Let European Jews Carry Guns: Rabbi

Jews are heading for the exits in many European countries, especially France, where a growing population of North African and Middle Eastern Muslims are reshaping local culture and politics. Now Rabbi Menachem Margolin, director general of the Rabbinical Centre of Europe (RCE) and the European Jewish Association (EJA), has written to EU governments, asking that gun laws be altered to allow Jews to carry guns for protection.

In a statement to Newsweek, which obtained a copy of the letter, Rabbi Margolin added that he believes that "as many people within the Jewish community as possible" should carry weapons. "We need to recognize the warning signs of anti-Semitism, racism, and intolerance that once again threaten Europe and our European ideals.

"Right now Jews do not feel safe...We are threatened on a daily basis," he added. "People are afraid to come to synagogue. People are afraid to go to Jewish schools."

Europe has seen several spectacular anti-Semitic incidents, but Jews also report a lot of lower-level harassment in the form of abuse on the streets, graffiti and even online threats.

The rabbi was hardly calling for Vermont carry: "We hereby ask that gun licensing laws are reviewed with immediate effect to allow designated people in the Jewish communities and institutions to own weapons for the essential protection of their communities, as well as receiving the necessary training to protect their members from potential terror attacks."

What the rabbi is realistically hoping for is something more like this:

"The best solution is having at least two police officers at each Jewish institution, 24 hours a day. Until that happens we need to be able to feel secure in other ways."

The European Union is home to about 1.1 million Jews, and the notion that all of them can be under police protection 24/7 is laughable. Letting them take some responsibility for their own security, then, not only affirms their human dignity but makes economic sense.

There's not a snowball's chance in hell, however, of current European leaders going for the rabbi's plan: no one is going to mistake Francois Hollande or Angela Merkel for Charles Martel or John III Sobieski.

European elites, who regard immigration from North Africa and the Middle East as essential to make up for the low birth rate of native-born Europeans, are hardly going to allow a system that arms Jews against Muslims. If they're getting punched in the street, well, that's the price of multiculturalism and cheap labor.

In a country with a 2nd Amendment, you don't have to go pleading to some politician to have the means to protect yourself. My guess is a lot of European Jews will be coming here to enjoy that, with the balance going to Israel, where Jews with guns are not regarded as a problem.

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