Israel - Settlers Say: Give Us Back Our Guns, Now!

[Gunreference1]

Published: 09/02/10, 8:04 PM / Last Update: 09/02/10, 8:32 PM

Settlers Say: Give Us Back Our Guns, Now!

by Gil Ronen

If ever there was a populace that deserved to carry guns for self-protection, the Jews of Judea and Samaria would appear to be it. However, the government heaps obstacles on Jews who wish to pack pistols. The Human Rights in Judea and Samaria organization and the Legal Forum for the Land of Israel are trying to do something about this, following the murderous attack Tuesday which killed Yitzchak Imes and three others (four, including an unborn infant). Imes's gun license had been taken away by police and he was left defenseless when terrorists struck.

In a letter to Attorney General Weinstein, Nachi Eyal, CEO of the Legal Forum, wrote in a letter to to the Attorney General that "it is hard to shake off the impression that had his license not been suspended, Yitzhak Imes, his wife Talia, and their two passengers, might still be alive today."

In April Attorney, Yitzchak Bam, a member of the Legal Forum and a personal friend of Imes, appealed the suspension of Imes' firearms license. By law, Attorney Bam should have received a response to his appeal within 45 days. However, when Yitzchak Imes was murdered on August 31, the authorities had not yet answered as to why his license was still suspended.

According to the Human Rights in Judea and Samaria non-profit organization (NPO), numerous other residents of Judea and Samaria are forced to travel on the roads without guns, because of restrictive government policies that assume residents accused of violence are are guilty until proven innocent. With terror attacks on the rise again, the NPO said, the matter is an urgent one.

The NPO sent a letter to Interior Minister Eli Yishai Thursday, focusing on the case of Uri Amseli, a resident of Kiryat Arba whose gun was taken away from him. Amseli's lawyer, Attorney Naftali Wurtzberg, stated in an attached letter that Amseli is a combat soldier who is a member of the Kiryat Arba first-response platoon, who received a commendation for his heroism in the battle in which Hevron commander Col. Dror Weinberg was killed, along with 11 others, in late 2002.

Wurtzberg said that all of Amseli's attempts to regain his gun license have sunk in the mire of bureaucracy. Amseli has repeatedly petitioned the courts to give him back his gun, which Wurtzberg says was taken away without a clear reason.

In a previous letter to the Minister of Interior and to the Minister of Public Security, Yitzchak Aharonovich, Human Rights in Judea and Samaria chairperson Orit Strook demanded that the police change its policy of taking away a gun license immediately after a criminal complaint is lodged against a person, instead of waiting for the proceedings to end. “The Judea and Samaria regions are saturated with Palestinian weapons,” she wrote. “There has been no corresponding effort to collect weapons from the Palestinian population in these areas.”

Following Strook's letter, Minister of Interior Eli Yishai instructed the Head of Population Administration to ease the issuing of gun permits to residents of Judea and Samaria.

Israeli policy favored the granting of gun licenses in the first decades of the country's existence, as part of a general national posture of deterrence. Since the early 1980s, however, the issuing of gun licenses has been restricted for residents of Judea and Samaria and for Israelis in general. The Ministry of Justice's 1982 Karp Commission determined that Jews in Judea and Samaria were given too much freedom to carry and use guns.

Subsequent committees curtailed the issuing of gun permits in general. Using inflated statistics regarding domestic violence, prominent leftist-feminist legislators like former MK Zehava Galon of Meretz contended that Israeli men were not to be trusted with guns, which they might use to kill their wives.

http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/139472

Steve

[old Grump]

Well if the liberals in Israel are taking guns away from Jews then they are truly screwed big time. Just another sacrifice of peoples whose names will look good on the martyr board. That board will be lost in the rubble as the Muslims build another mosque on the ground their blood sweat and tears had once made fertile.

[Krupski]

Israeli policy favored the granting of gun licenses in the first decades of the country's existence, as part of a general national posture of deterrence. Since the early 1980s, however, the issuing of gun licenses has been restricted for residents of Judea and Samaria and for Israelis in general. The Ministry of Justice's 1982 Karp Commission determined that Jews in Judea and Samaria were given too much freedom to carry and use guns.

I guess they forgot what happened in 1938...

http://www.stephenhalbrook.com/registration_article/pic3.jpg



Regulations on Weapons Possession in the Occupied Zone

1. All firearms and ammunition, hand grenades, explosive devices and other war material are to be surrendered. The delivery must take place within 24 hours at the nearest German military administrative headquarters or garrison, provided that other special arrangements have not been made. The burgemeisters (mayors) must accept full responsibility for complete implementation. Commanding officers are authorized to approve exceptions.

[Gunreference1]

Wednesday, September 15 2010 7 Tishri,5771

Knesset C'ttee Demands Gun Rights for Jews of Judea/Samaria

by Hillel Fendel

Following the drive-by terrorist murder two weeks ago of Yitchak Imas, whose gun was confiscated by police several weeks ago, and three other people, the Knesset Interior Committee held a stormy session today in which MKs demanded that Jewish residents of Judea and Samaria be allowed to defend themselves.

The committee, by majority vote, resolved to recommend to Interior Minister Eli Yishai and to Public Security Minister Yitzchak Aharonovitch, who oversees the police force, to ease the regulations on bearing weapons for the Jews of Judea and Samaria. The committee asked that Aharonovitch report back on the steps being taken to this end, and to investigate why the weapon of Yitzchak Imas was not returned to him in time for him to possibly use it to save his life.

Some committee members suggested that any resident whose weapon is taken from him be entitled to a hearing.

To read the rest of the story click the link below.

http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/news.aspx/139619

[Penguin]

It would seem the US isn't the only place losing its common sense now would it?

[aliceinchains]

It would seem the US isn't the only place losing its common sense now would it?


Here you on that one Penguin.

[old Grump]

Switzerland is preparing for a lively debate this summer over its long-standing tradition of keeping army guns and ammunition at home.

Opposition to its guns-at-home culture seems to have gained momentum and critics are launching a people's initiative on the issue.

Attitudes towards firearms may be changing in Switzerland, which is well known for its militia army, strong traditions and liberal gun laws. A recent survey found that two out of three Swiss want to ban army weapons from private households.

Centre-left political parties and pacifist groups are hoping to build on these signs of public disapproval to force a nationwide vote. They are due to start collecting signatures for a people's initiative from August this year.

The initiative is calling for army weapons to remain in the barracks, a national gun register, a ban on private individuals buying or owning particularly dangerous guns such as automatic weapons or pump-action shotguns, and tighter controls on those who say they need to carry a firearm.

Green parliamentarian Jo Lang, who is behind the proposal, argues that keeping an army gun at home is "a major security risk" and that "there are no practical arguments - only ideological ones".

"Every year about 300 people die from army-issue guns in Switzerland. The majority of cases are suicides, but there are also family tragedies," he told swissinfo.

Lang has first-hand experience of the dangers of putting a gun in the wrong hands. In 2001 he was in Zug's cantonal parliament when a gunman shot and killed 14 people with a rifle, before turning it on himself.

"Most people have a gun not because they like it, but because they have to take it home," he said.

Social problem Under Swiss law all able-bodied men are issued with a rifle and 50 rounds of ammunition, which they store at home after completing basic training and can keep after finishing their military service.

No one knows exactly how many guns are in Switzerland - estimates range from 1.2 to 20 million – partly as the tradition of keeping army guns dates back to the 19th century.

Gun advocates argue that tighter controls would go against age-old Swiss custom, would not stop crime and would not have prevented massacres like the one in Zug.

"Every misuse of a weapon is not the fault of the weapon – it's the person behind it; it's a problem of society," said Hermann Suter of the pro-gun lobby group, Pro Tell. "The strategic goal of the initiative is the abolition of the militia army over the next 20 years."

But for Jean-Pierre Monti, president of the federal police staff association, a vote could have a positive impact: "It is not going to stop suicides or criminal acts, but it could limit them."

" They're trying to pull the rug out from under our feet as they know our text could be accepted. "
Jo Lang, Green parliamentarian behind initiative
Heading them off...

Ahead of the launch of the initiative, the Senate on Wednesday debated and rejected an outright ban on storing army weapons at home. But it did pass a motion which would prevent most soldiers from keeping their ammunition in the home.

The government had earlier come out in favour of a plan to allow only certain troops to take their guns and ammunition home.

"They're trying to pull the rug out from under our feet as they know our text could be accepted by the people," said Lang, who remains defiant that the initiative will not be withdrawn.

The Green parliamentarian expects tough discussions over the weeks and months to come, particularly in parliament, which is "dominated by men over 60... hardcore army lobbyists".

"In Switzerland there was an old saying: 'A man who can't defend himself and his family with a weapon has no honour.' This tradition still exists in certain circles," said Lang. "And they understand an attack on this tradition as an attack on the army itself."

Sharp end

So what do those at the sharp end – the soldiers themselves – actually think?

"I don't see any need to keep weapons at home, but leaving weapons in warehouses will require a lot of money to build up a new system," said Florian Emonet, an army shooting instructor.

"Keeping a gun at home is a reminder of the Cold War, and is not necessary for instruction or security purposes."

So what are the practical arguments for keeping a gun at home?

"The need for instruction so that people can train. But we know that no one is doing it seriously apart from during annual obligatory shooting practice. Most don't shoot with their guns, they just store them somewhere. I'm sure in a few years there will be no more guns at home and things will change."

swissinfo, Simon Bradley


http://www.swissinfo.ch/eng/Home/Archive/Swiss_await_showdown_over_guns_and_bullets.html?ci d=5957236

It isn't just Israel, the whole world is losing it's collective minds just as the Muslims are out breeding us 3-1. This won't end well.

[Partisan1983]

I was gonna mention Switzerland but Old Grump beat me to it.



Finland is another that has started embracing more and more slavery...err I mean gun control laws.


I'm kinda wondering with Switzerland and Finland and I'm sure soon to be others....if there isn't some kind of behind closed doors political dealings going on within the EU.