A group of women, led by far-right Otzma Yehudit MK Limor Son Har-Melech, accused opposition MKs, led by Yesh Atid MK Merav Ben-Ari of discriminating against women during a National Security Committee meeting on Sunday called by those MKs to discuss the dangers to women as a result of looser restrictions on gun permits.
Following Hamas’s massacre in towns near the Gaza border on October 7, the National Security Ministry loosened the restrictions for people seeking gun permits and made the process easier.
In the last two months, it has become apparent that people are not being made to fulfill all the requirements before being given gun permits and that those approving the permits are not qualified to do so, despite the law requiring certain qualifications for people approving permits.
With the higher demand from civilians to hold weapons, some 265,000 applications were submitted between October 7 and December 8, out of which 86,000 were approved. Only four applications were turned down due to concerns of domestic abuse by the applicant.
The meeting on Sunday was therefore called because the department within the National Security Ministry that approves gun licenses does not have a mechanism to cross-check applicants with the Welfare and Social Services Ministry. As such, the National Security Ministry runs the risk of approving licenses for people with mental health issues or those who may be likely to use the weapons against their partners.
Civilians are feeling a lack of security
The MKs who initiated the topic to be discussed in the meeting acknowledged that civilians have felt a lack of security since October 7 and that civilians with weapons have in the past saved lives during terror attacks. They added, however, that the process for obtaining a gun license had become too loose and posed a risk to many women.
Son Har-Melech was joined by Israel Liberty and Human Dignity Forum Director-General Zofnat Nordmann, “Yehudit” – Human Rights in Jewish Spirit organization Director-General Moriya Litwook, and Dr. Channah Katan in attacking the MKs, saying that they were being political and misguided.
Even though the committee was not aimed at denying gun licenses to women, the four accused the opposition MKs of trying to prevent women from being able to protect themselves by denying them guns.
They also dismissed the risk of easier weapons licenses to abused women, claiming that the number of women targeted by guns in their homes is minimal.
Israel has seen much debate over the last couple of months about whether the risks of more civilians being given guns outweigh the benefits.
The issue was especially brought into question a couple of weeks ago when civilian Yuval Castelman saved lives during a terror attack in Jerusalem by shooting at the terrorists but was then himself mistaken for a terrorist and accidentally shot dead by soldiers who arrived on the scene.
National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir has said that while the incident was unfortunate, his policy to distribute as many weapons as possible was unchanged.