Bennett responds to terror, calls on Israelis to fulfill Biblical mandate: Carry weapons

Thus on the day of the battle, no sword or spear was to be found in the possession of any of the troops with Shaul and Yonatan; only Shaul and Yonatan had them. Samuel 13:22

Samuel

13:

22

(the israel bible)

April 1, 2022

3 min read

In anticipation of intensifying terrorist attacks, Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett called on Jews with gun permits to carry their weapons as protection.

“We are experiencing a murderous terror wave and as in all previous waves, this time we will also overcome,” Bennett said in a video statement. The PM is currently in quarantine after testing positive for COVID. 

“What is expected of you, Israeli citizens? Vigilance and responsibility,” he says. “Whoever has a gun license, this is the time to carry a gun.”

Bennett also announced that any soldiers with elementary combat training (basic training level 03 and above) will take their weapons home with them on weekends.

“After a period of quiet, there is a violent eruption by those who want to destroy us, those who want to hurt us at any price, whose hatred of Jews, of the State of Israel, drives them crazy,” Bennett said in a short video address Wednesday morning.

“They are prepared to die – so that we will not live in peace,” he added. “What we witnessed less than a year ago in Operation Guardians of the Walls, the terrorism and the violence, from within Israel and inside Israel, was the first sign,” Bennett said. 

“This is a great and complex challenge for the IDF, the ISA, and the Israel Police that requires the security establishment to be creative and for us to adapt ourselves to the new threat and read the tell-tale signs of lone individuals, sometimes without organizational affiliation, and to be in control on the ground in order to thwart terrorism even before it happens,” he explained.

Israelis responded to the PM’s call to arms with more than 1,500 applications for a license were submitted on Wednesday alone, compared to a daily average of 60 applications, Channel 12 News reported, citing Public Security Ministry data. The data also showed a large jump in the number of people calling the ministry to inquire about how to obtain a license.

Data showed that between May and the beginning of 2022, some 15,849 new applications were submitted to the ministry, with an all-time record of 6,092 applications submitted in June alone.

Overall, some 19,375 applications were submitted throughout 2021, compared to a yearly average of 9,600 applications in recent years.

Before 2021, gun ownership in Israel had been on the downswing.

In 2009, there were 185,000 gun licenses among the Israeli public, compared to 148,617 in 2021.

Foreigners may think that a gun permit is easy to obtain as IDF soldiers with automatic weapons are a common sight in public. But the truth is that a gun permit is far more difficult to obtain than a weapon permit in the United States. Though army service is mandatory and most Israelis have received weapons training, a license is only granted to those who can show a need for extra security in their line of work or daily life. Citizens can only own one gun at a time, usually a handgun, and only 50 bullets.

The Biblically-minded are also focused on Biblical precedents. Though Judaism does not permit hunting as it precludes ritual slaughter, bearing arms has many strong Biblical precedents. Abraham was proficient at war, emerging victorious in a battle against four kings. The Jews left Egypt with weapons and used them effectively many times before arriving in Israel–where God required they conquer the land. David established his reputation by using a sling against Goliath. But the need for citizens, most especially Jews, to bear weapons against a capricious government was illustrated in Shushan when the Jews chose not to wait for divine intervention and rose up in arms against their enemies. 

Halacha (Torah law) most clearly requires a Jew to carry, or be prepared to carry, weapons, as stated in the Biblical precept:

 And you shall very much safeguard your souls Deuteronomy 4:15

The Talmud (Berachot 58a) requires every person to protect himself and, in another section (Sanhedrin 57a) the sages applied this principle also to situations where someone other than yourself is in danger. The antithesis of this was illustrated in the book of Samuel in which the Philistine conquerors had absolute control over the production of metal implements and, as a result, no Jews had weapons.

Thus on the day of the battle, no sword or spear was to be found in the possession of any of the troops with Shaul and Yonatan; only Shaul and Yonatan had them. I Samuel 13:22

 

Share this article

Donate today to support Israel’s needy

$10

$25

$50

$100

$250

CUSTOM AMOUNT

Subscribe

Prophecy from the Bible is revealing itself as we speak. Israel365 News is the only media outlet reporting on it.

Sign up to our free daily newsletter today to get all the most important stories directly to your inbox. See how the latest updates in Jerusalem and the world are connected to the prophecies we read in the Bible. .