Since Hamas operatives crossed into Israel on a killing and kidnapping spree on Oct. 7, a society that enjoyed 15 years of calm and rising prosperity remains haunted by scenes of slaughter. Israelis have been left traumatized by the fear that thousands of militants on their borders will try again — and that their security services might again fail. The number of people applying for gun licenses over the past two months has soared to 260,000, with the volume of new requests each day exceeding those received each week before the war began. In a society with a history of communal tensions that long pre-date October’s attack, some are concerned about the consequence of more civilian weapons.
Since Hamas operatives crossed into Israel on a killing and kidnapping spree on Oct. 7, a society that enjoyed 15 years of calm and rising prosperity remains haunted by scenes of slaughter. Israelis have been left traumatized by the fear that thousands of militants on their borders will try again — and that their security services might again fail. The number of people applying for gun licenses over the past two months has soared to 260,000, with the volume of new requests each day exceeding those received each week before the war began. In a society with a history of communal tensions that long pre-date October’s attack, some are concerned about the consequence of more civilian weapons.
Since Hamas operatives crossed into Israel on a killing and kidnapping spree on Oct. 7, a society that enjoyed 15 years of calm and rising prosperity remains haunted by scenes of slaughter. Israelis have been left traumatized by the fear that thousands of militants on their borders will try again — and that their security services might again fail. The number of people applying for gun licenses over the past two months has soared to 260,000, with the volume of new requests each day exceeding those received each week before the war began. In a society with a history of communal tensions that long pre-date October’s attack, some are concerned about the consequence of more civilian weapons.
Since Hamas operatives crossed into Israel on a killing and kidnapping spree, a society that enjoyed years of calm and rising prosperity remains haunted by scenes of slaughter.
Israeli children, long free to wander, are now routinely chaperoned. Gun license applications are up by a factor of eight. Self-defense classes are oversubscribed.