An Israeli security guard at his post, at Bat Ain settlement, Gush Etzion. Credit: Nati Shohat/Flash90.
As American society has become more polarized in recent years, the debate over gun control has reflected this reality, with leaders and lawmakers on both sides firmly entrenched in their positions. Yet the recent school shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla., which left 17 dead — 14 of them teenagers — has transcend the usual debate on gun control as an entire new generation, fed up with violence in their schools, has launched a social movement for change.
While school shootings seem to be a uniquely American phenomenon, Israel is no stranger to violence. Anyone who has visited the Jewish state quickly becomes accustomed to seeing security guards in nearly every public venue, including schools, with Israeli soldiers carrying M16s slung over their shoulders. Many supporters of gun rights have pointed to Israel as a potential model for the United States.
“Just waking up in Israel to news of heartbreaking school shooting in FL; Reminded that Israel pretty much eliminated it by placing highly trained people strategically to spot the one common thread — not the weapon, but a person with intent,” tweeted former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee following the Parkland tragedy.
Similarly, Wayne LaPierre, executive vice president of the National Rifle Association, has praised Israel for placing armed guards at schools, saying in December 2012 following the school shooting Newtown, Conn. — which left 20 children ages 6 and 7 dead, along with six staff members — that “the only thing that stops a bad guy with a gun is a good guy with a gun.”
‘How to respect the weapon’
While some may point to Israel as an exemplar of how a society with widespread gun ownership can still prevent school shootings and gun violence in general, several key differences exist between the United States and Israel.
A 2012 study by Janet E. Rosenbaum, an epidemiologist at SUNY Downstate Medical Center in Brooklyn, N.Y., examined the perception of many gun-rights advocates, noting that Israel and Switzerland are “gun utopias” with permissive gun laws and widespread gun ownership, and that they encourage the arming of civilians who can confront shooters.
She concludes that “Swiss and Israeli gun ownership is rare [and] regulated stringently, such as by putting the burden of proof on permit applicants to demonstrate a specific need for a gun,” adding that neither country promotes gun ownership.
Unlike America, where gun rights are protected by the Second Amendment, there is no parallel in Israel’s legal framework. Instead, like most of the developed world, Israel has strict gun-control laws, where gun ownership is considered a privilege granted by the Ministry of Public Security — not a right. As such, only a small percentage of Israelis — about 135,000 citizens out of some 8.5 million people — are licensed to carry guns. Contrast that with the United States, with its estimated
