This week’s press release announcing an armed rabbi concealed-carry training program should disturb every thinking Jew—not because Jews are learning to defend themselves, but because of what it quietly admits.
Let me be clear upfront: I 100% support Jews defending themselves wherever they are. A Jew who is temporarily in the diaspora and legally able to carry a firearm should do so without hesitation. Jewish blood is not hefker. מאז ומעולם—throughout our history—we were commanded not to rely on miracles.
But there is a hard truth we are refusing to face: training rabbis to draw a concealed weapon while wearing a tallit and tefillin is not a victory. It is an admission of failure.
What This Training Really Signals
The Synagogue Security Council of North America (SSCNA) and the United Jewish Security Alliance (UJSA) deserve credit for professionalism, seriousness, and realism. The instructors are credible. The training is detailed. The intent is responsible.
But step back for one moment and ask yourself:
- Why is this necessary?
- Why are synagogues now treated like forward operating bases?
- Why are rabbis—teachers of Torah—being trained like private security contractors?
Because the reality is obvious: Jewish life in exile is becoming indefensible.
This isn’t paranoia. This isn’t hysteria. This is the logical conclusion of decades of rising antisemitism, radicalization, and demographic reality. Jews are vastly outnumbered. They are increasingly targeted. And they are being told—explicitly or implicitly—that their safety is their own problem.
Guns Are Not a Strategy
No amount of firearms, training, or preparedness will ever make exile safe again.
You can harden buildings.
You can train volunteers.
You can install cameras, bollards, panic rooms, and armed guards.
And still—you are playing defense in enemy territory.
History is brutally consistent on this point.
Every exile follows the same pattern:
- Jews arrive and rebuild.
- Jews integrate and contribute.
- Jews feel secure.
- Antisemitism returns—louder, uglier, and more violent.
- Jews arm themselves, organize, and vow to “stand strong.”
- Jews leave—too late, with losses that could have been avoided.
The idea that this time will be different because we are better trained or better armed is fantasy.
The Custer’s Last Stand
There is something tragically familiar about this moment.
Imagine Jews in Germany in 1938 saying:
“We’re not going anywhere. We’re going to make Germany more Jewish than ever. We’ll learn self-defense techniques with kitchen knives. We’ll stand our ground.”
That would sound insane today. And yet the modern equivalent is happening in real time.
Training rabbis to carry guns in shul is not resilience.
It is a custer’s last stand—heroic, dignified, and ultimately futile.
Even the Lubavitcher Rebbe—whose leadership from exile is often invoked—escaped Europe when escape was possible. He did not tell Jews to turn Warsaw or Berlin into fortified Jewish enclaves.
Staying when escape is possible is not bravery. It is denial.
Self-Defense Is a Stopgap, Not a Destination
Yes—if you are in the diaspora temporarily, defend yourself.
Yes—if you must be there today, protect your family.
Yes—do not walk into danger unarmed.
But do not confuse emergency measures with a long-term plan.
At what point does the Jewish community admit:
- We are vastly outnumbered.
- We are culturally, politically, and morally isolated.
- We are being tolerated—not welcomed.
- And tolerance is already wearing thin.
When armed rabbis become normal, something has gone terribly wrong.
The Only Sustainable Answer
There is only one place on earth where Jews are not guests.
Only one place where Jews are not tolerated minorities.
Only one place where Jewish self-defense is national policy, not a grassroots improvisation.
Israel is not perfect.
Israel is dangerous.
Israel is complicated.
But Israel is home.
And history teaches one merciless lesson:
When Jews delay returning home, the price is paid in Jewish blood.
This press release should not be celebrated as progress.
It should be read as a warning flare.
It’s Time to Be Honest
Training armed rabbis is a sign that the battle for Jewish security in exile is being lost.
Not because Jews are weak.
Not because Jews lack courage.
But because exile itself is a losing position.
Defend yourself if you must.
Prepare if you have to.
But do not build a future around surviving the next attack.
It’s time to stop fortifying exile and start leaving it.
It’s time to come home.
** This article was originally published on geulamovement.substack.com
