Israel, if it needs anything right now, needs weapons. The Biden administration has apparently agreed to send some individual weapons, but only on the condition that they not go to the people who need them most.
The Jewish state urgently requested the United States sell it thousands of M-16 rifles following the Hamas terror group’s Oct. 7 slaughter of more than 1,400 unarmed Israeli citizens. But the Biden administration would not approve the sale until Israel guaranteed the critical weapons would not reach civilian outposts in the West Bank, which the Biden administration and its Democratic allies view as occupied territory.
The stipulation was characterized by officials as unusual and indicates the Biden administration is succumbing to pressure from its far-left flank, which is pressing Israel to enact a ceasefire and accusing the Jewish state of carrying out a genocide as it defends itself from Hamas terrorists operating in the Gaza Strip.
It’s hard to see any logical reason for this. The reason Israel is asking for these rifles is because, only a month ago, their citizenry suffered a horrific, savage attack directed at civilians, designed to hit before the Israeli military or even local police forces could respond. The only effective way to even attempt to deter such an attack is to have rifles in the hands of the citizens — who in Israel, I hasten to note, have almost universal military training — to be immediately at hand to fight back. Sidearms, while effective against random criminals, are not as useful against a large body of armed terrorists; what is needed here are rifles, close at hand, in the possession of the people who are at risk of attack. As Colonel Cooper once famously said, “An unarmed man can only flee from evil, and evil is not overcome by fleeing from it.”
Of course, the Israeli citizens in the West Bank are precisely the people who should be armed and ready.
The guns are critical to Israel’s defense as it faces down the most significant threat in decades. With the military engaged in an assault on the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip, Jewish civilians in dangerous areas like the West Bank are being trained and equipped to defend themselves against potential attacks.
This phony and stupid restriction by the Biden administration is a sop to the Democrats’ far-left wing. It has nothing to do with Israel’s security; it indeed runs counter to the interests of Israeli citizens in the West Bank. It’s equally important to note that these rifles are not being given to Israel; Israel is reportedly buying them and, therefore, would be justified in ignoring the sanctimonious whining of the Biden administration and issuing the rifles where Israel, not America’s far-left, thinks they are needed.
Here in the United States, we are fortunate to have the Second Amendment, and indeed, Jewish citizens of the United States are increasingly taking advantage of that right. It’s certainly understandable, given the rioting and attacks we have seen in the cities, that they should do so. To anyone who understands the concept of natural rights, it’s obvious that Israeli citizens have the right to bear arms (along with all of the other rights defined in, not granted by, the American Bill of Rights.) Indeed, if you understand the concept of natural rights, every human, everywhere in the world, has these rights as their birthright; many of the world’s governments illegitimately deny them, but the people have them nonetheless.
Israel should focus on arming the people who need to be armed. If necessary, they can meet the Biden administration’s self-serving demand by simply placing these purchased weapons in the hands of the IDF and putting other weapons in the hands of the citizens. One wonders how many IMI Galil rifles the Israel Defense Forces still have in inventory. Those fine rifles would fill the needs of citizens in the West Bank very nicely.
