Why Israel school shootings are rare
Despite guns being a common sight in country, experts say privately held firearms are uncommon
JERUSALEM— When students, parents and teachers pleaded with U.S. President Donald Trump this week to act against school shootings, they cited Israel, a place where guns are a familiar sight but where school shootings are virtually unheard of.
During a recent meeting at the White House, one parent correctly noted, for instance, that it is difficult for outsiders to enter an Israeli school. Most schools maintain only one unlocked entrance that is typically staffed by an armed guard.
But the schools have escaped American-style violence in large part because of measures to confront Israel’s unique security challenge.
“The guards are there for other reasons, mainly terrorism,” said Amos Shavit, spokesperson for the Ministry of Education. He said the guards stationed at schools are under the authority of the police. In large cities, he said, the police and the local authority carry out security patrols around the educational institutions throughout the school day.
There are no metal detectors or special door locks on classrooms. And, by policy, teachers are not armed.
Israeli security experts also say that gun violence is rare in Israel because privately held guns are so rare. According to data from Israel’s Ministry of Internal Security, which registers all gun owners, about 260,000 Israelis, or about 3.5 per cent of the population, have permits to carry firearms. Half of the permit holders are private citizens and the others work for security firms.
At the White House meeting, Cary Gruber, whose son hid in a closet during last week’s shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla., correctly pointed out that Israel has tight age restrictions on private gun ownership. According to an Israeli govern- ment website, civilians must be over 27 years old to obtain gun licences, although those recently released from military service are also eligible.
Simon Perry, a criminologist at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem, said there is little opportunity in Israel for someone to carry out a gun attack inside a school. While security guards keep an eye on all those entering schools, Perry said, they do not check students’ bags — mainly because gun culture in Israel is different.
Janet Rosenbaum, an assistant professor of epidemiology at the School of Public Health at the State University of New York Downstate in Brooklyn, examined the difference in homicide rates between Israel and the United States. Writing in the New York Post, she said her research showed that Israel ranks 81st in the world for per capita firearm ownership, with fewer than one in 10 Israelis owning firearms. The United States, with one firearm for every person, ranks first.