The number of residents seeking to own handguns has risen sharply in a New York community shaken last month by a machete attack that injured five men during a Hanukkah celebration.
The Journal News reports 73 pistol permit applications have been filed with the Rockland County Clerk’s Office since the Dec. 28 attack at a rabbi’s home in Monsey, a hamlet in the town of Ramapo northwest of New York City.
That compares to 51 applications the office received during the eight weeks prior to the stabbing, County Clerk Paul Piperato told the newspaper.
Sixty-eight of the new applications came from Ramapo residents, including 31 from Monsey.
“It’s definitely because of this incident,” Piperato told the newspaper, referring to the attack. “In some way, shape or form, they want to defend themselves.”
Chief William Barbera of the Rockland County Sheriff’s Department says an application is the first step in a months-long process. Applicants are required to be fingerprinted and undergo a background check and firearms training before the paperwork is submitted to a licensing officer.
An academy run by veterans of the Israeli Defense Forces has been providing weapons training in Ramapo’s synagogues since the machete attack, The Journal News reports. Its trainers have been advising Jewish residents to seek unrestricted pistol permits.
“The goal is to be able to carry at synagogue and not to just possess at home and take to the range,” said Yonatan Stern, the academy’s director.
(AP)
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12 Responses
More Jews with guns? This might work.
What is encouraging about this is the availability of training. Without proper training, a guy with a gun is as much a part of the problem as a part of the solution.
I can’t wait to see the response when 99% of them are either flat-out denied or restricted, even after the arduous and expensive process.
pointless. the permits will not allow us to carry in shul.
This means that people don’t have enough emunah. In our mezuzois, it’s written Hashem’s name, Shakai. Which stands for Shomer Delasois Yisroayl. Gordian, Protector of the doorposts of Israel
Remind me to stay out of Monsey. This will go on until some well-meaning cowboy shoots an innocent bystander. (Or, ch”v, their child finds the gun at home and shoots himself by accident.) The effective approach is to hire professional armed guards, or to have an official shul marshal force professionally trained for undercover security. The last thing we need is lightly-trained civilians wandering around with lethal weapons.
Where there are guns there are – sooner or later – casualties. And we’ll have only ourselves to blame.
What a lack of emunah people have!
We need guns?
Right, next thing you know, people will start putting locks on their doors! Some might go so far as putting locks on their cars- and if that’s not bad enough, they will show their lack of emunah by LOCKING their car doors at night.
I know a non religious fellow who insists on keeping his ATM pin number secret, I’m concerned that this lack of bitachon will spread even to the most frum among us, chas vesholom.
Frumshmurda718 The Torah says differently. Yaakov Avinu prepared a response with Tefilah, Presents and war as last resort. We should prepare by relearning this parsha every time we go into danger. War and self defense in in the Torah!
Midwest2 sounds like a regular leftist liberal. In the states with gun carrying populations, there are less incidents of the type found in liberal leftist areas.
Everyone with a weapon urgently needs comprehensive training in its proper use and in sizing up situations.
I would like to point out that the name of the academy run by veterans of the IDF which is running free firearms training seminars for Jews in Monsey is ‘Cherev Gidon Israeli Tactical Training Academy’, located in Honesdale, PA.
Self defence has never been part of Yiddishkeit
haloooo, when was the last timer you celebrated Purim and Channukah?