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https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-new...flocking-gun-training-classes-rcna120602


‘Not safe anywhere now’: American Jews are flocking to gun training classes
“We can’t put down the phone without picking up the next one,” said a rabbi in Los Angeles who runs a nonprofit group that offers firearm training to the Jewish community.





Oct. 22, 2023, 8:00 AM EDT
By Merritt Enright and Simone Weichselbaum
Henya Chein has always been terrified of guns. The Orthodox Jewish artist and mother of two felt uneasy about her husband’s decision to buy a handgun after they moved to Florida from New York last year.

“I would just block it out of my mind that it’s in the house,” Chein, 26, said.

But after watching the events unfold in Israel, she’s taken steps she never imagined herself ever taking. Chein attended a gun safety seminar at her synagogue last week followed by a one-on-one session at a local shooting range.

“Even at the range, I just wanted to drop the gun and run back home,” Chein said. “I was so scared, and I’m terrified of it.”

But she said she felt “forced to do it because Jewish people are not safe anywhere now.”

The deadly terrorist attack in Israel and the torrent of social media threats that followed have forced many American Jews to reconsider their long held stances against owning or using guns.


Firearm instructors and Jewish security groups across the country say they have been flooded with new clientele since Hamas assaulted Israel on Oct. 7. And gun shop owners in Florida say they have seen more Jews purchase firearms in recent weeks than ever before.

“We’ve definitely seen a tremendous increase in religious Jewish people, Orthodox people, purchasing firearms,” said David Kowalsky, who owns Florida Gun Store in the town of Hollywood, and also offers firearms training classes. “I’ve seen a surge in interest in individual training as well as group training.”


Kowalsky, who is Jewish, said local synagogues had reached out to him to host gun training seminars and shooting sessions in the past week. At one gun safety seminar he hosted this past week, Kowalsky said most participants were new to guns.

“These are mothers, teachers, the majority of them are mostly people who have never interacted with firearms or thought about owning them,” Kowalsky said. “There’s a safety concern. I think people are nervous about what’s going on and what can happen.”

Rabbi Yossi Eilfort runs Magen Am, a nonprofit in Los Angeles that provides self-defense classes and firearm training to the Jewish community. He said they’ve received more than 600 calls in the last week.


“We can’t put down the phone without picking up the next one,” said Eilfort said. “The calls for self-defense training, situational awareness training — ‘How do I make my shop or my institution a harder target?’ — has just been really, really nonstop.”

It is not uncommon for targeted groups to seek out self-defense measures after public attacks or threats.

Some American Jews said they had first become interested in gun ownership after a 2018 shooting at a Pittsburgh synagogue killed 11 people. A 2022 study from the University of Michigan found that Asian Americans who experienced racism during the pandemic were more likely to acquire firearms and ammunition for self-defense.

But in many Jewish communities, gun ownership is a taboo subject.

“The majority of Jews in the country historically have been liberal on the left, pro-gun reform, pro-gun control, opposed to personal gun ownership,” said Hank Sheinkopf, a veteran New York-based political strategist who is also an Orthodox rabbi. “Jews with guns were always seen as an odd event.”

But now, Sheinkopf added, it seems the long held view — of the U.S. being the “one place in the world where Jews are safe — is coming to an end.”

Pro-Hamas extremists and neo-Nazis have inundated social media platforms with calls for attacks on Jewish communities and other targets in the U.S. and Europe, prompting U.S. law enforcement agencies to step up their readiness postures, NBC News reported last week. And there have been a smattering of hate crime incidents against Jews in the U.S., including an assault recently of a woman while she was standing on a busy New York City subway platform.

Muslim Americans have also been targeted in recent weeks. In the most high-profile case, a 6-year-old Palestinian American boy was stabbed to death in his Illinois home in what police described as an anti-Muslim hate crime; his landlord has been charged with murder in the attack.

NBC News spoke with more than a dozen Jewish Americans across the country who sought out gun ownership or formal gun training for the first time in response to the Israel-Gaza conflict. Many said they did not feel comfortable publicly sharing their identities out of fear they might be targeted. At least two people said they had received antisemitic death threats on social media.


Some also said they feared backlash from people in their communities who may be less receptive to gun ownership.

Endi Tennenhaus, a preschool director and mother of seven living in Hollywood, Florida, helped organize a gun safety training for women at her synagogue this past week. Her husband, who is the synagogue’s rabbi, had already organized a men’s group to go to a shooting range.

“I said, ‘What about the women? I’m sure some of the women would love to do that as well,’” recalled Tennenhaus, 41. “If all of our husbands are buying guns, we want to make sure we also know how to use them and also to be able to protect our children and be able to keep guns safe in our homes.”


A 41-year-old Jewish woman living in Miami Beach said she is pro-gun control and had no desire to use a firearm. But she signed up for gun training sessions after receiving death threats from unknown accounts on Instagram, where she had previously posted about being Jewish.

The woman, who spoke on the condition of anonymity out of fear for her family’s safety, said the threats contained graphic images of dead bodies.

“It’s not like ‘Hey, I’m proud and happy and want to do this,’” she said of her choice to take firearms training. “I have no choice. It’s a very sad thing.”

Daniel Lombard, a Chicago police officer who also runs DAVAD Civilian Defense, a firearms training company, said he has seen a massive uptick in interest from local Jewish communities.

“We are definitely going to be adding classes. There’s no doubt about it,” Lombard said.

Eilon Even-Esh, a Marine veteran living in Florida, has hosted a series of emergency safety and gun training sessions for the Jewish community in his county over the past week. He said the calls have been nonstop and the majority of participants are first-time gun users.

“Some are concerned, and some are angry,” said Even-Esh.

On Monday, he hosted a hastily arranged, late night personal safety training at a local synagogue, which lasted from 10:30 p.m. to 1:30 a.m.

“These are regular people that want to feel safe,” he said.
Merritt Enright is an associate producer with the NBC News Investigative Unit.



Simone Weichselbaum is a national investigative reporter for NBC News, focusing on local and federal law enforcement issues. She previously was a police reporter for The Marshall Project, the New York Daily News and the Philadelphia Daily News. She holds a graduate degree in criminology from the University of Pennsylvania.

Good for them maybe they will quit voting for democrats too.

Doubt it.

You’d think they’d learn their lesson after over 125 years of supporting Commies……

This, too, shall pass once the danger is deemed as being resolved and there’ll be a reversion to the mean.

They wouldn't need to do that had they not flooded America and Europe with Muslims.

It’s about time they smartened up!

Muslims outnumber Jews in the USA.

They have for years now.

Sadly, true enough. Smart folks, but not smart enough to stay the course.

A retired show biz guy I know is 100% jewish and went to jewish schools.
He listens to NPR and reads Atlantic and NY magazines.

One thing I admired about him is that he questions NPR dumping on Israel.


When someone is in a left wing or right wing news bubble, it is hard to see out of it.

He even says that NPR has progressed from omitting information to fabricating information.

He does not own guns, but his older brother is a republican with lots of guns. They argue about politics.

All Righty Then ..

I guess they’ve decided to Shoot their Way Out ..

They wont and they voted alot of this madness in with the commies ruining this country. They can all fugg off with any sympathy from me

Big deal, I bought bullets from an Amish guy last week end. He had tables full of guns for sale too. Go figure. In the world today Republicans aren't the only ones with guns.

You’d think even the dumbest, most woke Dems, would see some light at the end of the tunnel, while being chased by the grim reaper.

Self preservation is generally a strong instinct. Would take a heap of stupid to overcome that basic tendency.

On the other hand, you can educate ignorance, stupid not so much.

DF

Every atrocity, a few more see the light. For a group of generally smart people, some have blind spots.

They should be buying guns.......Was very surprised to learn that in those kibbutzes right along the border with Gaza every family didn't have a shotgun or AR under the bed..........talk about being naive........bet they change that practice now.....

Better late than never. Many Jews having an aversion to firearms has always been a mystery to me .

Agree. And from what I hear, they’re all military trained.

Read where they were trying to limit guns in the population. Back in the old days, people had their Uzis and military stuff locked up at home; all are in the call up reserves.

Amazing how many were unprepared and how slow the IDF was to issue warnings.

Bet all that gets changed after this. A trained, alert, armed populace is dangerous, but the govt needs to trust the people. And the people need a trustworthy govt, two way street.

Lots of libs in Israel. You’d think that may be changing a bit. Time will tell.

DF

Not really. They just don't want the goyim to have them.

Guns are tightly regulated in Israel

Of the boxcar?

So they felt persecuted and came here where the felt safe. The place with guns…

They want to outlaw them and vote that way forever, but now they want guns to feel safe.

What a bunch of stupid pricks. I have very little faith that as a community they will stop voting for communism.

Could be they were just holding back until they were sure Larry Root was out of the picture, being as how averse they are to taking the bad side of a deal.

How many generations will that take?

New York City.

https://twitter.com/Sprinter99800/status/1715990321018876015

Might be some good deals on used guns in a few months.




P

Easy gentlemen you guys are going to upset the Israel/Jew supporters or bust crowd!

They’ve been outnumbered in many places, many times over the years and still they vote for their own demise seemingly.

The fact that it’s difficult for them to obtain and keep guns in the State of Israel should say all that needs saying. They’re outnumbered grossly there also.

The narrative is changing. Whatever you think about Joe Rogan, he has a huge audience.

The "noticing" is in over-drive these days.

https://twitter.com/CensoredMen/status/1716284421781774585

Whatever you think about Joe Biden, he has a large audience also, worldwide even.

Unlike you I don’t look for major changes as it regards their ‘love of firearms.’

I feel the same. Fuuck them.

Quote: "Jews Are Buying Guns"

Question: Do they try to jew down the gunshop on the purchase?

One might think that, after 1945, after Auschwitz, that Jews around the world would realize that there are bad guys out there who are determined to kill them. They might realize that, even in America there are Muslims who want to see Jews annihilated.
But no. Most American Jews are Libs who hate guns.

Looks like some of them are beginning to wise up.

It's really hard to have sympathy for those who refuse to protect themselves, even if it means owning a firearm and learning how to use it. Or simply by voting for people who will stand up to evil and not be a part of it. I have no more f**ks to give.
kwg

Can’t stop laughing 😂

I’ve always thought that they were pretty well armed. Guess not but it looks like some have taken the Taurus by the horns and decided that they are responsible for their own safety.

Took them long enough, you'da thought that WW2 would have taught them something.......

Only takes a few generations for people to forget stuff and history starts to repeat itself. Just like America has become too fat, dumb and happy; now there are things going on in the USA that were unthinkable a few decades ago. After WW2 and the Nuremburg Trials, Nazis were being hunted down all over the world with no statute of limitations. The old post WW2 rhetoric of "NEVER AGAIN", has now become, "Here We Go Again". Today there's college students having demonstrations that would make Adolph Hitler proud. WTF!!

I wonder if the Jews are just betas, looking to be protected rather than being responsible for protecting themselves.

Y'all talking about "the Jews" like they're homogeneous and all think alike cracks me up.

It's like assuming all "white people" think like the wonder-bread retards here in MN going after the old guy at the "I love terrorists" ralley in Minneapolis.

Buy low sell high pards.

Mazel Tov pards.

The kibbutz is the very definition of communism.

Same apply to American gated communities?

Are you one of those people who thinks stereotypes are baseless and pulled out of thin air?

I bet there was some hard core price negotiations going on or j-_ing down😂

Nope.

But the idea that Jews are all soy boy puzzies is rather amusing. Granted, I think the IDF is a tad overrated (we kicked their butts in an exercise), mainly due tobeing blessed with almost exclusively fighting Arabs, who absolutely suck at maneuver warfare.

Actually most of those kibbutz had a small security force and military arms for more to defend the property. They were just caught completely flat footed.

I think a lot of people are speaking in general terms. Nobody said all Jews _________.

BUT, millions of them died in camps, never having fired a shot. Who knows what the outcome would be if they weren’t saved by the allies.

Their Air Force always did very well in exercises with the US.

They fired a few shots in '48, '67 and '73 though.

I wasn't in the air force, we did infantry things and armor things. They were good, just not as good as I expected.

Nope, they're the dumbest smart people on the planet.

Now if they could only claim Deerborn as New Israel.

Since the end of WWII, the Jewish community has sworn, "NEVER AGAIN"!
Hopefully, they will lay aside their passivity and defend themselves!

There were several instances during WWII when Jews did fight back. Unfortunately, I don't think they overcame the German army but once or twice. Small, but signicant victories!

It's the reason so many vote (d). They feel it's the government's duty to protect them

You’d think after the last genocide, they’d be ready to rock ‘n roll.

Not even close. My co-workers wife grew up on one and I couldn't believe some the stories.

Share some of it.

She didn't grow up with her parents and immediately family. At the age of 5 she was housed and raised with a group of other kids and only saw her family briefly on the weekends. This was done to strengthen her ties to the community. My coworker said she's still scarred from the experience and would never let the same thing happen to her own children.

Please share a couple. Curious here.

Thought that was supposed to be close to Nirvana, if you're Jewish.

I just hope the jews in New York, Kalifornia, Massachusetts, Connecticut, et al are obeying EVERY LAST LAW of their respective states before they attempt to purchase a weapon. They voted for their shit states, they can live with it their shit laws.

Wasn’t just the Jews that voted in the lawmakers in those states.

America was safe for Jews?

No one is ever completely safe anywhere. "The Law" and LEOs used to be a safety net in the civilized portion, while in the "lawless"old West, it was up to the individuals to protect themselves. No longer true.

Now, most of America has returned to the old west, but the citified and dumnuts just haven't realized it yet.

Their Air Force was damned effective at murdering US Navy personnel aboard the USS Liberty in their effort to sink it and kill every last crew member so their deaths could be blamed on Egypt, thus pulling the US into fighting their war for them.

....and FDR was effective in placating Hitler by turning back the ship, St. Louis*, and it's load of Jewish asylum seekers. In Germany, they were marched off to concentration camps where most of them died.

The St Louis had already been turned away in Cuba. In a last act of desperation, FDR also turned them away. He feared that allowing jewish refugees into the US, he would infuriate Hitler into dragging the US into WWII. By denying the inevitability of the situation, FDR doomed a shipload of refugees that truly deserved asylum.

I am not qualifying the attack on the Liberty, I'm just saying that sh¡t happens. Israel apologized as best they could for that.

Maybe we could also talk about the Lusitannia. The passenger ship that the Germans sank prior to WWI.
The good ol' US of A had slipped war materials on board, making it a German target.

Sh¡t happens in the throes of war!

How about the American pilots shot down by the American battleship in WWII due to mistaken identity?
I believe they called it "The Turkey Shoot"!

I would imagine that most of them could be arrested for lying about mental illness on their paperwork lol. A bunch of hysterical schizophrenics buying guns and literally shaking.

A buddy of mine taught,trained with the Israeli Air Force mid 80s Yuma Arizona. He said some of the best fighter pilots in the world. They learned a lot from each other.

Then the Cock Head decided things were inevitable so to push it along he order the Intelligence be subdued thus Pearl Harbor.

Looks Like a Redux in Gaza ..

Oh My God Benny ..

I’m pretty sure the CCBIA say the same thing to Little Bushy after 9-11

Oh My God Little Bushy ..

Chinese Fire Wall..

Another Jew Jamie Gorelick

Hahahaha Hahahaha

F’ck All

It was their “govt” than put them in the ovens.

So, that’s not a logical reason or even a decent excuse.

DF

Tim,
You weren’t the only one who thought that the Israelis would be very well prepared for armed conflict. Only being allowed a single 9mm pistol and 50 rounds of ammunition is not enough for much of a battle. Somehow I had the idea they had a system similar to the Swiss. A good weapon in every home and mandatory training with it.

Most of them will still vote for dimtards.

Yep, but IMO, makes no sense.

DF

The JPFO has been around for many years.

Jews for the Preservation of Firearms Ownership (JPFO)

no

not even

Suprising only a few realize this episode, or they woulnt be so quick to hug one