Under threat, American Jews arm up

These are facts:

The vast majority of American Jews are Left, with some 70% voting Democratic.

And the vast majority of American Democrats are for gun control, the tighter the better.

I am a moderate Democratic gun-owner and take a small measure of satisfaction in reports, such as this one from CNN, that a growing number of American Jews are lining up to buy firearms and receive instruction.

Even more so, in Democrat heavy South Florida.  

Even more delicious is that many of these Jews are older, who have hated guns their entire lives and who moved to Florida to retire. Most hate Gov. Ron DeSantis, but some (they won’t admit it) are happy he has made it easier for them to buy a firearm.

This is not the first time Jews have gone on a gun-buying spree. I reported a similar effect in 2019, a year after the massacre of 11 Jews worshiping at the Tree of Life synagogue.

Feeling threatened leads to gun ownership for some.

A poll conducted last week by the Jewish Federations of North America found Jews were roughly twice as likely as non-Jewish people to say they’ve been worried about their safety in the past month, according to data shared with CNN.

Gun ownership among Jews was, and is, low.

Is this just political leaning, I wondered?

Turns out the disdain for guns is rooted in Judaism itself. 

What?

The historical antipathy towards guns was explained to me by Rabbi Bob Alper, which I related in a previous column. 

Jews never went hunting, he told me.

“Because they were prohibited from having guns?” I asked.

“Not so much that,” he said. 

In the old days, all Jews were Orthodox, he said. Any flesh they ate had to be slaughtered according to strict dietary laws. Anything killed with a gun was not kosher, and couldn’t be eaten. So why hunt — for exercise?

In the old days, life was exercise. All days were long and hard for the majority.

Back to today: Sorry, but I can’t resist this observation. 

The liberal, gun-hating, Jews got a whole different perspective when they felt threatened. Principle bows to practicality.

Welcome to the company of Second Amendment supporters.