The Right of Jews to Bear Arms and Defend Themselves

Nurit Greenger

Reviewing the 'NEVER AGAIN' slogan.

In the Jewish tradition, when a boy turns thirteen years old he celebrates Bar Mitzvah, which marks the coming of age of a young man, now eligible to participate in a Minyan. In Judaism, a Minyan refers to ten male Jewish adults required for certain religious obligations. A minyan is required to hold a public prayer activity. Accordingly, in contemporary Judaism the term Minyan has taken on the secondary meaning of referring to a prayer service. Typically, at his Bar Mitzvah the young man receives, two important gifts: a Tallit (Taleth), whicj is a special cloth that has special twined and knotted fringes, known as Tzitzit. Tallit is worn by Jewish men during the morning prayers on weekdays, Shabbat (Saturday) and holidays. The other gift is a pair of Tefillin, which are a set of small cubic leather boxes painted black, containing scrolls of parchment inscribed with verses from the Torah, with leather straps dyed black on one side, worn by observant Jews during weekday morning prayers. The Torah commands that the Tefillin should be worn to serve as a "sign" and "remembrance" that God brought the Children of Israel out of Egypt.

Since the Holocaust, many argue that each Jewish young man should also have in his possession a .22 caliber gun and instruction how to use it, along the motto, "Every Jew a .22, and the knowledge and the will to use it."

NEVER AGAIN must mean to have the means and the will to never permit Holocaust to happen again. Otherwise, NEVER AGAIN become just two empty words.

In 1923, in Riga, Latvia, Ze'ev Jabotinsky founded the Revisionist Zionist Betar Youth Movement. Later on, Betar members played important roles in the fight against the British during their Mandate in 'Palestine,' and in the creation of the State of Israel.

There were two organizations of Jewish fighters involved in the Warsaw Ghetto uprising: ZOB (Zydowska Organizacja Bojowa) led by Mordechai Anielewicz, and ZZW (Zidowski Zwiazek Woskowy) led by Pawel Frenkel. There was considerable rivalry and even animosity between the two groups with semblance of coordination between them established prior to the revolt. Betar members, including former Polish Army officers, founded Żydowski Związek Walki (Jewish Fighting Union). Mordechai Anilewicz, appears to have gained his military training in Betar, and was secretary of the massive Betar Warsaw organization in 1938, before leaving it to join, and quickly take leadership of, the left-wing Zionist Hashomer Hatzair group in Warsaw.

As for the mentioned .22 gun caliber, think of it in this way: the purpose of a small gun -- .22 is a small caliber round that typically is Rim Fired, easy to shoot and used to train target shooters; .22 caliber pistols and rifles are usually inexpensive and are found almost everywhere -- is to then get a larger caliber gun when it is needed. Had the Betar brave fighters, in the Warsaw Ghetto uprising during WWII, had few more 'little' guns, they would have then claimed a lot more larger guns and there would have been far more dead Nazi Germans.

The .22 caliber is used here as a metaphor applied to every Jew because it kind of rhymes. But on more serious note, it equally applies to any gun used to train Jews to defend themselves. Unfortunately, in the 1930's the Jews of Europe had very little access to guns of any kind or to any other tool or mean to defend themselves. One of the first things the Nazis did when they came to power was to confiscate guns from the German people. A free people must be armed people or freedom is quickly lost. The Founding Fathers of the United States of America knew this vital right and for that reason they inserted the 2nd Amendment to the US Constitution that reads: "A well regulated Militia, being necessary for the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed."

Note that in the time this 2nd Amendment was written, the term 'Militia' meant all males age 18 and above who could be called to service to defend the nation, just like in Switzerland. This did not mean the National Guard or the Army, who, the Founders thought might become the instrument of State oppression as it was in England. A free Armed Public was the backbone of a free State and the only force that could keep the government true to the Constitution it was obligated to uphold.

The US Constitution is the embodiment of principles drawn from the Jewish Torah. The United States Founders were scholars of what they called Bible (Torah) and could read it in the original Hebrew language and understand it all very well. Unlike the US Constitution, the travesty, called the EU constitution, is a document to enshrine a dictatorship by Bureaucrats as they have in most European countries. It is not a Constitution protecting the public, rather a device Bureaucrats use to control and inflict their will on the public.

Israeli election model follows the European model, not the US one. Now the Israelis are talking about writing their Constitution, its draft, most unfortunately, follows the European model, not the American one.

NEVER AGAIN has no meaning unless there is a WILL that goes with this saying to make SURE it WILL NOT HAPPEN, a VOW to DISALLOW it from happening. Otherwise, it is meaningless and vapid 2-words. The way too many speak or act, even within the Israeli society, it appears to be nothing but rhetoric.

Like any other human beings do, Jews need to continue the fight for what is right and defend themselves. The more Jews fight, the more the anti-Jew world will know that they no longer intimidate the Jewish Nation.

It is time for Jews to genuinely practice and embolden further their slogan NEVER AGAIN, as well as have all the right tools and ammunition to apply it in reality and real time.