‘Jerusalem is eligible for weapons,’ Ben-Gvir says

More than 300,000 residents in 41 Jerusalem neighborhoods are now able to apply for personal firearm licenses, Itamar Ben-Gvir, Israel’s Minister of National Security, announced on Monday.

“This morning, I approved the addition of 41 more neighborhoods in Jerusalem as areas of eligibility for personal weapons licenses as part of the continued expansion of the gun reform that I am leading,” he posted on X.

“The decision is made based on the view that weapons in the hands of responsible citizens are an important component in strengthening personal security and the ability to respond initially to terrorist and criminal incidents,” he said.

The announcement is the latest in an ongoing relaxation of gun restrictions enacted by Ben-Gvir in the summer of 2023. The new rules allow former combat soldiers in the Israel Defense Forces or volunteer first-responders to apply for a gun license.

Ben-Gvir’s views on gun laws mirror those of gun-rights advocates in the United States. After loosening restrictions on who can own a gun, he started expanding the number of areas classified as “eligible residences,” meaning residents of those places can apply for firearm licenses by virtue of their living there.

Demand for personal firearm licenses exploded after the Hamas-led terrorist attacks on southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, which exhibited to Israelis how vulnerable they were once the country’s first line of defense went down.

While Israel has a citizen army, it does not have an armed citizenry. Before Oct. 7, only about 150,000 people, or 2% of the population, were legal gun owners, compared to 30% in the United States.

In what many Israelis viewed as shocking in post-Oct. 7 hindsight, residents of Sderot—a city less than eight miles from the Gaza border, which lost more than 50 resdients in the Hamas invasion—were not eligible for personal gun licenses before the attack.

The new neighborhoods in Jerusalem will include Talpiot, Shimon HaTzadik, Emek Refaim, Old Katamon, Mamilla, Mea She’arim and the German Colony, among numerous others.

They join other neighborhoods in the capital already eligible, along with dozens of communities across the country where residents can now apply for gun licenses under Ben-Gvir’s reforms.

In May of last year, Ben-Gvir classified the southern cities of Ashkelon and Ashdod as eligible.

Their inclusion was especially significant to ultra-Orthodox Jews, who make up 30% of the city’s population. The ultra-Orthodox typically aren’t eligible for licenses, making them vulnerable should their communities fall under attack.

Following the Oct. 7 massacre, leaders of Chassidic dynasties gave their blessing to firearms training for members of their community.