Illustrative: Gun store owner Mel Bernstein offered free rifles to rabbis in the wake of the Pittsburgh synagogue massacre (Screenshot/ News5)
Posted on 04/29/2019 5:23:21 AM PDT by SJackson
All four major American Jewish denominations have called for stricter firearm laws, but in houses of worship across the country, policies are far less uniform
On an average Saturday morning at the Orthodox Ohel Tefillah synagogue on Chicago’s North Side, about 10 percent of the men carry a handgun.
That number may seem high in a liberal city with some of the strictest gun laws in the country. But in the aftermath of the Pittsburgh synagogue massacre last year, Rabbi Moshe Revah expects it will grow. He wouldn’t be surprised if soon, 10 of the 40 or so men who pray there each week — 25% — will be packing heat.
“Definitely, Pittsburgh sparked the interest,” the rabbi said regarding gun ownership. “Originally it was much more of a taboo topic in the community… Definitely people are much more understanding of the idea. There’s more and more problems and things happening.”
Following the Pittsburgh shooting, in which 11 worshipers were killed at Shabbat services by a lone gunman, a synagogue in another liberal bastion had the same conversation — and came to the opposite conclusion.
The Society for the Advancement of Judaism, a Reconstructionist congregation in New York City, decided that having more guns in synagogue would only create more danger. The synagogue even opted against an increased police presence so as not to push away Jews of color, who may feel threatened by police.
“We don’t believe guns will help the situation,” said SAJ Rabbi Lauren Grabelle Herrmann. “They would exacerbate the situation. In terms of congregants holding guns, it would create a culture of fear and promote a culture of guns when we believe access to guns should be more limited.”
The four major American Jewish denominations — Orthodox, Conservative, Reform and Reconstructionist — have called for increased gun control in some form. But in synagogues across the country, policies are far less uniform. Some ban guns from their buildings. Others are OK with their members carrying firearms in the sanctuary, as long as they are concealed.
Supporters and opponents of guns in synagogue who spoke to JTA repeated familiar arguments on both sides of the debate. Rabbis who don’t want firearms in their congregations said that more guns could mean more injury or death — inadvertent or not — as well as the growth of what they call an already problematic gun culture.
But supporters of armed congregants say that with responsible training, they are a necessary defense in an age of frequent mass shootings. Call it the good Jewish guy with a gun.
“We don’t want to be looked at as an easy target,” said Rabbi Stuart Federow of Shaar Hashalom, a Conservative synagogue in Houston that allows the concealed carry of handguns, but not open carry. “People understand when seconds count, the police are minutes away. They understand that they have to take personal responsibility for those they love. After Pittsburgh, members of my congregation are very alert when someone walks into the building.”
In Texas, where more than a third of residents own guns, the fault line isn’t between whether to allow or ban guns, but whether to allow open carry as well as concealed guns. Congregation Shearith Israel, a Conservative synagogue in Dallas, also bans open carry but not concealed carry. Rabbi Ari Sunshine said that he assumes some congregants bring guns to synagogue, and that in the Lone Star State, a blanket prohibition on guns would not come up.
“We’re a synagogue, we want to preserve a sacred space, and the idea of having guns in full view, that’s just not part of the idea of the sanctity of a sacred space,” he said.
Elsewhere in the South, even where gun ownership rates are high, some synagogues have stricter policies. Temple Emanu-El of Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, requires individual members to apply for permission to carry in synagogue. The Temple, a Reform congregation in Atlanta, instituted a ban on guns in synagogue six years ago. Its rabbi, Peter Berg, is an outspoken advocate for gun safety measures, frequently speaking with state officials along with delegations of his congregants or groups of interfaith leaders.
“Thousands and thousands of people have died every single year, and this is something where there are simple changes we can make to create a safer environment that does not infringe on the Second Amendment,” he said. “I feel passionately that this is a religious issue because people are dying and because we have turned the worship of guns into idolatry.”
Berg’s interest in the issue was partially sparked by his time as a rabbi in Texas more than a decade ago. One Saturday, an elderly congregant who was a police officer accidentally dropped the handgun he was carrying and shot his own daughter in the foot.
That same story is partly why Rabbi Sharon Brous of Ikar, a Los Angeles congregation, said she would not allow a congregant with a gun in the building. Brous added that Ikar has professional, armed security, and that the congregation re-evaluated its security protocols after the Pittsburgh shooting.
“We believe and know that more guns make us less safe,” said Brous, who has also been active in a rabbis’ movement against gun violence. “I’m not willing to risk the safety of the people in the room so someone who carries a concealed weapon can do so.”
Michael Masters, the executive director of the Secure Communities Network, an umbrella organization that provides guidance to Jewish institutions on security procedures, cautioned against relying on laypeople to provide security in life-or-death situations. His organization encourages institutions to hire armed guards, if possible, and to stay in close touch with local law enforcement.
He noted that in the Pittsburgh shooting, four police officers who were highly trained were injured and unable to immediately stop the shooter.
“We have to ask ourselves, when four highly trained, capable members of law enforcement are cut down by an offender, what is the likelihood of how well prepared others are to address a similar situation?” he said.
But some synagogue-goers disagree and say they can serve as a second line of defense in case armed security is unable to stop a Pittsburgh-style shooter. Although Jewish law prohibits igniting a fire on Shabbat, Revah, the Chicago rabbi, explained that carrying a gun is permitted in certain circumstances in order to deter threats.
For some, carrying a gun comes with political considerations as well as safety concerns.
Eli Casper, who attends an Orthodox synagogue in South Florida, bought his gun the day before Election Day in 2016 because he was “concerned that Hillary Clinton was going to win and seriously constrict my right to carry a firearm.” His rabbi is supportive of his bringing the gun to synagogue, said Casper, explaining that he makes sure his gun is completely concealed in the sanctuary so as not to scare anyone.
“I just thought more and more to myself, as an Orthodox Jew who believes in God, I have a basic responsibility to my effort in life, and that includes self-defense, and that includes my family, myself and my fellow congregants,” he said.
Everyone who spoke to JTA and advocated concealed carry in synagogue added that armed congregants need to be well trained, beyond the minimum legal requirements for handgun ownership. Fred Kogen, a doctor and mohel in Long Beach, California, who runs a Jewish shooting club, Bullets and Bagels, said that training should go hand-in-hand with support for those who bring guns.
“It’s not good enough to have someone who has a concealed permit be allowed to carry in the congregation,” he said. “I feel that the congregation needs to be supportive of that concept, and that that person be even more vetted than the vetting that went into getting them a concealed permit.”
But the lack of support is why even Kogen doesn’t bring his gun to his Reform synagogue. He’s never raised the issue with the clergy, but given the national Reform movement’s position on gun control, he believes his gun would be unwelcome.
It was a struggle, Kogen said, just to get the congregation to upgrade the locks on its classrooms after Pittsburgh.
“At a certain point, you bang your head against the wall and your head hurts,” he said. “The wall is not going to move.”
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On an average Saturday morning at the Orthodox Ohel Tefillah synagogue on Chicago’s North Side, about 10 percent of the men carry a handgun.
It's worth remembering that were it up to Democrats that 10% would be unarmed as well. Concealed Carry in Illinois was ordered by the courts, and would never have passed the Democrat legislature were they not ordered to legislate shall issue carry, at the risk of having the Judge do it for them.
Lots of churches have been “comfortable” with guns for some time. My church has armed and trained parishioners at strategic locations for every service and we are not alone. Any wannabe shooter is going to find himself in a carefully orchestrated crossfire, no matter where he enters our sanctuary.
Oh right.
Terrorists and mass murderers just love to attack hard targets.
Happens all the time. Right?
Someone needs to tell them the Libs tried to outlaw handguns in the late 60s.
I visited a Chabad rabbi Sunday morning. At the same time, a retired policeman who had also been a Federal Marshal was offering his services to the rabbi.
The rabbi also pointed out that he is very friendly with the Chabad House neighbors, and several are watchfully armed.
They’re entitled to their opinion, baseless or not. The problem is their insistence to force their personal opinion on everyone else. They don’t want armed congregants, fine. I believe virtually all states allow private the banning of firearms by posting a sign. So the Reconstructionist Synagogue can post a sign. As a deterrent to violent Jewhaters. Who will obey the sign, in their opinion. But don’t force everyone to go disarmed. If another Synagogue decides not to post a No Guns sign, allowing Congregants to be armed, that should be fine too.
It is time for the places of worship start to “arm up”.
“Terrorists and mass murderers just love to attack hard targets.
Happens all the time. Right?”
Agreed. Whens the last time you heard of a gun shop, gun show or pawn shop getting shot up? Open carry locations seem to be pretty imune.........Weird right?
Serious training is a must.
This means "shoot-don't shoot", moving friendlies, accuracy beyond paper, etc.
Even "Able Shepard" needs more focus on accuracy.
NY City is crap City. The mayor is a Marxist. I got out in 1964 and haven’t looked back.
Now it’s time for me to leave NY State due to both house of the legislature now democrats. The republicans in the State Senate sat on their hands and did nothing to keep their majority. I Hate NY.
Because the New York State GOP Chairman was too busy attending Dem cocktail parties.
Absolutely. But this goes all the way to Washington. The swamp is everywhere.
Nothing like advertising that you are willing to be a shooting gallery.
My recommendation: Always be armed no matter where you go.
JoMa
“All four major American Jewish denominations have called for stricter firearm laws”
Lest anyone think that Judaism is against self defense, I’d suggest looking at the Bible and to events after Biblical times. First, immediately after the Exodus, it says Exodus 13:18) “...and the children of Israel were armed when they went up out of Egypt.” Second, in the story of Purim, in which the Jews in Persia survive an attempt to completely wipe them out at the hands of an ancient Hitler, the Jews resisted and killed over 75,000 Persians (Book of Esther, Chapter 9). Third, the story of Channukah, when the Jews re-established their independence from the Syrian-Greeks, is the story of an armed revolt against an occupying force. So, the only Judaism that is opposed to the use (or even ownership) of arms is liberal (in the late 20th Century sense of that word) Judaism, principally what is known as Reform and Conservative Judaism. Of course, there are those within those denominations who are complete believers in, and practitioners of, the 2nd Amendment, just as there are anti-gun Orthodox, but the general rule holds...as it does for the rest of society.
For those congregations who have armed themselves since the Pittsburgh massacre, or who are belatedly doing so now after San Diego, all that I can say is, “Welcome to our world, the world of common sense and personal responsibility. Now, perhaps, you’ll stop opposing the right to keep and bear arms in the general population, since you’ve FINALLY realized that the police can only show up after an incident and take reports.
” “Thousands and thousands of people have died every single year, and this is something where there are simple changes we can make to create a safer environment that does not infringe on the Second Amendment,” he said. “I feel passionately that this is a religious issue because people are dying and because we have turned the worship of guns into idolatry.” “
Peter Berg does NOT speak for anyone but himself. At least he had the decency to say “I” - I’ll give him that much credit. But he is so reflexively anti-gun that he has gone against the Torah and its teaching that it is not merely a right, but an OBLIGATION, to defend innocent life. See http://www.davekopel.org/2A/LawRev/The-Torah-and-Self-defense.htm for some review of the law.
It should be noted that Berg is the rabbi at “The Temple, a Reform congregation in Atlanta” is a Reform rabbi - for those who aren’t Jews, any time you see a synagogue with the name “Temple” in it, it is Reform - which means politically liberal or Leftists. Please pay no attention to them on matters of religion - they exist for the purpose of undermining traditional, Orthodox, Judaism. They are practicing some religion that resembles Judaism in some ways, but it is NOT Judaism.
Ping.
5.56mm
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