“Possessing weapons increases the confidence of residents, who know that in addition to police there are many people who are not afraid to intervene.” The wise words of Bill DeBlasio? Rahm Emmanuel? Sadly (and wholly unsurprisingly) no. That’s Jerusalem mayor Nir Barkat on the advantages of an armed populace . . .

From ynetnews.com:

Against the background of a deteriorating security situation which has in recent days spread from Jerusalem and the West Bank to other parts of the country, more and more voices are being heard calling on citizens to carry guns every day to deal with attacks that might take place near them.

Fortunately, a deteriorating security situation like that could never happen in this country.

Why are you advocating more strapped citizens, Mr. Mayor?

If we look at the statistics in Jerusalem and elsewhere, we see that aside from the police, civilians carrying weapons have foiled terror attacks. They will increase the likelihood of fast intervention.

Wonder if he’d be interested in emigrating….

[h/t AP]

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19 COMMENTS

  4. In Israel, it is common to see military aged kids open carrying assault rifles (real ones with giggle switches) in civilian clothes, because they are required to keep tabs on their weapon at all times. Even bikini girls at the beach have been spotted with AR’s and Tavors.

    On the other hand, Israel has some of the most restrictive gun laws in the world. Those people carrying weapons only get a lifetime supply of 50 bullets to keep in the home.

    Be careful what you wish for.

      • It was my understanding that they could purchase 50 rounds that could be used outside of a range, but no such limit existed on range ammunition – that is ammunition fired at the range.

  5. Is he going to lobby the Israeli government to overturn its overly-restrictive gun laws? Don’t 40% of all gun permit requests get shot down?

    • That’s the first thing I thought when I saw this article. He might as well say, “Sure, an armed citizenry is great…but good luck with that permit process!”

  6. And if by some miracle the so-called Palestinians suddenly decided to stop killing Israelis and peace and brotherhood reigned throughout the Middle East, the same mayor would be saying, “Mr. and Mrs. Israel, turn them all in.”

    • Given how the Muslims keep harping on every slight and incursion of the last 1300+ years, I don’t see that happening anytime soon.

  7. A quote from another article:
    “In retrospect, we can see that statistically the neutralization of terrorists was often done by capable people who weren’t necessarily policemen,” said Barkat, explaining his call for “weapon owners who know how to use them should carry them.”

    • It’s worth noting that every person carrying a weapon in Israel was (or is) a soldier. That undoubtedly increases the probability that such a person will successfully intervene in a terrorist act.

      • “Almost every citizen legally carrying a gun in Israel…” would be somewhat more accurate…Israel has its share of illegal gun-toters, just like the rest of us.

  8. I’ve been in Jerusalem and spent time on the West Bank. It’s a tense situation but not much worse than most US inner cities. At least this guy gets it.

    too bad out politicians don’t.

    • So, you know that weapons are generally kept I basically neighborhood armories and pulled out for neighborhood watch or when kids go to school then turned in. Just because the Jerusalem mayor says he wants more civilians open carrying does not mean that he will not want the citizens to return their weapons to the armory when the threat is over. This happens every election or time that Hezbollah acts up.

  9. I wonder what his stance is on foreigners packing is? No double standards put the DC politicians on Obamacare and SS.Thanks for your support and vote.Pass the word. mrpresident2016.com

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