Jews Must Arm Themselves

Recently, I made a video articulating a long-held personal belief—that Jews with CCWs, like myself, should be able to carry our guns into houses of worship and at Jewish events. The reason is basic; when I speak at events, there is usually armed security inside the venue. But outside the venue, when I am leaving and walking alone through the parking lot, there is very rarely any security protecting attendees. This is a glaring blind spot in Jewish spaces, and the effects are catastrophic—just look at the tragic shooting of the two young Israeli embassy staffers, Yaron Lischinsky and Sarah Milgrim, in Washington, D.C. last month. They were not killed while in the event space, a Jewish museum where there was (scant) internal security; instead, they were shot while leaving the venue, as they were alone and vulnerable to attack.

Every time I express this position, especially alongside my broader conviction that it is extraordinarily important for Jews to obtain CCWs and carry guns, I hear a wave of pushback from within the Jewish community, which is still largely opposed to gun ownership. But their arguments are always flimsy at best and dangerously deluded at worst. These critics point to the use of deadly firearms in attacks like the embassy shooting, moralistically proclaiming that we should be pushing to regulate weapons instead of arming ourselves in return, and that antisemitism would be less deadly if it wasn’t backed up by the force of a lethal weapon.

But this argument neglects to consider basic realities—first and most obviously, the fact that antisemitism continues to rise in America. Just last week, a few days after an Egyptian national threw Molotov cocktails at elderly Jews attending a hostage awareness march in Colorado, the FBI issued a public service announcement highlighting an increased and ongoing “public safety threat” to “Jewish and Israeli communities.” These dangers to our community in a post-October 7th world certainly have not been mitigated by any liberal arguments for peace and discussion; rather, the anti-Jewish threat in our society, amplified by a ceaseless tide of social media propaganda, hate-spewing online bots, and leftist agitation, has only grown stronger.

This is why increased regulation is not an acceptable answer. The founder of Open Source Defense, a leading gun rights organization, once described his views on gun ownership as a necessary response to the small moments when the protective social fabric gives in. “Even in a society that functions well, there are microbursts of that society failing. If someone breaks into your house in the middle of the night, that’s society failing for a few minutes…in the moments where it fails, I would ask, do you have society’s back? Are you ready to fill that gap for a few minutes until society can recover and come to help you?” he asked. In other words, while it may feel noble to push for gun reforms and other so-called peaceful measures to strengthen our society, there will inevitably be moments where this society cannot keep us safe. And in those times, carrying and knowing how to properly use a weapon can be the difference between life and death—sometimes not only for you, but for your broader community as well.

I want to emphasize proper weapon usage because this is another counterargument from Jewish gun critics, who seemingly believe that arming our community just entails tossing a bunch of weapons to people without any instruction in how to responsibly use them. This couldn’t be further from the position I am advocating—Jews should get their CCW permits because the process requires a level of training and education. I know many Jewish gun owners, and every one of them takes the responsibility of carrying very seriously. We do not wave our guns around mindlessly; we approach them as necessary weapons to be handled responsibly. We train to make sure we can operate our firearms effectively, we store them securely, we educate our children and everyonein our home to be sure they understand that firearms are not to be taken lightly.

To quote fellow Jewish gun advocate Liel Liebovitz, “the Jewish way of gun ownership is more about responsibility than power.” We do not carry guns simply to flex our muscles; we carry them to keep ourselves safe. The weapons are there when, god forbid, we need them for protection, and unobtrusively out of sight when we don’t. And during the vast majority of the time when we are not firing our guns, as responsible Jewish gun owners, simply knowing that are carrying allows us to keep our heads on swivels. It makes us more aware of our surroundings and attuned to the world around us for any hostile threats.

American Jews have a dangerous tendency to bury their heads in the sand about the issues that threaten our communities, particularly when those threats come from the left. Instead of responding urgently, many within our community downplay pressing issues—or, worse, cozy up to people who are not our friends, advocating for policies that clearly do us harm. The furious response to the gun debate is yet another example—Jews have spent years echoing the Democratic party line on guns, and to what effect? Our brothers and sisters are being gunned down in the streets of America’s capitol and attacked at peaceful protests. Clearly, it’s time to acknowledge the ugly reality of our precarious position in America and take the long-overdue step towards arming ourselves, putting power back in our own hands rather than leaving our safety in the hands of government or fate. Jewish lives are too valuable—and the broader world too hostile—to be anything short of prepared and protected.

Dr. Sheila Nazarian is a MMM Board Certified Plastic Surgeon and Assistant Professor, USC.