quick take
Israel has instituted strict measures in response to armed attacks on its schoolchildren. But social media posts falsely claim that “there have been no school shootings in Israel” and use a photo to misleadingly suggest that students bring weapons to class. Only guards and other specified personnel, not students, are allowed to carry weapons in Israeli schools.
Full story
A mass shooting at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas on May 24 was the deadliest in a US school in a decade, and has once again sparked a debate about gun laws and how to protect children in the classroom.
Legislators, educators and others are proposing a variety of measures to curb violence, including arming teachers or placing armed guards In schools.
Comparisons are also being made with gun laws or regulatory measures taken in other countries, such as Israel, a nation that has a low number of school shootings compared to the US. But as we have written before, some social media posts have spread misinformation about school safety measures and gun control laws in Israel.
On May 29, the Independent Association of Firearms Owners, which describes himself as “a pro-privacy, pro-freedom, gun rights organization” – shared a photo on facebook showing young women walking with mmilitary style firearms. The caption reads: “No school shootings in Israel. Must be a big gun control? What, they carry weapons to class, oh no, not that!” The post received more than 13,000 likes and 8,000 shares.
the photo has showed up in similar tweets, also stating that “there are no school shootings in Israel.”
But the Facebook post and tweets misrepresent the individuals in the photo. And it is not true that there have not been school shootings in Israel.
We do not know when the photo was taken. but through a reverse image search, we found that the photo had been posted on 2011 in Defense.pk – a self-styled “comprehensive resource for Pakistan Defense, Strategic Affairs, Security Issues, World Defense and Military Affairs” – with the title “Images of Women in the Military”.
WWe also found the image used in a 2020 article published by SHTF Blog, a survival blog website, noble “Israeli Gun Ownership, Culture, and Law.”
The blog identifies the women in the photo as members of the Israel Defense Forces.
the IDF is he set Israel’s military forces, which consist of three branches (ground forces, air force, and navy) operating under a unified command.
For years, it has been common seeing weapons on Israeli streets held or holstered by someone who appears to be an average civilian but is actually military personnel. But there have been alternate policies over the years regarding whether IDF members were allowed to carry their weapons at all times.
IDF soldiers, who are at least 18 and tend to stay on a military base during the week—could take weapons into civilian settings when they went home on weekends to avoid gun theft and kidnapping until 2006, according to a 2011 report on access to and ownership of firearms in Israel and Switzerland.
But in 2006, the report noted, soldiers were forbidden to bring home their service weapons in weekends due to high suicide rates among the IDF.
This restriction was invested in 2016 after IDF Chief of Staff Gadi Eisenkot issued an order that all IDF combat soldiers must bear their weapons—on or off duty, in or out of uniform—in response to the heightened violence at the time.
The bottom line is that the people in the photo shared on social media are not schoolchildren carrying guns to class, but apparently trained members of the armed forces.
Protect Israeli schools from attacks
Although the number of school shootings in Israel is relatively low, there have been attacks on Israeli schools or school buses since at least 2,000, according to a list of violent incidents maintained by Israel’s Foreign Ministry.
To protect schools and students from terrorist attacks and armed violence, Israeli law requires a guard to be posted at schools of 100 or more students, in accordance with a report compiled for the Connecticut General Assembly in 2013 based on information from the Israeli Ministry of Education.
The guard must check the school site 30 minutes before classes start and check people and vehicles entering the school, with the authority to deny entry to unauthorized visitors.
The guard, who is usually stationed at the entrance of the school, is responsible for safety outside the school and must confront an attacker in the event of “hostile activity”.
Only hired guards, Staff of the Ministry of Educationthe police and the army are authorized to carry firearms in schools in Israel.
The Israeli police are in collect to decide whether schools need mobile security to keep students safe, such as walk-through security, conducted within the institution, or motorized security carried out between educational institutions.
The schools also work with the IDF to conduct evacuation drills prepare students for the possibility of a terrorist attack.
To themMinistry of Education also provided money to build shelters and fences, add enhanced protection to school buses, hire and train security guards, and provide professional counseling to deal with students’ emotional reactions to attacks.
Strict gun laws in Israel
Although military personnel carry firearms throughout Israel, there are restrictions on the possession of weapons. there is far fewer private citizens in Israel they own weapons than in the US.
In Israel, the Firearms Licensing Department of the Ministry of Public Security supervises the distribution of weapons licenses to Israeli residents, agencies and organizations in compliance with the Firearms Act of 1949.
The law does not recognize the right to bear arms, and anyone who wishes to bear a weapon must comply with certain requirements and you may need to prove the need to carry one. Israel considers weapons permits a privilege.
the preconditions To obtain a personal firearms license in Israel, the applicant must be over 27 years of age, unless they have served in the military. A person who has served in the IDF can receive a firearms license in Israel at the age of 18. Those who have served at least two years with the Sherut Leumya non-military national service, you can get a license at age 21. Permanent residents who are not citizens of Israel and do not have military experience must wait until age 45.
An applicant for a firearm must have a health declaration — including a mental illness check — signed by a doctor. The individual must also complete firearms training and may be required to demonstrate that the firearm is necessary for his or her occupation.
Applications for a license take approximately two weeks to process, and the acceptance rate is approximately 65%. according to the Ministry of Defense.
Applicants with a history of criminal convictions, drug use, violent incidents, and certain types of mental illness, involving hallucinations or suicidality, may be refused. Applicants they can also be denied due to a offense committed during military service.
meIn most cases, a license allows an approved applicant to obtain a handgun with a 50-round limit. A license is issued for a specific firearm and any otherThe firearm requires an additional license.
Editor’s note: FactCheck.org is one of several organizations working with facebook to debunk misinformation shared on social media. Our previous stories can be found here. facebook has out of control about our editorial content.
Sources
Facts of American arms. “How many guns are there in the US? (Gun Ownership Stats).” Updated on January 7, 2022.
Bossman, Julie. “Deadliest US school shooting in a decade rocks rural Texas town.” New York Times. May 25, 2022.
Breiner, Josh. “Number of Gun License Applications Spikes Amid Wave of Deadly Terror in Israel.” Ha’aretz. April 1, 2022.
Decker, Michael. “Firearms license in Israel: how and why it is issued.” Decker Pex Ophir. Retrieved May 31, 2022.
Eglash, Ruth. “Why are school shootings so rare in Israel, where guns are so common?.” Washington Post. February 22, 2018.
“Firearms Act, 1949.” Nevo.co.i. Updated on February 15, 2022.
Gross, Juda Ari. “Instead of saving lives, arming off-duty soldiers could put them at greater risk.“The Times of Israel. 2016 February 23
“IDF background information.” Mahal-idf-volunteers.org. Retrieved May 31, 2022.
i24News. “IDF chief of staff orders soldiers to take weapons home.” February 23, 2016.
Editorial staff of the Israel Defense Forces. “IDF evacuates school in mass drill on Gaza border.” January 25, 2017.
Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs. “Victims of Palestinian violence and terrorism since September 2000.” Retrieved May 31, 2022.
Israel Ministry of Public Security. “Criteria for licensing the possession of a private firearm.” Updated on April 29, 2021.
Israel Ministry of Public Security. “Firearms licenses in Israel.” Updated April 30, 2019.
Jewish Virtual Library. “Israel Defense Forces: History and Overview.” Retrieved May 31, 2022.
“License for a firearm in Israel.“Nefesh B’Nefesh. Updated on August 23, 2018.
Misseldine, Logan. “Israeli gun ownership, culture and laws.SHTF blog. August 6, 2020.
Legislative Research Office. Connecticut General Assembly. “School safety in Israel.” February 25, 2013.
Rosenbaum, Janet. “Weapon utopias? Access to and ownership of firearms in Israel and Switzerland.” National Library of Medicine. November 17, 2011.
Spencer, Saranac Hale. “Meme is wrong about Israel’s gun laws.” FactCheck.org. Updated on September 30, 2019.
Vigliotti, Jonathan. “How schools in Israel keep students safe and prevent mass shootings.” CBS News. February 27, 2018.
worldpopulationreview.com. “Gun ownership by country 2022.” Retrieved June 1, 2022.
Zieve, Tamara. “Police deny request for a weapons license to Elor Azaria.” Jerusalem Post. Updated on August 15, 2018.
Reference-www.factcheck.org