A European Jewish leader has called on EU governments to change laws in Europe to let Jews to carry guns that would allow them to feel more secure.
In an interview with Newsweek magazine, Rabbi Menachem Margolin, director general of the Rabbinical Centre of Europe (RCE) and of the European Jewish Association (EJA) said he sent a letter to EU Interior Ministers which reads: ‘’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.”
He said the latest attacks in Paris “have revealed the urgent need to stop talking and start acting”.
Last Friday, four Jewish men were killed when an Islamist terrorist took hostages in a kosher supermarket in Porte de Vincennes, in eastern Paris.
According to Rabbi Margolin, a license to carry a weapon would provide people in the Jewish community with a sense of security that is lacking in Europe, particularly in light of recent events. “Right now Jews do not feel safe,” he said.
“We are threatened on a daily basis,” he said. “People are afraid to come to synagogue. People are afraid to go to Jewish schools.”
He said that ‘’the police are not doing enough. We just need more. 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 weapons would all be registered. “We will be under the supervision of authorities. It would be completely controlled in the most professional way,” he added.
EU law does allow for the carrying of guns under a license, but leaves specific gun legislation down to individual member states.
France’s Interior Ministry announced Monday that nearly 5,000 security forces and police will be deployed to protect the 700 Jewish schools in the country, after last week's attacks.
Ten thousand troops will also be deployed to bolster security in the country’s 'sensitive' sites.