Firearms reform continues its rapid expansion as National Security Minister opens Beit Shemesh to personal licensing while carving out streets home to Israel’s anti-Zionist ultra-Orthodox community
The city of Beit Shemesh has been approved as a “qualifying locality” for personal firearms licensing, National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir announced Sunday, opening the door for the vast majority of the city’s residents to apply for a gun permit. A limited number of streets in the Heftziba and Ramat Beit Shemesh Bet neighborhoods, however, were deliberately excluded from the designation. Those streets are home to members of Neturei Karta, an anti-Zionist ultra-Orthodox sect that rejects the legitimacy of the State of Israel and whose members do not serve in the Israel Defense Forces.
Neturei Karta (“Guardians of the City” in Aramaic) is a small ultra-Orthodox faction that originated in Jerusalem in the 1930s as a splinter from Agudat Israel, rejecting any cooperation with the pre-state Zionist movement. Their theological position rests on the Talmudic concept of the “Three Oaths” (shalosh shevuot), a passage in Tractate Ketubot which they interpret as forbidding Jews from establishing a sovereign state before the arrival of the Messiah or from “ascending the wall,” meaning mass return to the Land of Israel by force or political means. On this basis, they regard the State of Israel itself as a theological transgression, not merely a policy dispute.
From that premise, Neturei Karta figures have gone well beyond passive non-recognition of Israel into active alignment with Israel’s enemies. Delegations from the group have traveled to Tehran and met with Iranian officials, including an appearance at a Holocaust-denial conference hosted by the Iranian regime in 2006. Members have publicly embraced Hamas leaders and been photographed holding Palestinian flags and Hamas symbols at rallies, including gatherings that took place after October 7. Some have expressed support for Iran’s stated goal of eliminating the State of Israel, framing this not as antisemitism but as the fulfillment of a religious mandate against Jewish sovereignty.
This puts Neturei Karta in a distinct category from other anti-Zionist or non-Zionist haredi groups, such as the larger Satmar community or elements of Agudat Israel, which generally avoid the state without actively courting its enemies. Mainstream haredi authorities have repeatedly condemned Neturei Karta’s alliances with Iran and Hamas as a disgrace, and the group represents a tiny fraction even within anti-Zionist haredi Jewry.
Ben-Gvir made the exclusion explicit. “Those who proudly wave the PLO flag and pose for photographs with terrorists are enemies, and that is why the extremist neighborhoods were excluded from firearms eligibility,” he said.
The decision followed a professional review by the Israel Police and the Ministry of National Security’s Firearms Licensing and Supervision Division, which the ministry has ordered incorporated into its licensing systems no later than September 15.
“I am proud to continue the firearms revolution and expand it to Beit Shemesh as well,” Ben-Gvir said. “The law-abiding residents of Beit Shemesh, like all citizens of the State of Israel who love the State of Israel, have a basic right to defend themselves and their families. We will continue expanding the firearms reform, adding more cities, communities and neighborhoods to the eligibility list, and ensuring that as many citizens as possible are able to defend themselves and the State of Israel. My policy is clear: A weapon in the right hands saves lives!”
Yishai Fleisher, Director of the Anglo Campaign for Otzma Yehudit, called Ben-Gvir “Israel’s one-man NRA.” “Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir has become Israel’s one-man NRA, standing up for the right of law-abiding citizens to protect themselves and their families and defending our right to personal security,” Fleisher said. “This great achievement today will help protect the residents of Beit Shemesh. It also sends a clear message to the terrorists: you will never defeat us. We are here, we are strong, and we are here to stay.”
Abba Cohen, a resident of Ramat Beit Shemesh Aleph who drives a bus for Beit Shemesh Express, described what the new eligibility means to him personally. “Every day, I drive through the streets of Beit Shemesh carrying families, children and neighbors who trust me with their safety,” Cohen said. “I’ve waited years for the chance to apply for a firearm license, and today I finally feel that I’ll have the ability to protect the people I love and the passengers who depend on me. I hope I never have to draw a weapon. However, if that terrible moment ever comes, I want to be able to stand between danger and the people I’m responsible for.”