli law allows almost anyone with a clean police record to buy a pistol. Once you own it, you can carry it with you wherever you go, in any way that you wish–on your belt, tucked into your waist band in the middle of your back, concealed in a jacket pocket.
Israelis don’t even notice. In America, if the guy next to you at the supermarket has a gun on his belt, you dont worry–IF he is a policeman in uniform.Otherwise, you panic. In Israel, you don’t worry , whether he is a cop or just an average citizen.Violent crime and armed robbery is very rare over here. Also, hitchhiking is very common, (although much less so now than 10 or 20 years ago.) Especially in rural areas, it is not at all uncommon to pick up a total stranger with a pistol on his belt and offer him a ride.
As for heavier weapons: these are strictly military. But since every family has some direct contact with the army, it is also no big deal. There is a universal draft for all after high school, and most men serve one month a year in the reserves till age 45. Soldiers of all ages come home almost every weekend, so if your daughter is 19 years old, or your father is doing his month of duty, there is probably an M-16 assault rifle at home. And if you carry your rifle with you to the bank and the shopping center, it doesn’t draw any second looks ( except from the tourists)