Skip To Content
JEWISH. INDEPENDENT. NONPROFIT.
Fast Forward

Israel Loosens Gun Control, Allowing 500,000 More To Carry Weapons

More than half a million Israelis have become eligible for gun permits under a change to the country’s firearms rules, for the purpose of improving responses to terror attacks, the Times of Israel reported.

Hundreds of thousands of IDF infantry veterans will be eligible for gun permits, along with police officers who received equivalent training, according to the Times of Israel. The new rules went into effect Monday, immediately upon being announced.

Army officers ranked first lieutenant or higher, as well as non-commissioned officers ranked first sergeant or higher, will no longer be required to return their guns when they’re discharged from reserve service. They also can ask to continue carrying them. Volunteers in certain police units and medical organizations are eligible for permits, too.

The reform was presented by Public Security Minister Gilad Erdan, who has advocated for Israelis to arm themselves as a result of increased terror attacks.

Originally, Israelis had to prove a need for carrying firearms, such as living or working in a dangerous area, and undergo regular testing and training.

Alyssa Fisher is a news writer at the Forward. Email her at [email protected], or follow her on Twitter at @alyssalfisher

Republish This Story

Please read before republishing

We’re happy to make this story available to republish for free, unless it originated with JTA, Haaretz or another publication (as indicated on the article) and as long as you follow our guidelines. You must credit the Forward, retain our pixel and preserve our canonical link in Google search.  See our full guidelines for more information, and this guide for detail about canonical URLs.

To republish, copy the HTML by clicking on the yellow button to the right; it includes our tracking pixel, all paragraph styles and hyperlinks, the author byline and credit to the Forward. It does not include images; to avoid copyright violations, you must add them manually, following our guidelines. Please email us at [email protected], subject line “republish,” with any questions or to let us know what stories you’re picking up.

We don't support Internet Explorer

Please use Chrome, Safari, Firefox, or Edge to view this site.