Subject: Letter to the Telegraph
From: Boris Karpa <karpa@netvision.net.il>
Date: Thu, 3 Apr 2003 22:47:56 +0200
To: letters.online@telegraph.co.uk
I'm an Russian-Israeli. My name is Boris Karpa. I'm 18. That means I'm able to buy "combat" knives and have access to a handgun range, were I will be able to fire 50 rounds of ammunition from a handgun belonging to the range owner. Yes, you are reading this correctly: in my country, one cannot buy combat knives and access ranges until 18. (Note: kitchen knives are not restricted as yet.)
Laws governing the sale and ownership of weapons are so strict, that I, for example will probably never be able to own one, though I have an absolutely clear record and will soon be recruited into the ranks of the I.D.F.
Now, I want to own a gun. Not because of self-defense and not to protect myself against government tyranny, but because I like guns. I believe there's a certain beauty in the sleek lines of the Glock 17, in the rugged design of the AKM, and in the silvery barrel of the Desert Eagle. If I could, I would probably own more than one gun (oh, by the way: Israeli gun licenses limit the number and type of firearms you may own, depending on the type of license. Usually, no more than one handgun).
The Israeli system does not allow for gun collectors. When compared to Israel, the American background check system sounds like the image of freedom. Nevertheless, in the last year we had two multiple-victim shootings, besides those involving terrorists. In one case, a driver opened fire in a "road rage", killing another driver and causing injuries to his family members.
Recently, the Israeli public transit companies came up with a "security scheme" involving posting armed guards (professional guards can be issued licenses) on buses and at bus stations. It is still unclear where they'll get the money for the measure.
An incredible amount of guns gets stolen from the military each year. Crime families are rumoured to be so well-armed that the police is afraid to attack their homes. In a famous gun fight between two crime families near Haifa, several assault rifles and grenade launchers were employed.
High-school kids brag about their "older brother in the army" who brings them hand-grenades. I knew a couple of kids in the primary (year 8) who made a small profit dealing in various firecrackers (illegal). They even offered me a grenade once, for about $12.
Firecrackers are illegal here ("dangerous toys"), as are airsoft guns (the government considers them "self-defense weapons"). Nevertheless, underground explosive factories that make firecrackers exist all over the country. It is the custom of local football fans to throw high-powered firecrackers (known as "haziz" or "lightning") and smoke grenades to the stadium. I know of several cases of kids losing their fingers when a "haziz" exploded in their hands. I've been told, several times, that an effective fragmentation bomb can be made by putting a "haziz" in a vodka bottle. The resulting shards easily pierce car doors.
Crime is low, but has recently started to increase. It is still safe to walk the streets of major cities (though a couple of young hooligans did try to rob me once). Rapists are a big problem here, one of the famous being Beni Sela, who would climb into first-floor windows to get to his victims.
I will not speak here of the terror problem, for it has been spoken about several times. I will just ask two questions. The first: What harm would I be doing to society by quietly sitting at home and collecting AK47s? And the second: how does forbidding me from doing that make Israelis safer?