A growing number of Jewish Americans are reportedly flocking to gun stores amid anti-Semitism concerns due to the Israel-Hamas conflict.
According to David Kowalsky, who owns the Florida Gun Store in Hollywood, Florida, more Jewish customers are taking courses on firearm safety and going to shooting ranges around the U.S.
“We’ve definitely seen a tremendous increase in religious Jewish people, Orthodox people purchasing firearms,” Kowalsky said. “I’ve seen a surge in individual training as well as group training.”
Kowalsky added that many of the trainees have never picked up a gun before, including women and people who have even been pro-gun control.
“These are mothers, teachers, the majority of them are mostly people who have never interacted with firearms or thought about owning them,” the gun store owner continued. “There’s a safety concern. I think people are nervous about what’s going on and what can happen.”
Among those seeking out guns is Endi Tennenhaus, a preschool director and mother of seven who helped organize a gun-safety training session at her local synagogue.
“I said, ‘What about the women? I’m sure some of the women would love to do that as well,” Tennenhaus said of his husband, who had already organized a men’s group to go to a local shooting range.
“If all of our husbands are buying guns, we want to make sure we also know [how] to use them and also be able to protect our children and be able to keep guns safe in their homes,” she continued.
This comes after the Iran-backed Hamas attacked Israel and invaded towns along the Gaza border earlier this month, killing at least 700 people. The attack prompted Israel to declare war against the terrorist group with a ruthless aerial campaign that has flattened homes, schools, medical institutions, and government buildings in the Gaza Strip.
Veteran New York-based political strategist and Orthodox rabbi veteran Hank Sheinkopf obsevered that the uptick in gun sales and training lessons marks a change for the American Jewish community.
“The majority of Jews in the country historically have been liberal on the left, pro-gun reform, pro-gun control, opposed to personal gun ownership,” Sheinkopf said. “Jews with guns were always seen as an odd event.”
