ISRA letter on Skokie

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ALERT – An open letter from ISRA 2nd Vice President Mike Weisman to fellow Jewish gun owners<br />
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Please go to Skokie and stand with your fellow gun owners.<br />

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Dear fellow gun owners,<br />
I direct this message at my fellow Jewish gun owners, but send it in the open for other gun owners and others to see, and in plain English so that no one misunderstands the message.<br />
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As a child receiving a religious education, we learned about the Holocaust, and were taught that we say "Never Again!"<br />
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Later, I learned about other persecutions of Jews and of mass killings of other peoples in the world, many of which occurred in the last century.<br />
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Even later, as a gun owner, I became aware of hypocrisy among our people, vast numbers of American Jews and Jewish organizations in America were supporting efforts to ban handguns and semi-automatic rifles. No, the Jews are not alone in religious support of gun control in America, but it would seem that we have a lot to lose should history repeat itself. And repeat itself. One would think that we had turned the cry of "Never Again!" into "Never Again, and again, and again..." Just the last 40 years had how many other sweeping murders of unarmed civilian popuations?<br />
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As an American, and as an American Jew, I understand that being armed is being prudent. I see American Jews and other Americans who don't want to be armed, and understand that's their right, I can't force that sense of duty upon them. But I can't shrug off when my fellow Jews would disarm me. "No one needs a gun, it can't happen here." They falsely equate taking responsibility for our own safety and being vigilant with taking the law into our own hands, with being vigilantes. <br />
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Now the Village of Skokie is entertaining a ban on semi-automatic rifles in the village, based on an emotional directive from our Lt. Governor. Skokie has a large Jewish population, both liberals who would see a gun ban as a wonderful thing, and those who still remember our past. Please join me and go to Skokie to stand as a good example of those prepared to defend against future acts of aggression against our people. Please join me and stand in solidarity with your fellow gun owners in Skokie tonight.<br />
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What: Skokie Village Board Meeting - Agenda - Packet (p50)<br />
Where: Village Hall 5127 Oakton Street, Skokie 60077<br />
When: Monday, July 1, 8:00 pm

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Please make a donation on-line here, or over the phone at 815-635-3198. If you would like to mail or fax a donation, we have a printable form here.<br />
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If you're not an ISRA member, now is the time. You can join on-line, or over the phone at 815-635-3198. You can download a printable application form here.

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