A Theoretical Letter

Dear Israelis seeking travel to the United States,

The Ministry of Tourism advises against any travel to the United States at this time. The threat of violence and terrorism continues in the United States. Violent crimes in the United States far exceeds that found in Israel and any other Western country. The homicide rate is 2-3 times higher than Israel per capita and, in spite of continuing violence, firearms are easily accessible to all citizens. Attempts to buy back weapons from citizens, such as have been conducted in the West Bank in recent years, have never been successfully initiated in the United States. United States policymakers have an ongoing relationship with the gun lobby that prevents any changes from being made to policy that endangers all Americans. Access to firearms that far exceed those used during hunting are easily accessible, even to individuals with a criminal record or a history of violence in certain states. These firearms are additionally available to all civilians without any training in the use of firearms.

Israelis often forget that the streets of major U.S. cities are unlike our streets in major cities such as Tel Aviv or Jerusalem. Should travel to the United States be necessary, extreme caution should be used for anyone walking in major cities during the day and especially at night and we advise against anyone walking alone (male or female). Caution should always be used and travel to public places should be avoided whenever possible.

Again, the State of Israel advises against any form of travel to the United States at this time. Please contact the Ministry of Tourism for further updates regarding the security situation in the United States.

Obviously, the above text is a parody of the U.S. State Department's letter regarding travel to Israel published in January, 2007. While this travel warning has been superseded by an updated travel warning that takes into account the fact that the threat has been reduced, I am going to take this opportunity to write something extremely edgy and critical of what I see as a tragedy due to defense of a dangerous policy in the United States at this time. If you are easily offended, I urge you to reconsider reading on. Nevertheless, I think that the following is an essential opinion to provide about our American culture and policy with regard to guns.

As you are no doubt aware, a tragedy occurred in Omaha last week. (Unfortunately, at the time of proofing this post, I can also add the tragedies at a Colorado church and a Las Vegas bus stop.) News of these tragedies reached all the way around here and Israelis, no doubt, are aware of what occurred. In Jerusalem, I noticed that the flag at the United States consulate flew at half-mast. As harsh as this sounds, I posit the following question: how many tragedies have to occur before we Americans get it? The ongoing policy of "guns freely available to anyone and everyone" is endangering every single person in our country.

I am constantly reminded of the misconception many have outside of Israel when they ask, do you feel safe in Israel? Bombarded with the dramatizing of the 24-hour news channel (remember that Fox News is not the only channel guilty of turning world events into entertainment), it is no wonder people think this country is on the fritz. And yet, the amount of violent crime is so minimal even in the biggest of cities here in Israel. Granted petty crime (theft) is significant, murder or rape occurs so infrequently in cities as large as Tel Aviv that it makes huge news here when it does occur. Go beyond even the grand-daddy New York City--think about any medium or small-sized city in the United States and consider how many news stories focus on violent crime on the 6:00 news. Hey, even our vice president is guilty of shooting someone.

What about guns here in Israel? Aren't they everywhere? On one's first trip to Israel, it can be very disconcerting to see so many young soldiers in uniform or off-duty soldiers in civilian clothing carrying M-16's. It is far from uncommon to be riding a train or a bus and not sit next to someone carrying a weapon (especially on a Sunday morning, when maybe 70-80% of people on the morning public commute are young adults fulfilling their national service requirement and heading to their assignments). Security guards stand in front of shopping malls, bus stations, bars and restaurants also carry weapons. Every bag taken into a facility is thoroughly checked and a commonly question given to someone entering one of these establishments is, Neshek? (translation: Weapon?)

Yes, guns are everywhere and, yet, the homicide rate in Israel even with the threat of terrorism is far, far less than that in America. Put simply, we have a huge problem in the United States--the amount of violent crime in our country significantly exceeds that of pretty much any other nation in the West. One does not even need to watch the film Bowling for Columbime to understand this point.

In Israel, every single person who carries a weapon has had extensive training using that weapon. They know how to continually make certain the safety is on, they know never to leave their guns out of their sight for a single moment, and, for the most part, they have learned to confirm as best as possible that a target is truly a threat before pulling the trigger. Civilians, for the most part, do not carry guns in Israel and their use is constantly monitored and controlled. Rarely are guns ever accidentally or purposely fired at civilians in Israel (note: I am not including volatile parts of the West Bank or Gaza, either under Israeli or PA control; also note that even given recent events, many parts of the West Bank under PA control are still much safer than cities in the United States when one refers to the homicide rate per capita).

Now compare this scenario to the United States, where anyone and everyone can get a gun. A very limited security check needs to be conducted before someone can purchase a gun. The person can have virtually no training in use of the firearm and how to make sure the safety is checked and the gun is properly stored. Oftentimes, children tragically find a parent's gun or an untrained, nervous individual pulls the trigger in a tense situation. In the trauma bays of major cities, physicians see the tragedies that guns cause daily in the United States. Even al Qaeda likely discussed that it is easier to buy guns in the United States than in Afghanistan.

And let us not forget the countless tragedies that have occurred in recent years in the United States because of who has been able to acquire deadly weapons. How many times must we bear witness to events before something changes, such as those that occurred in Columbine, after Hurricane Katrina in and around the Superdome, at Virginia Tech, last week in Omaha, this week in Colorado and Last Vegas, and numerous other examples? Not a single policy changes after these events--lobbying by the NRA is way too powerful and laws seem to go in the opposite direction in some states (e.g., Jeb Bush's recent "success" in Florida). We seem to be so "gun-ho" about our Second Amendment rights to use guns to protect ourselves from tyranny and oppression, yet we fail to see our own hypocrisy (I see Bush as both tyrannical and oppressive but I think few would think that using guns would be a proper course of action and I would never even consider such a thing as a morally appropriate way of fostering change in our modern society).

Now, imagine the following. Imagine the Supreme Court reinterprets the Second Amendment and recognizes that the right to guns prohibits the right to live free from fear and violence in our society. Imagine a world where we can let our young adults walk around at night without a fear of mugging, murder and rape, as youth do and feel safe doing in most places here in Israel. Imagine we provide a better tomorrow for our children where they do not live in a "Wild West" worsened by newer and more advanced semi-automatic weapons of destruction. Imagine if we united after our national tragedies of internal violence as we did after September 11 and recognize the need to change policies to protect the future of America. Imagine we recognize far more people die from the terror of guns and American terrorists that use them than from nationally-motivated terrorism in the United States. Imagine a world where the delegalization of guns reduces their demand and, while illegal weapons would still be available in underground markets, with fewer guns out there, police could more easily monitor and track their whereabouts. Imagine a future where America becomes a shining example to other countries of a people free from fear and violence.

Unfortunately, in the absence of change, this possibility remains fiction and Israelis remain safer avoiding travel from the "volatility" of the Middle East to the street violence of gun-toting America. Do you feel safe in America?