technological edge over its Arab adversaries, especially those systems that Israel couldn’t purchase from the Americans. Nowadays Israel is
manufacturing missiles, tanks, boats, aviation
systems, artillery, rifles, ammunition, and intelligence equipment.
Over time the raison d'être for the weapons
industry changed. The scope and the range of
the Israeli military-industrial complex extended
and its mission turned upside down. When the
cost of research and development skyrocketed,
the IDF justified the expense by seeking markets in which to sell its military merchandise.
Since the 1980s, the Israeli military industry
has been hiring more workers and salesmen,
who travel the world offering Israel’s “
battle-proven” goods.
The name of the game, sanctioned by the
Israeli Ministry of Defense and government,
was commerce — at any cost. Israel, it was
claimed, needed to produce weapons and
military systems not only for its defense needs
but also for economic reasons: to gain hard currency, to provide work, and to sustain a larger
workforce. “If we don’t do it the British, French,
South Africans, Russians, Ukrainians, and others will fill the gap.” A new brand of Israelis
surfaced and prospered: arms dealers, middle-men, security advisors, and military experts.
Restrictions were lifted. Weapons were sold to
Israel’s enemies such as Iran in the late 1970s
and early 1980s. Israeli weapons found their
ways to fuel civil wars in Africa and to support
dictators in Asia and South America.
In the meantime Israel’s reputation has
been stained and involvement in conflicts has
given Israel a bad name. With good intentions
Israel gave birth to an industry that suddenly
and unintentionally turned into an uncontrolled
beast that has to be fed.
SHMA.COM
A Canadian Perspective on Gun Control
MIRIAM KRAMER AND AARON LEVY
In the three years since we moved from New York to Toronto, we’ve been asked countless times, in all seriousness: “Isn’t it
dangerous in the United States?” We laugh
each time at the seeming absurdity, the way
our Canadian colleagues relate to America
with the same fear that Americans usually reserve for developing nations engaged in active
civil war.
The frequency of the question seems to stem
from many Canadians thinking of America as a
gun-loving, gun-toting country with dangerous,
crime-ridden cities. Conversely, many Americans
regard Canada (okay, most Americans never really think about Canada, but among those who
do) as a liberal, safe haven where everyone, including people who live in urban centers, leaves
his or her doors unlocked. Of course, neither of
these oversimplifications is true. Americans own
guns and Canadians own guns. Each country
has its relatively safe cities and its less-safe cities
and each country has crime and gun-related violence. But is there any truth to the generalization that Canada is much safer than the U.S.?
It would seem so: the U.S. has a substantially higher rate of gun-related crimes each
year compared to Canada. In 2004, there were
about six firearm homicides per 100,000 people
in the U.S.; in Canada less than two per 100,000.
Why does Canada have one third the gun violence of the U.S.?
Reason One: Gun Prevalence
The U.S. has more guns overall, with 200 million civilian firearms in 2004 among a total population of 293 million people (or 68,259 guns
per 100,000 people), compared to seven million
civilian firearms among 32 million Canadians
in the same year (21,875 guns per 100,000 people). In other words, there are three times more
guns per person in the U.S. than in Canada.
Reason Two: Gun Type
While in both countries the overwhelming majority of gun-related crimes were committed
using a handgun, America has a higher proportion of handguns as opposed to long guns
or rifles, types of guns used for hunting and
other recreational purposes. There are approximately 80 million handguns in the U.S. (
comprising 40 percent of all guns) but only one
million handguns in Canada ( 14 percent).
Comparing per capita handgun ownership rates
is even more striking: some 26 percent of
Americans own one or more handguns compared with a mere three percent of Canadians.
More handguns lead to more gun-related crime.
While it’s possible that Canadians feel less
Miriam Kramer is director of
the Canadian Education
Project. Aaron Levy is rabbi of
the Kiever Synagogue and
founding director and spiritual
leader of Makom, a joyous,
grassroots, downtown
community in Toronto, where
the two live with their son, Elior.
