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The IDF Mekut’zar Carbine: The Extraordinary Israeli Improvised Rifle BY Will Dabbs

The IDF Mekut’zar Carbine is a uniquely Israeli weapon. I took this picture in Israel in 2012.

Images like this from the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor rightfully conjured a white-hot rage among Americans of the era.

Dark Days In History

Certain dark days are burned into our national consciousness. For our grandparents’ generation, it was December 7th, 1941. The surprise attack on Pearl Harbor claimed 2,403 American dead and helped precipitate the bloodiest war in human history.

Every adult who lived it remembers the details of 9/11.

For us, that day was obviously 9/11. On the 11th of September 2001, nineteen al-Qaeda terrorists directed by Osama bin Laden transformed four heavily-laden airliners into massive manned missiles with which to attack our homeland. Three of the planes struck their targets. The fourth was foiled by the valiant passengers onboard the doomed aircraft.

At the end of the day, some 2,977 Americans perished. This egregious terrorist act conflagrated a Global War on Terror that still smolders on more than two decades later.

Dark Days In Israel

On the morning of 7 October 2023, the nation of Israel had their own 9/11. The attack occurred less than a week ago as I type these words, so the details are still a bit fuzzy. Current estimates are that the Palestinian terrorist group Hamas based in the Gaza Strip launched a widespread attack with up to 2,500 heavily armed militants.

In the first 24 hours these maniacal Islamists murdered at least 1,300 Israelis, most of whom were civilians. Many of the victims were actually children. This was the bloodiest day in modern Israeli history. More Jews perished on this one day than had died on any other single day since the Holocaust. The sheer unfettered brutality of the thing shocked the planet.

A Point of Political Privilege…

The Jews are justifiably none too keen on allowing things to come to this again.

I honestly do see both sides to a degree, at least in theory. Six million Jews were institutionally exterminated by the Nazis during World War 2. Many of those who survived made their way to the Middle East and resurrected the historical nation of Israel as a refuge and sanctuary from the hate that nearly wiped them out.

This small piece of dirt, roughly the size of the state of New Jersey, was the only truly safe space in the world for the Jewish people in the aftermath of one of the most efficient and effective genocides in human history.

Hamas’ recent murderous attack on Israeli civilian targets wrecked any pretense of civility in the eyes of the world.

By contrast, I own a small piece of land in Mississippi. If American Indians returned to my farm and took it by force because their ancestors had lived on it two thousand years ago that would upset me.

However, whatever moral capital Hamas and the Palestinian militants might have accrued evaporated the moment they decapitated Israeli infants sleeping in their cribs. That was simply beyond the pale. Hamas showed the world that they are now synonymous with ISIS, themselves the most bloodthirsty mob of psychopaths since Heydrich, Himmler, and Mengele. Anyone who defends Hamas is either delusional or something far worse.

The World Is Holding Its Breath for Israel

At this moment upwards of 150-200 Israelis and assorted foreigners are feared abducted. After a week’s worth of merciless aerial bombardment, the Israeli Defense Forces stand poised to launch a massive ground assault into Gaza with the twofold mission of exterminating the Hamas terrorists and retrieving the hostages. The world is holding its breath to see how it all unfolds.

I shot this picture of a Merkava tank on the side of the road in Israel. The IDF is preparing a ground invasion of Gaza as I type these words.

Unlike conflicts of eras past, we get to watch this one in real-time. The terrorists live-streamed their murderous killing spree as it occurred. IDF troops with helmet cameras produce gritty combat footage that is uploaded as soon as the smoke clears. The rest of the world has a ringside seat to the carnage.

While our hearts break for the innocents on both sides, it is impossible for a true gun nerd to look away. The weapons, equipment, and tactics on display are morbidly fascinating. The Israelis have been fighting without serious respite since 1948. They are, by now, quite adept at the art of war. Their small arms reflect this storied military legacy.

Combat Iron

The Tavor X-95 is a state-of-the-art bullpup combat rifle.

This was typical of the Tavor rifles I encountered in Israel. Note the conventional trigger guard as opposed to the full-length sort on our civilian versions. Also note the ubiquitous application of dummy cords.

One of the common long guns seen in our newsfeeds coming out of Southern Israel is the Tavor X-95 bullpup assault rifle. The GI-issue version sports a 13-inch barrel and an overall length of just 22.8 inches. The Tavor is a combat-proven design that is well-liked by the IDF troops who carry it. However, at 7.3 pounds stripped and empty, the rugged X-95 is undeniably portly.

Loosely based upon the Colt 653 CAR-15, the IDF Mekut’zar Carbine is unique to Israel. The barrel on this homebuilt example is slightly longer than the originals so as to comply with American firearms laws.

The other common rifle seen in our newsfeeds is the M-16 carbine in a bewildering array of forms. Some are standard M4’s with flattop upper receivers and 14.5-inch barrels. Others sport stubby little 11.5-inch tubes. The most fascinating of the lot is a curious home-grown Frankengun they call the Mekut’zar. Mekut’zrar appears to be an alternative form of the term. I fear I don’t speak Hebrew, so I am unable to elaborate. However, I’m told this is simply IDF slang for “CAR-15” or “Shorty.” These locally-produced weapons do not seem to be as common as was once the case, but I have still seen a few in the news in the past week.

Origin Story of the Israeli Carbine

There have been more than ten million Uzi submachine guns produced.

Israel prosecuted their miraculously successful Six Day War in 1967 armed predominantly with the Uzi submachine gun and FN FAL rifle. The Uzi is the most-produced pistol-caliber SMG in history. The FAL is a magnificent piece of iron, but it was designed for service in Europe. In the dusty spaces where the IDF served the FAL suffered reliability problems. The Israeli answer was the Galil assault rifle.

The Israeli Galil was a rugged though expensive combat weapon.

Introduced in 1972, the Galil was a hybrid combat rifle that incorporated the action of the Kalashnikov, the cartridge of the M-16, and the folding stock of the FAL. It was versatile, accurate enough, and as reliable as a tire iron. The Israelis even incorporated a bottle opener into the forearm. The first prototype Galils were built on Finnish Valmet receivers smuggled into the country illicitly.

While the Galil was a superb infantry weapon, it was both fairly heavy and expensive to manufacture. The Israelis needed a lightweight rifle that troops both on duty and off could carry with them while going about their daily routines. In the 1970’s that rifle was the American M-16.

The 1967 Six-Day War represented an astonishing example of Israeli military prowess.

The 1967 Six-Day War was a stunning victory for the Israelis. Their enemies call it “The Setback” to this day. However, the follow-up Yom Kippur War in 1973 was a very iffy thing for the beleaguered IDF. One of the reasons the Israelis prevailed was Operation Nickel Grass.

The Americans gifted untold thousands of M-16A1 rifles to the Israelis.

Nickel Grass was an emergency strategic airlift of American weapons, ammunition, and supplies from US stores to the IDF. Tanks and planes were shipped directly to the war zone, had Israeli insignia painted on, and then went straight into the fight. As part of this massive outpouring of military support, the Israelis received tens of thousands of American M-16 rifles.

The IDF Mekut’zar Carbine has proven to be a popular and effective weapon in the hands of IDF troops. My semiautomatic clone was built up using an XM177E2 from Troy Industries as a foundation. The barrel is roughly three inches longer than that of the GI originals.

The M-16 was lighter, handier, and more accurate than the Galil. As they came from the US as military aid, these rifles were also free. This substantial pool of combat weapons served as a foundation for the Mekut’zar Carbine.

I snapped this picture in Old Jerusalem. These guys used to be everywhere.

Back in the day, IDF troops who were home on leave often carried their weapons with them. Back when I was there in 2012, every decent crowd had a handful of young studs in civilian clothes packing Tavors, M-4’s, or Mekut’zar Carbines. Lamentably, that is apparently not as common today as was once the case. However, to fill the need for a lightweight yet powerful personal defense weapon, Israeli armorers went to work modifying those full-size M-16 rifles into something stubbier.

Transformations

The collapsible stocks on IDF Mekut’zar Carbines are frequently adorned with a little extra bling like this fancy sling mount.

 The first step was to exchange the fixed stocks of the M-16’s for collapsible versions. Some of those were standard American-made stocks as found on the M-4. Others were Israeli-specific variants. FAB Defense was the most common local source. However, the biggest transformation was in the barrels.

To create the Mekut’zar Carbine, Israeli armorers pruned the 20-inch M-16A1 barrels shown here back to just behind the existing gas block. The front sight base was then relocated rearward to accommodate a carbine-length hand guard.

Customization

IDF slings include this nifty little pouch for ear plugs.

IDF small arms are often heavily customized. They all seem to sport electronic optics nowadays. I saw quite a few Trijicon ACOGs as well as a variety of domestic sights from Meprolight. Israeli slings are typically a bit wider than our own to help better distribute the weapon’s weight.

The slings usually have a quick-release feature as well as a pouch to hold earplugs. There are additionally scads of nifty little Velcro and elastic additions all designed to make good guns better.

The weapons I saw in public carried a loaded thirty-round magazine in the magwell and an orange chamber block under the bolt. IDF troops with whom I spoke explained that they were trained to rack the bolt, remove the chamber flag, and have their weapons in action very quickly. Most everything on the weapon, including the magazine, chamber block, and optical sight, was usually secured with a length of dummy cord.

Zahal.org is a one-stop shop for all of this cool IDF gun stuff.

Zahal.org is the source for genuine IDF weapons accessories. Before the recent war, you could order this gear over the Internet and it would show up over here in a week or two. I have no idea what the situation is today given recent sordid developments.

Ruminations

 Israel is indeed a nation forever at war. Both sides have legitimate grievances, and there are clearly no easy answers. Tragically, the foundations of this current conflict go back millennia and are, at this point, impossible to rectify. However, this recent horror is shocking even by ISIS standards.

The Israelis’ fight is with Hamas, not necessarily with the Palestinian people. However, given the egregious nature of this recent massacre, Hamas as an entity will likely have to die. Barring anything unexpected, I doubt the IDF is going to stop until Hamas is essentially exterminated. As we Americans sit comfortably at home watching the carnage on the news we should all be thankful that such tragedy is not occurring on our own shores. To keep the chaos at bay will no doubt require proper vigilance in the months and years to come. It remains to be seen if our political leaders have the stomach for that.

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Most Beautiful Damascus Gun Barrels?

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History Briefs: The Great Siege of Gibraltar

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The Graveyard of Empires Strikes Back – 3rd British-Afghan War (Documentary) – Britains last Big Imperial War

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Ruling Destroying California Gun Ban Should Now Apply to Washington State by Alan Gottlieb

Yes to guns AR rifle black ar15 gun rights iStock-Yevhenii Dubinko-898227674.jpg
iStock-Yevhenii Dubinko

Thursday’s ruling by U.S. District Judge Roger T. Benitez which struck down California’s ban on so-called “assault weapons” should have a direct impact on a similar ban in Washington, because both states are in the U.S. Ninth Circuit Court, the Second Amendment Foundation says.

“If a gun ban in California is unconstitutional,” SAF founder and Executive Vice President Alan M. Gottlieb observed, “it is just as unconstitutional in Washington state.”

“We are eager to see this case through to what may become a Supreme Court confrontation, because we are confident that we will prevail. People who support gun bans, like California Gov. Gavin Newsom and Washington Attorney General Bob Ferguson, are wrong on this important constitutional issue.”

The case is known as Miller v. Bonta, filed by SAF, the San Diego County Gun Owners Political Action Committee, California Gun Rights Foundation, Firearms Policy Coalition and four private citizens, including James Miller, for whom the case is named. They are represented by attorneys George M. Lee at Seiler Epstein, LLP and John W. Dillon at the Dillon Law Group, APC.

In his 79-page ruling, Judge Benitez wrote, “While criminals already have these modern semiautomatics, the State prohibits its citizens from buying and possessing the same guns for self-defense. At the same time these firearms are commonly possessed by law-abiding gun owners elsewhere across the country.

 

Guns for self-defense are needed a lot because crime happens a lot. A recent large-scale survey estimates that guns are needed defensively approximately 1,670,000 times a year.

 

Another report, originally commissioned and long cited by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimated that there are between 500,000 and 3,000,000 defensive gun uses in the United States each year.”

 

“Judge Benitez’ ruling is a stinging rebuff to the gun prohibition movement,” said SAF Executive Director Adam Kraut. “His detailed discussion of the history of firearms regulation, along with his dismantling of the state’s arguments and assertions of its experts sends a signal that the days when gun banners could simply attack the Second Amendment without challenge are finished.”

“We will take this challenge to the Supreme Court if necessary, as part of our commitment to restore firearms freedom, one lawsuit a time.”


Second Amendment Foundation

The Second Amendment Foundation (www.saf.org) is the nation’s oldest and largest tax-exempt education, research, publishing and legal action group focusing on the Constitutional right and heritage to privately own and possess firearms. Founded in 1974, The Foundation has grown to more than 720,000 members and supporters and conducts many programs designed to better inform the public about the consequences of gun control.

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HMS Vanguard: The Royal Navy’s Largest Battleship

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Guns at Batasi (1964)

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Allies The Green Machine Well I thought it was funny!

THE WET NAKED MAN WRITTEN BY WILL DABBS, MD

Particularly in a military environment, the shower is for getting clean,
not socializing. Unsplash photo—photographer One Beauty.

Private Daniels was just not cut out to be a soldier. A wheeled vehicle mechanic, she was forever in trouble. She stole money from her roommate and then attacked the young lady with a shoe brush for reporting her. At the time of this incident she was already being put out of the Army for writing bad checks.

Private Daniels’ boyfriend was a local civilian whom she had met in a bar. I have no idea what he did or where he came from. She had invited him up to her room in the barracks, and he was stupid enough to accept.

CW2 Johansen was one of my Warrant Officers. A former NCO before attending the Warrant Officer course and flight training, Bill was an old school soldier. This fateful evening he was the Battalion Staff Duty Officer. Part of his responsibility involved circling through the barracks, the hangars and the motor pools to ensure everything was quiet and secure. Most officers, myself included, did a fairly cursory job of this. We weren’t at war, and the possibility that the Russians might try to infiltrate our truck park seemed low. Not so Bill Johansen. He checked everything quite thoroughly.

It was wintertime and well below freezing. Bill linked up with the CQ (Charge of Quarters) of the female barracks for a quick walk-through. (Barracks were segregated by gender back then.) The CQ was a junior enlisted soldier whose duty it was to mind the front desk to the barracks all night. As it was a female-only facility, the CQ served as Bill’s escort as he did his walk-through. On the second floor, as they strolled past the communal latrine, they heard jungle noises.

Bill dispatched the CQ to investigate. The CQ duly reported that Private Daniels and her boyfriend were enjoying a cozy shower together. Bill Johansen was having none of that.

Bill was a pretty intimidating guy. He snatched up Private Daniels’ terrified boyfriend and frog marched him, dripping and naked, down to the CQ desk. The poor kid asked if he could go back to Private Daniels’ room to retrieve his clothes, but Bill refused. He felt this to be a teachable moment.

It’s all fun and games until you’re running wet and naked through the snow.
Unsplash photo—photographer Abdullah Ali.

 

The boyfriend was soaking wet. Bill had the CQ fetch whatever clothing was available in the latrine for the guy to use to cover himself. The CQ returned with Private Daniels’ see-through pink negligee.

Imagine if you will a 19-year-old wet, terrified man shivering in an office wearing nothing but a woman’s sexy transparent nightgown. With this as a foundation, Bill went to work. He started the conversation by postulating how long he thought the kid would go to jail for molesting government property.

Bill explained that Private Daniels belonged to the government, and that the penalties for illicit showering with GIs were severe. By the time he got done the unfortunate young man was expecting fifteen to twenty years hard labor at Fort Leavenworth. At that critical moment Bill placed a phone call. When he returned to the holding area the damp naked man was nowhere to be found.

The kid had crawled out the window. It was 26 degrees out, and Private Daniels’ date was both soaked and barefoot. Additionally, ours was an absolutely enormous Army post. It was literally miles to the nearest gate. Bill sighed and rang up the MPs. He asked them to be on the lookout for a desperate, shivering, wet naked man trying to escape and evade off post. They dispatched a squad car and found the poor miserable guy in short order.

The MPs gave the kid a ride to his apartment off post and donated an Army blanket to the cause. Though I can’t be sure, I rather suspect the sordid events of the evening put a damper on the blossoming relationship between Private Daniels and her now exceptionally clean boyfriend.

Bill briefed me up on the situation the following day. I didn’t have the heart to castigate Private Daniels. She was already well on her way to becoming a civilian. Sharing a communal shower with a civilian in the female barracks wasn’t going to substantially accelerate that process.

I don’t know exactly what I expected work to be like when I chose to become an Army officer. I hoped for travel and adventure, to be sure, but I never expected stuff like that. As for Bill Johansen, he felt good about himself. He could rest easy in the knowledge that absolutely all of the Battalion property was indeed secure.

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Carjacker Kills Himself With Shotgun As He Attempts To Break Window By Tom Knighton

Carjacker Kills Himself With Shotgun As He Attempts To Break Window

Carjackings have to be terrifying for the victims. You’re sitting there, minding your own business, when all of a sudden an armed individual shows up and steals your car out of nowhere. The sudden, terrifying nature of such an attack has got to rattle you.

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However, carjackers aren’t necessarily a particularly bright bunch. After all, it doesn’t take a master criminal to stick a gun in someone’s face and take their car. This isn’t Gone In 60 Seconds we’re talking about here.

No, it’s a violent assault on an individual with the potential for the shedding of innocent blood.

Which is why it’s absolutely hilarious when the problem sort of takes care of itself.

A carjacker died after he accidentally blasted himself in the chest while trying to smash a window with the butt of his shotgun, an inquest has heard.

Officers investigating the death of Reece Ramsey-Johnson said they were satisfied there was ‘no third party involvement’ as they closed the probe into his killing.

Witnesses who saw the 22-year-old dying from gunshot wounds in the street outside a Lloyds bank in Sydenham on Sunday, September 8, said his own gun may have gone off when he used to to hit a car window.

Opening the inquest at Southwark Coroner’s Court on Thursday September 26, Dr Andrew Harris confirmed the police investigation had now ended.

He said: ‘The investigating officer is satisfied there is no third party involvement.

Now, this was a UK carjacker and not the American variety of the breed, but it’s still the feel-good story of the day, that’s for sure.

It also suggests that British gun control laws aren’t nearly as effective as some want to claim them to be. After all, if someone like this snotnosed punk could get a shotgun, they can’t be all that hard to obtain on the black market that I’ve been assured doesn’t really exist in the UK.

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To be sure, Ramsey-Johnson got precisely what he deserved, regardless of where he was located. Such criminals should always meet such ends. At least here in the United States, we can arrange for them to meet those ends. In the UK, you have to hope and pray it’s someone of Ramsey-Johnson’s…intellect. That’s what it takes to make sure predatory jackwagons get precisely what they deserve.

Honestly, though, I’m actually a bit baffled at just how stupid you have to be to shoot yourself in the chest while trying to bust a car window. I get that they don’t have the gun culture we do, but it shouldn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out that you don’t point your gun at yourself while you smash the firearm against a window. This is especially true if there’s something like a finger on the trigger.

At this point, Ramsey-Johnson’s death isn’t just a feel-good story, but a prime example of nature adding a little chlorine into the gene pool. My only hope is that this jackwagon hadn’t already reproduced and thus spread his idiocy to a whole new generation.

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Unarmed and Defenseless Israeli Citizens Massacred! By Will Dabbs

Israel: Draconian Gun Control in a Country in Desperate Need of a 2nd Amendment.

East Jerusalem, Palestinian Territories. Israeli soldiers look at Jerusalem’s Old City on June 2, 2012. Annexed by Israel, internationally it is still considered occupied Palestinian territory. (Shutterstock/ Ryan Rodrick Beiler)

Editor’s Note: This article ran in the spring of 2022. Firearms News is currently working on a new report regarding reports of Israel issuing emergency gun licenses.


On March 22, 2022, Islamic State supporter Mohammad Abu al-Kiyan stabbed a woman to death at a gas station in Beersheba, Israel. He then proceeded to run down and kill a Chabad rabbi who was riding a bicycle. Al-Kiyan subsequently stabbed another two Israelis to death before being gunned down. Five days later a pair of ISIS gunmen opened fire at a bus stop in Hadera, Israel, killing two and wounding another dozen. Two days after that a 26-year-old Palestinian named Diaa Hamarsheh infiltrated Brnei Brak, Israel, and began firing from his car. His five victims included a 29-year-old rabbi who had been pushing his two-year-old son in a baby carriage.

On April 7, 2022, a 28-year-old Palestinian named Raad Hazem opened fire on a crowd in Tel Aviv, Israel. He ultimately killed three Israelis and wounded six. Around 1,000 soldiers and police officers were mobilized in response. Hazem took refuge in a nearby mosque and was later killed in a gunfight with Shin Bet agents. These are just a few examples. There have been many more. With each outburst of violence there is celebration in Palestinian-held territories and veneration of the perpetrators as martyrs. In response, Israeli security services crack down, and the cycle of violence escalates. The innocent are most frequently the victims.

Recent Events

israel-hamas-war-2023-02

When Dabbs was there last guns were most everywhere in Israel, but not many in civilian hands.

This was a demoralizing article to research. I was last in Israel several years ago. I left enraptured with the place. Most Israelis are military veterans, and there was a sense of civic responsibility that eclipsed anything we enjoy over on this side of the pond. Every square meter of the country seemed to be cultivated or put to some similar good use. Everything seemed clean and tidy. The Israeli people were independent, industrious, and friendly. I was struck by the prevalence of firearms. Back then IDF (Israel Defense Force) soldiers frequently brought their service weapons home and carried them in public. I saw young studs in civilian clothes out on dates with their girlfriends while packing Tavors, M4’s, and Mekut’zrar carbines. Israelis also seemed enamored with dummy cords. You could tell who was packing handguns in a crowd by the little curly cords that snaked out from underneath their shirts. All the greeters at hotels and museums were armed.

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There was a reason for all those guns. Folks have been fighting over that remarkable scrap of dirt since the literal dawn of humanity. However, in recent years it appears Israel has become infected with the same socialist ideals that seem to drive most modern nation states. I asked one 72-year-old Israeli back then about the rules for owning a weapon. He said that you had to get a permit from the government and show a need, but he claimed none of that was terribly difficult. His job as a tour guide was adequate to land him a 9mm Jericho pistol. However, at some point between then and now something changed. As I type these words, Ukraine is in an existential fight for survival. When times were darkest the Ukrainian government was freely distributing assault rifles to anyone who could show an ID and sign up for their territorial defense forces (TDF). However, as soon as they caught their breath, the Ukrainian government began quietly retrieving military-issued weapons from private citizens in the TDF.

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The M4, the Tavor X95, and the Mekut’zrar were the most common infantry weapons Dabbs encountered during his travels in Israel several years ago.

There has likewise been a gradual creeping effort in Israel to deprive private citizens of the tools they need to defend themselves in the face of rampant terrorism. In a nation comprised almost entirely of military veterans, it has become suffocatingly difficult to obtain a firearm for personal defense. If ever there was a place and a time when private citizens needed to be armed it is there and now, yet the Israeli government nonetheless discourages its citizens from being prepared. Private companies requiring weapons to do business must be extensively licensed, and transportation requirements are oppressive. Police approval is required to transport company weapons both to and from the range. Guns may only be moved in an approved vehicle. Weapons must be religiously logged in and out. Of the 195 sovereign nations in the world, only four include constitutional protections for the right to bear arms. Of those three, Mexico and Guatemala clearly don’t take it seriously. Only the United States and the Czech Republic actually treat the individual right to keep and bear arms with the respect it’s due. The experience of our Israeli friends should serve as a cautionary tale to any American who might question whether or not the 2nd Amendment requires defending.

Origin Story

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Among those who can secure a permit the Glock is the most common defensive handgun in Israel. The M1 carbine was foundational to Israel’s struggle for independence. These old rifles have long since been sold overseas as surplus. The Uzi submachine gun played a huge role in ensuring the survival of the Israeli state. The Uzi filled a need for a domestically-produced infantry weapon that was both reliable and available.

The modern state of Israel came into being on May 14, 1948, in the bloody wake of the Holocaust. The following day the five surrounding nations of Syria, Lebanon, Iraq, Egypt, and Jordan invaded. Israel has been fighting for its very survival ever since. Several geopolitical areas remain at the heart of this ongoing conflict.

The Al Aqsa mosque in Jerusalem is the third-holiest site in Islam and rests atop the Temple Mount, the most venerated scrap of dirt in Judaism. The Gaza Strip is a modest 141-square-mile piece of land governed by the Palestinians that rests between Israel and Egypt. The West Bank is a disputed territory separating Israel from Jordan. The Golan Heights is a rocky plateau wrested from the Syrians in 1967. Each of these spaces is a nidus for conflict today.

Violence has been an simmering constant since 1948, but there have been several full-blown wars. The Suez Crisis of 1956 pitted Britain, France, and Israel against the Egyptians. The Six Day War in 1967 saw Israel seize Jerusalem, Gaza, the Sinai, the West Bank, and the Golan Heights. Israel eventually returned the Sinai to Egypt following negotiations 12 years later.

The subsequent 1973 Yom Kippur War, though bloody, was not nearly so transformative. The 1982 Lebanon War and the several Palestinian Intifadas that followed spilt a river of blood. Today violence taints most everything in the Holy Land. I stood on the back balcony of my hotel holding my daughter’s hand and watched the rockets rising out of Gaza. We Americans have a great deal for which to be grateful.

Boots on the Ground

I reached out to Howard Linnett, a friend who has lived in Israel for decades, with a series of questions. Howard is uniquely qualified to comment on the current state of affairs.

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Dr. Will Dabbs: What’s your story?

Howard Linnett: I was born and bred in a working class factory town in Connecticut in the days when Connecticut was a firearms manufacturing dynamo. I was awarded my Eagle Scout rank in 1964. College took me away from home. Not too long after the Six Day War, I did my junior year abroad as a foreign student at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem. There I met a beautiful Israeli sergeant still doing reserve duty. We married a year later. My roots have been deep in Israel ever since.

WD: What is your military history?

HL: I was drafted into the Israeli Army in the late ‘70s. Platoon Honor Graduate, Combat Engineers. Learned to build. And learned to destroy. Explosives are fun!

WD: There has been a recent uptick in violence by disaffected Palestinians. What is your view on this from your intimate vantage?

HL: Terrorism never stops. From kindergarten, Arab children are taught Israel must be destroyed. If a Palestinian commits a terror attack and is caught and sentenced to jail, she or he is idolized and receives a salary from the Palestinian Authority. If killed in the attack, the terrorist’s family receives a monthly stipend. “Pay-for-Slay” allows any disaffected Israeli or Palestinian Arab a perfect way to end their life.

WD: PM Bennett has called upon Israeli citizens who are authorized to carry concealed weapons to do so. Does there seem to be a fresh push to increase the number of armed Israelis in the general population?

HL: When terror is everywhere and constant, several thousand or more folks file applications for a license to purchase and possess a handgun. Then the issuing authority (the police) s-l-o-w-l-y processes the application. Permits are not easily obtained. One must “qualify” and self-defense is not one of the few reasons for which a permit is granted.

Any notion to increase the number of handguns licensed to civilians is purely cosmetic and entirely fleeting. The number of licenses decreases every year by perhaps 10,000. When the population is scared and the police hopeless and hapless, the powers-that-be call for licensed gun owners, licensed “to carry,” to do so.

The politicians also mouth-off about easing the requirements to qualify for a firearms license. The crisis is over before any changes can be legislated. Thus ends any meaningful regulatory change. Licenses for rifles and shotguns are virtually non-existent.

WD: What seemed to be the feelings of the last three or four prime ministers on gun ownership?

HL: Prime Ministers don’t really get involved in gun issues.

WD: How difficult is it to own a firearm as a private citizen in Israel?

HL: Close to impossible.

WD: What is involved in legally carrying a concealed weapon?

HL: One’s permit to possess a handgun must be for self-defense based upon a government determination that where you live or where you travel is dangerous and you need the means to defend yourself.

WD: When I was in Israel, I was struck by the number of young soldiers out in public in civilian clothes who were packing their service rifles. What are the rules concerning this practice?

HL: Nowadays soldiers are, for the most part, no longer allowed to take their rifle home with them. Theft of rifles from soldiers’ homes is a huge problem. Civilians who live in communities in “dangerous” locations may be issued a rifle by the IDF, especially if the individual is a member of her or his community’s ERT. These folks come and go from home with the rifle as a matter of self-defense.

WD: What sorts of weapons can be privately held in Israel?

HL: One handgun, if you qualify. Glocks are the most prevalent. If you are an IPSC “active shooter” (participate in a minimum of five national competitions a year) you may be granted a license for a second handgun. Only about 100 of us have rifles, grandfathered from our days as volunteer police precision marksmen and women.

We are now members of the Israeli Rifleman Association. Last time I asked, there remained the requirement that one must be an “active” shooter (participate in a minimum of five national competitions a year) for three years before being able to apply for a license to purchase and possess a rifle. The Rifleman Association and the Israeli Shooting Federation must recommend one for a rifle license and endorse one’s application in writing. Then it is lots of luck.

Only active shooters can apply for a Israeli Shooting Federation recommendation to purchase ammunition. Otherwise one is limited to a box of 50 rounds. If you want to practice at a range, you purchase what you are going to fire for that practice session. One cannot buy more ammunition than you shoot then and there.

WD: Is there a gun culture in Israel?

HL: There are less than 180,000 licenses for approximately eight million citizens. Except during times of heightened terrorism anyone who would possess a firearm without being compelled to do so because of their job (soldier, police officer, etc.) is viewed by the general public as simply being mentally defective. Those same people are the first ones to ask that you sit next to them, if they know you are armed, when you get on Jerusalem’s Lite Rail.

WD: Is there an anti-gun political lobby in Israel?

HL: YES. It is called the Government. It is scared of armed folks.

WD: It seems the Israeli gun lobby cannot get traction due to a liberal/socialist leaning population. Is there an effective pro-gun political lobby in Israel?

HL: No movement of Israeli gun owners exists. Politics rule. Citizens don’t.

WD: How much of the population seems socialist/leftist and do you feel that this is where the opposition to gun ownership is birthed?

HL: Much of the opposition to gun ownership comes from the various women’s movements. They point to deaths of women from firearms. Otherwise opposition against private ownership of firearms goes back to the founding of Israel. If memory serves me, the second law passed by the Israeli Legislature (1949) was confiscation of all firearms and munitions.

WD: Do Israelis appreciate that, historically speaking, disarmament of the civilian population has led to genocide?

HL: Israelis rely on the IDF.

WD: The M1 carbine was once common in Israel. Are weapons donated by the United States still in use?

HL: The IDF is transitioning to the M16/M4 with a shorter barrel and flattop upper. Those M1 carbines were collected and sold as surplus to foreign purchasers.

WD: How does mandatory military service flavor Israeli culture and society?

HL: Military service is not really universal. For example, ultraorthodox constitute a group of citizens whose participation in the IDF is mostly voluntary. Those who choose to serve are often scorned and banished by their community. Theoretically, Israel has a combat experienced reserve of men and women. Our reserves provide a quiet sense of added security.

WD: Israel is a melting pot of cultures dating back millennia. What are your observations on the engines behind the ongoing violence?

HL: Violence is getting worse. Iran’s people lack clean drinking water, but Iran is the financer of 90% of the terror in the Middle East. Israelis are seen as the latest Crusaders who must be driven into the sea. Convert or die by the sword is alive and well. An all-out Middle Eastern war is inevitable and may spread. We shall see who is the last man standing.

Obtaining a Gun in Israel

A firearms license in Israel is a privilege, not a right. This simple observation fundamentally changes the calculus of personal defense in that country. Additionally, in recent years the government has been actively reducing the number of private firearms held by Israeli citizens. Israeli gun licenses must be renewed every three years.

Applicants must meet a series of preconditions along with at least one eligibility requirement. Applicants must be at least 18 if they have served in the IDF and 27 if they have not. They must be fluent in Hebrew and have spent at least the previous three years in the country. The application for the license must include a health assessment and declaration performed by a physician along with a certifying letter of residence obtained from the local government council. Applicants must also pass both written and practical shooting examinations along with an in-person interview. Denial is subjective and difficult to appeal. Recognized eligibility for a gun license includes certain professions such as security guard, explosives transport, or shooting instructor. One criterion involves those who live or work beyond the Green Line in the West Bank where the threat of terrorism is omnipresent. There are 18 possible eligibility criteria.

Per the Israeli government website, “Once the application is submitted and recorded in the system, it will be forwarded for authorization by the Israel police and the Ministry of Health. After their authorizations are received, you will be contacted by the Firearm Licensing Information and Service Center to schedule an interview at one of the licensing offices, in order to continue the process.” Processing time is at the whim of the government, and any license holder who finds themselves no longer meeting eligibility criteria must surrender their firearm at a police station within 72 hours.

The US Perspective

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Yonatan Stern is the director of the Cherev Gidon Israeli Tactical Training Academy. Cherev Gidon instructors are Israeli combat veterans living in the US whose mission it is to provide high quality Israeli tactical shooting skills to American civilians. We reached out to Yonatan for his perspective: “This is a topic I am intimately familiar with. I moved out of Israel specifically because of its Bolshevik gun controls that denied me any right to defend myself or my family against heavily armed terrorists. I know first-hand how dangerous and deadly this terrible situation is.

“It does not look like any progress is being made in Israel in regards to access to firearms for average citizens. Prime Minister Naftali Bennet recently made a statement encouraging armed citizens to carry their weapons in public, but this was more of a cynical publicity stunt than any indication of progress regarding gun rights. Only a tiny fraction of the civilian population is licensed to own a firearm, and he has made no efforts whatsoever to enable greater access to firearms for average civilians. Deadly terror attacks against the civilian population are becoming a daily occurrence, yet the Israeli government enforces some of the most extreme gun control measures in the world, completely denying citizens the right to bear arms.

“Many of these terror attacks could easily be stopped if the civilian population was armed. However, in Israel, only police, military, security personnel, and a very small handful of privileged civilians who fall into several “eligible categories” have access to firearms. The average citizen has no right to own any type of weapon whatsoever, and doing so illegally will land him or her in jail for many years. In situations like these, selecting who gets to have access to firearms and who doesn’t is the equivalent of selecting who gets to live or die.

“The State of Israel seems to think it has the power of God in deciding which citizens have a right to live and which don’t. Israel has no NRA or gun lobby, and those who wish to own a firearm in Israel are essentially powerless to do anything to change the situation. This situation is absolutely unacceptable, and we feel it is our moral duty to speak up against these criminal and immoral gun control laws in Israel. So, what are we doing about this?

“The Israeli government is not going to change their policies because those of us in the US oppose them. However, Israel has three national interests that we here in the US do have leverage over — •
Funding: Israel is heavily dependent on investment and donations from abroad. Israeli bonds and other contributions are essential to Israel’s economy.

  • Aliyah (immigration). Israel desperately wants to attract educated and successful American Jews to immigrate there. It sends emissaries abroad to encourage western immigration and invests tens of millions of shekels every year in this policy.
  • Political support. Israel heavily depends on American Jews and pro-Israel Christians to support organizations like AIPAC, speak out, and participate in rallies in support of Israel, especially when a major flare-up happens with Hamas in Gaza, usually sparking an international uproar.

“In these three areas, Israel is dependent on our cooperation and support. Threatening that cooperation and support is something the State of Israel is likely to pay attention to. If enough of us get on board, it might put enough pressure on Israel to change its draconian gun control policies. “We are taking the following three steps:

  • We are calling our local Israeli consulates or organizations that raise money for Israel and telling them that we will not donate one penny to Israel so long as it continues disarming its citizens in the face of Arab terror.
  • We are contacting our local Aliyah (immigration) emissaries and telling them that we would love to make Aliyah (immigrate to Israel), but we cherish our 2nd Amendment rights and will never consider moving there so long as we are barred from bringing our guns with us or buying guns locally.
  • We are contacting our local Israeli consulates, AIPAC and/or other pro-Israel organizations, and informing them that they cannot count on us for any kind of political support until Israel recognizes the right to bear arms and allows ALL its citizens to own firearms.

“The way we see it, if only a few of us do this, it will be easy for them to laugh us off and completely ignore us. However, if hundreds or thousands of us do this, they will have no choice but to listen.” For more information, please visit CherevGidon.com.