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Are conservatives willing to support the extra taxpayer-generated funding required to put armed guards 24-7 in every school across America? This could be a first for the "cut everything to do with education" crowd. It makes sense in a nation that requires weapon-holders to undergo very strict training and vetting. The guards guard, and the teachers teach. I'm on board!
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Stories from the Jerusalem Post are much more persuasive and largely confirm Cantor's general premise that school security guards protect schools from terrorist attacks. Some of the most persuasive articles cover what happens when the guards don't show up en masse, either through funding cuts or strikes.
In Israel, schools are protected by armed guards, and everyone is on some sort of an alert for suspicious objects or people.
Security guards must meet regulations before they are granted the license to carry a gun; they must be at least 27 years old, unless they served in the army, in which case they can apply at the age of 21. They also need to be a resident of Israel for at least three years and sign a waiver that gives the health ministry and the police the right to check their health and criminal records.
The license process, which must be completed every year, includes mental and physical health checkups as well as a firing-range exercise. Most importantly, it is a crime with harsh penalty to carry a weapon in Israel without a license.
When they heard about the Sandy Hook school slaughter, my children were surprised that the school had no security guards. Educated in Jewish schools in Montreal and in Jerusalem, they have always studied shielded by security guards and locked gates.
Today, Amit said, there are 170,000 Israeli citizens licensed to carry a weapon, a mere 2.5 percent of the population. Of these, 40,000 are security guards who work in supermarkets, malls and schools.
Israeli school security guards, who so far have focused on preventing external threats like terrorism, will begin to receive specialized training on how to deal with pupil violence, local daily The Jerusalem Post reported Wednesday.
The steps were announced Tuesday by Meir Ben-Yishai, head of the Israel Police's Security Department, during a meeting with security officers responsible for educational institutions from across the country.
The question isn't new. Back in 1999, the year of the Columbine school shooting, an organization called Jews For The Preservation of Firearms Ownership interviewed Dr. David Th. Schiller, a leading gun-rights advocate in Europe on how to combat the school shootings that even then were deemed "quite common" on U.S. soil.
Schiller cited the example of Israel in the 1970s, which had suffered a string of horrific attacks on schoolchildren by Palestinian terrorists.
"After this a controversial debate erupted in Israel in regards to guns, self-defense, etc.," Schiller said. "We heard, of course, the same dumb arguments by some good people you always hear on these occasions, like, 'We do not live in the Wild West here!' or, "Guns don't solve problems!" or similar silly things."
But then, Schiller explained, Israel dumped its strict gun laws dating back to British rule over the area and opened the doors for concealed carry permits.
"Teachers and kindergarten nurses now started to carry guns, schools were protected by parents (and often grandpas) guarding them in voluntary shifts. No school group went on a hike or trip without armed guards," Schiller explained. "When the message got around to the PLO groups and a couple infiltration attempts failed, the attacks against schools ceased. Too much of a risk here: Terrorists and other evildoers don't like risks
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Teachers in Israel do not necessarily carry guns. It definitely is not a government policy to do so. But that having been said, they CAN carry guns and almost all of them are trained in shooting guns. There are generally government hired armed school guards in front of EVERY school in Israel…and there are armed individuals walking every street in Israel.
Yes, you'll see a lot of people carrying weapons in Israel, but the majority are either on or off-duty military personel, security guards, or people in certain situations who have licenses to carry guns like settlers in the West Bank or other occupations where it's considered needed for security.
I could get on board with this idea, get our troops out of other countries and cut some waste in the military to pay for it. This goes with a story just started in the forum about a soldier who showed up at a school. To give the kids a sense of protection and he said he is here to fight all enemies foreign and domestic. With some money shifted around I could see this taking place.
I'll put my links from the Jewish Jerusalem Post and Times of Israel against your right-wing blog link that doesn't even include that second quote you put there (I searched for it). Your link is also nice and misleading, since it suggests that Israel "dumped strict gun laws", when in fact they have some of the strictest gun laws in the developed world - many times more restrictive than ours.
Oh, and I can get my own Jew. This guy lives in Tel Aviv.
There is a picture going around the Internet that I have seen about a dozen times today that claims that Israeli teachers are packing heat. Well, are they? The answer is “NO.” There may be some exceptions in dangerous areas like the West Bank (where five percent of Israelis live), but in general, Israeli teachers are not walking around like it’s the Wild Wild West, strapped with a six shooter. My wife is a teacher in the Israeli public school system and I am pretty she doesn’t carry a gun (or want to). No, our teachers are not focused on shooting, but educating. That doesn’t mean, however, that we don’t protect young students.
Also, note that even if there are some exceptions where teachers are armed, the overall security system in Israel is predicated on armed professionals, not teachers.
So open up your wallet and get ready to pay. I'm willing to do it, but given your history, I'm guessing that suddenly you and others like you will be a lot less enthusiastic about giving kids the effective protection they deserve.
What an incredibly sad commentary on the state of our nation that some believe we need armed guards and/or armed teachers at our schools. It's truly pathetic.
I am not sure what the saddest part is:
That they might be right.
That they/we think doing so is "normal."
That they/we are unwilling to find other measures.
Yes, you'll see a lot of people carrying weapons in Israel, but the majority are either on or off-duty military personel, security guards, or people in certain situations who have licenses to carry guns like settlers in the West Bank or other occupations where it's considered needed for security.
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This guy lives in Tel Aviv.
