Hypocrisy in Israel Regarding Gun Ownership

As a sovereign and member state of the United Nations, Israel has asserted the right to self-defense under Article 51 as a central part of its justification for military action for many years, including and especially since the Hamas terror attacks of October 7, 2023. How is it then that the same Israeli government can, in good conscience, deny the right of its citizens to defend themselves? Despite living in a world of nuance and infinite perspective, there are some fundamental principles here that can’t be ignored. The government’s claim to self-defense is only as credible as its reverence for the people’s claim; therefore, if Israel does not recognize the right of its citizens to keep and bear arms, then the state is either disingenuous about the danger and should itself be restrained, or it is shamefully hypocritical in its justifications while demonstrating total disregard for the people it purports to defend.

History

Israel was re-established on May 14, 1948, following the brutal murder of approximately six million Jewish people by the Nazi regime during WWII. One of the prevailing motivations at the time was to provide the Jewish people with a place among the family of nations, resurrecting the Promised Land of the Tanakh, known to Christians as the Old Testament. While the sacred nature of the land made it the clear choice for a Jewish state, it didn’t preclude them from the curse of bad neighbors, as surrounding Arab states formally launched a coordinated invasion on May 15, 1948, one day later.

However, this article isn’t about a masterfully polarized conflict orchestrated by global elites, governments, the media, and all manner of evildoers bent on rationalizing their evil. Living in Israel has proven to be an occupational hazard for Jews and non-Jews alike, with terror attacks carrying significant risk to residents and visitors in the region, from kidnappings, stabings, mass shootings, and suicide bombings, to incoming rockets from Iran, Hamas, Palestinian Islamic Jihad, Hezbollah, and Yemen-based Houthi rebels. In fact, most of these groups at one point included the destruction of Israel as a goal of their charter before globalist overlords forced them to soften the language for easier public consumption. No, this article seeks to question how the fundamental liberty to preserve and defend life is morally justified by a government that does not recognize the same right of its individual citizens.

No right to live …

There is no such thing as a Second Amendment in Israel, which has traditionally maintained highly restrictive gun laws even though a significant portion of its population has trained and served, as required, in the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF). The country has used many clever ruses to keep firearms out of the hands of its citizens over the years, from early calls to consolidate military power in 1948 after an almost immediate Arab invasion, to an evolving labyrinth of licensing schemes meant to undermine what the Israeli government sees as a privilege, and not a human right.

Even if an Israeli jumps through the ever-evolving hoops of subjugation to prove to the government that their life is worthy of defense, the types of firearms available to the public are highly limited, mostly to handguns. As hunting does not produce Kosher food, it is reserved for specific purposes, such as managing agricultural damage by pest animals, controlling disease, or scientific research. Due to this, I am told that shotguns are relatively scarce, and the legally owned ones, that are scattered about the country, mostly belong to Arabs who use them for hunting and pest control on their farms. Skeet and trap shooting are done at licensed ranges, but the shotguns are for rent and stay at the range.

Rifles are regulated to approximately 60-80 competition licenses that are issued throughout the country. That is correct, there are only 80 rifle licenses, at most at this time, in a nation of 9.8 million.

Regulations require three consecutive years of participation and a minimum of four or five competitions per Rifleman Association season to become a prospective member. During that time, the non-member must borrow a member’s rifle and ammunition. After the three-year “pledging” process, the new member may then obtain the necessary endorsements from the Shooting Federation to apply for their own license, allowing them to purchase a rifle from a retiring member of the Rifleman Association.

Following the assassination of Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin in 1996, Israel’s Ministry of the Interior tightened private firearm ownership to increasingly draconian levels, requiring Israeli citizens to apply and qualify for a license under categories of reasons in which self-defense was not acceptable unless one lived, worked, or traveled through a geographic area validated by the government as particularly dangerous. Such licenses granted not only the privilege to own a firearm, but also to carry it. The Interior Ministry initiated a systematic review of previously issued permits as they approached expiration, applying the new validation standards to renewals, which ultimately led to a significant reduction in the total number of permits. Adding insult to injury, when a permit was not renewed, the former licensee was required to turn their firearm into the police, without any compensation, of course.

Fast forward a few years, and the Firearms Licensing Department of the Interior Ministry is relocated to the Israeli National Police/Ministry of Security. Meanwhile, updated regulations allowed licensees to own handguns for competition, possession in their homes, or carry. These licenses, good for three years, were expensive but considered just outside the range of excessively prohibitive. Regardless of whether an applicant was a first-timer or a renewal, they would need to qualify each time, demonstrating safe gun handling and a modest degree of marksmanship.

Testing is done at a gun store with an indoor range as outdoor ranges can be scarce. Classroom sessions are followed by dry-fire instruction and live-fire drills. I am told the marksmanship “Final Exam” is relatively easy for most applicants, but the process incurs additional expense, as the instructor and range must be paid to administer the course.

What good is it without ammunition?

Alright, my fellow Americans. If you’re standing up, you’re going to want to sit down for this next one. In Israel, a licensed gun owner is only permitted to maintain a single fifty-round box of ammunition in their home, and a voucher allowing the purchase of that ammunition is provided with their license. Furthermore, only FMJ ball ammo is available for sale, rather than effective defense ammunition, and any additional practice ammunition you need must be purchased at a predictably considerable expense from the range. Licensed competition shooters may file a permit request for a season’s worth of ammo. Penalties for possessing a single extra round of ammunition other than what is allowed can amount to the loss of one’s permit and up to seven years in prison.

October 7th

Then came the atrocities of October 7, 2023, as Hamas terrorists launched a multi-front attack on Israel, initiating the ongoing war in Gaza. The attack, which left 1,200 dead, primarily civilians, many more wounded, and saw approximately 240 people taken hostage, was the first large-scale invasion of Israeli territory since the 1948 Arab-Israeli War. It was the deadliest day for Israel since its independence.

After that tragic day, Israel expanded its eligibility categories; however, only approximately 2% of the country's population would be able to apply under this development. Even then, the move was deceptive, as increased eligibility did not necessarily translate into more permits. Sources within the country tell me that applicants are regularly denied under arbitrary circumstances, such as being in debt, having a medical condition, being in the process of a divorce, making political statements the government disapproves of, or for no reason given at all. These same sources revealed to me that those few who are able to obtain a permit tend to have a friend or relative in a high place who "made a call" on their behalf.

The optics of the Israeli government beating the drums of war while telling Jewish citizens they do not face significant enough danger to justify firearm ownership are astoundingly crass. The minute number of Israelis who do get approved are subject to an arduous process and a lengthy backlog due to the increase in applications, demonstrating just one of the problems when the ability to defend life is regarded as a privilege rather than treated as a God given right.

What now?

Earlier in 2025, the firearms licensing division launched an all-out effort to deny re-licensure to the 60-80 remaining competitive rifle owners in the country. (Again, the population in Israel is over 9.8 million!) These individuals, members of the Israeli Rifleman Association, are no longer being granted renewals, despite applicants meeting all requirements under the law. Those who lost their license are left once again having to turn in their rifles to the local police, a black hole from which I’ve been informed these firearms are never again to be seen. Alternatively, they may store their rifles in the walk-in safe at a gun range until the day they can obtain a license again, for a hefty monthly fee, of course.

Meanwhile, the Israeli government continues to spread propaganda through the use of misleading imagery depicting gun rights in the country as being mainstream, despite established knowledge that it is anything but. Many of these images include provocative photos of what appear to be female IDF soldiers posing with firearms in either military uniform or civilian attire.

In 2005, the Israeli Foreign Ministry launched a public relations campaign known as “Brand Israel” in response to the boycott of Israeli organizations in the occupied Palestinian territories led by Crescent International, known as the “news magazine of the Islamic movement.” This effort culminated in the July 2007 photoshoot for Maxim Magazine, entirely orchestrated by Israel’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the American-Israel Friendship League, showcasing five scantily clad Israeli models who had formerly served in the IDF. The aim of the campaign, according to David Saranga, Consul for Media and Public Affairs in New York, was to create a more favorable view of Israel among American men aged 18-38.

Fast forward to the war in Gaza today, and these tactics are still being used to skew public perception of the ugly reality that exists for Jews living in the Holy Land. No sooner did that conflict break out than we began to see IDF-related social media pages blow up with a mountain of propaganda from self-proclaimed “IDF Babes,” a controversial social media term referring to female IDF soldiers who are often put on display in a sexualized or objectifying manner, many of whom pose with a rifle. None of this is new, however, as “IDF Babes” is simply the latest version of “Combat Cuties,” a predating hypersexualized campaign to utilize female IDF soldiers for public relations and propaganda purposes.

Final Thoughts

Imagine being a retired IDF commando, relegated to a 9mm handgun and a 50-round box of practice ammo if you’re lucky, while your teenage daughter, currently serving in the IDF, is entrusted and required to carry her select fire M4 anywhere she goes, including when she returns home every day. If the threat level is that high, then why in the world is the life of the average Israeli citizen so insignificant as to place them at such a devastating disadvantage when it comes to neighboring enemies?

The answer is clear, and I’m going to tell a very uncomfortable truth here, so brace yourselves. Israel is not the same as the Israeli government. The government protects itself, its people, their assets, and their investments. The government’s indifference towards its citizens and their ability to defend their lives and those of their loved ones in what amounts to a populous under constant threat is callous, selfish, and indicative of the type of tyranny the Second Amendment is meant to protect us from here in America. Unfortunately, as I go back and read this last paragraph, I realize I could just as well be speaking of our government.

About the Author: Darwin Nercesian is a long-time gun rights advocate and shooter of targets far, far away. As the news field editor at Firearms News, Darwin writes about the Second Amendment, firearms, and related gear. Follow him on Instagram, X, and YouTube @DTOE_Official.

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