Mark Smith is a brilliant attorney, gun-focused and one of our most articulate spokespersons for firearms owners civil rights. Check out his blog called The Four Boxes Diner. That’s a reference to Boxes of Liberty: the soapbox, the ballot box, the jury box, and finally the cartridge box. You also want to check out his books, the latest of which is titled “Israel Disarmed.”
On October 7, 2023 heavily armed terrorists invaded the Israeli border and acted out a vicious orgy of rape, murder, and hostage taking that triggered a year-long conflict that is still escalating. Smith points out that Israel’s citizenry was not nearly as well-armed as we Americans think. Carry permits were scarce; most who owned a firearm were allowed to keep only fifty rounds of ammunition for it; so-called “assault rifles” were forbidden to private citizens; and in many kibbutzes firearms were required to be stored in a central armory.
The outcome: disarmed communities were absolutely ravaged before the Israeli Defense Force or the police could get to the scene.
However, in communities where the citizens did have guns, they fought back effectively. At best, they killed many terrorist raiders and drove off the rest, saving many innocent lives; at worst, in a few instances, outnumbered Israelis died fighting and stacked up enough terrorist corpses to make the enemy pay dearly.
Deeply researched and thoroughly documented, “Israel Disarmed” underscores what the gun owners’ civil rights movement has been saying for years: the designated protectors of any given society, whether they wear the uniforms of the military or the police, cannot be everywhere. When murderers strike, one enemy of the innocent victims is the unforgiving clock. If those intended victims are armed, and can turn into effective combatants immediately, there is a much greater chance for justice to prevail and for those innocents to save their own lives and the lives of others.
Smith writes that earlier in 2023, after a series of smaller attacks by terrorists, “Minister of National Security Ben-Gvir responded to the attacks by saying he wanted to loosen some gun restrictions.” But, as Smith points out, it was too little, too late.
When seconds count, the police are minutes away. Based on the October 7 attack, the army is hours away. It is worth noting that Israeli assault rifles are actually select fire unlike the Democrat definition here.
I’ve been following Mark Smith since you suggested his site months ago. Not sure he’s made me the smartest person in the room yet, but we’re working on it.
NFF! Re: Never F Fails!
GeorgeLD
I have read Mr. Smith’s book. I found it very interesting. Mr. Mark Smith, by writing this book, reminds us, we could very well be next. That is why we must make sure we do NOT give up any part of our 2nd Amendment. We can accomplish this by emailing/phoning our congressmen/women and by VOTING.
The massacre which began in the sleepy beach area called Portapique, Nova Scotia and continued to several other communities over two days and adding up to some 16 crime scenes in all comes to mind as well. I won’t mention the name of the perpetrator, but 22 murders including that of a brave female RCMP constable were the result of the kind of anti firearm legislation which the Left and others want to impose on us all. So how did the federal government of that country respond? With more of the same drivel that will help to ensure another double digit casualty count somewhere up there. Several plots to do that have been thwarted in recent years, but as a terror organization spokesman in the UK once said, the bad guys (and gals) only have to be lucky once, whereas the good must be lucky always. I hope our Israeli friends will bring in something like Constitutional Carry there, as Mas says, whenever the thugs of October 7 met armed resistance their inflicted casualties were far lower.
Imagine trying to do that in Texas or Switzerland.
How do you know when they went the wrong way with regards to disarming their citizens? When the government immediately starts distributing firearms so the citizens can defend themselves and repel the attackers.
Note that a very similar scene played out in the Ukraine.
Smith wrote a book on that too.
Looks like a great book. I once worked with a young, twenty-something, Jewish New York City girl. She was against guns. Of course, I mentioned the Warsaw Ghetto. I also asked her if she had ever been mugged. She would not answer that question.
Here’s a female, in NYC, who happens to be Jewish, and she doesn’t believe in effective self-defense. I note also the Israeli Defense Force seems to be taught to not keep a round in the chamber.
I thought Jews were smart. It looks like they have survived because God protected them, not because they are great warriors. Of course, we know about Joshua, Samson, David and his Mighty Men. Bibi Netanyahu is the right man for the job at this time. When he was young, he was in Special Forces. How can you be Jewish and not want to arm yourself with guns?
Long before Warsaw was a city, there was Persia. Every year Jews celebrate Purim, when Queen Esther convinced King Ahasuerus to let Jews fight back against Haman’s planned and government-authorize genocide.
How would that have ended, had the Jews not possessed swords and been skilled in their use?
Disarmed? “Never again!”
The no round in chamber practice is a relic of the early days of Israel (and pre-independence) when the weapons were a hodgepodge of different designs and different manuals of arms. Whatever the design, racking the slide always works so they did that rather than try to train to 100 different weapons. I have read that they have abandoned this in the modern era.
I’ve no clue when the picture was actually taken, but not that long ago I saw a picture of several IDF troops on assignment in a city setting (checkpoint? standby?) with a cheeto (empty chamber indicator) visible in the ejection ports of their ARs. That rather boggled my mind. Might have resulted from poor muzzle discipline, but the proper solution to that is effective training. The rank and file of many organizations often aren’t as skilled as one might like.
Just bought the book and downloaded to my Kindle!
Why weren’t all the communities, living within breathing distance of a people with a blood oath for death against them, armed to the teeth? They don’t take the “never again” very seriously.
With the mass invasion of unvetted/unknown military age foreign males into this country, it is not unreasonable to expect a similar attack(s) here. If it does occur under a Democratic administration, fully expect martial law and forced gun confiscation to follow. It is time to ensure that you and trusted family and friends have functioning well-maintained rifles and adequate ammunition stocks. It is also time to secure plentiful supplies of non-perishable food. The recent instances of mass recalls and destruction of food, often based on suspect reasons, is becoming troubling. Just because we have been fat, happy and oblivious in America for a long time doesn’t mean that it can’t end overnight.
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/204413500-the-attack
Mark, you are underlining the policy our enemies have of using any means at their disposal to render us defenseless. The statutory triple citizenship-voter-affirmation needs to be strongly defended in this moment against the current Department of Justice lawsuit. We have met the enemy, and he IS us! And where was Kamala Harris actually physically present all the the notorious “January 6” day of the disappearing pipe-bomb-threat (or threats) ? You cannot have your cake and eat it, too. A statement is either factual, or not! Dodging an issue by the use of word salads and Doublethink is not a real answer.
Thanks Mas, I am going to check it out.
Rabbi, right now I’m more concerned with some of our “designated protectors” than I am with jihadis.
Get a look at the newly released directive for our DOD – Federal Directive 5240.01.
https://www.esd.whs.mil/Portals/54/Documents/DD/issuances/dodd/524001p.PDF?ver=UpTwJ66AyyBgvy7wFyTGbA%3d%3d
It shitcans Posse Comitatus. It approves DOD Deep State spying and covert action by DOD against US citizens within the US – “When such actions have been approved by the President and directed by the Secretary of Defense”.
Enacted even while Kamala warns Trump will turn the military on HIS enemies.
https://www.cnn.com/2024/10/14/politics/kamala-harris-donald-trump-democracy/index.html
Coincidence or projection? Deliberate tin foil fedora fodder or anticipating an obvious steal?
Well, IDF have certainly managed a remarkable and swift turn-about in this past year. Their almost daily sorties against the targetted dirtbags are encouraging. Their thumbing their noses at other “well meaning” nations trying to convince them to disarm again and stand down are repeatedly ignored. good on ’em for that. I read just this morning of another very effective raid.. this time unearthing an YUUUUUGE cache of supplies, weapons, missiles, drones, bombs, UAV, no noncombatants harmed and a last one kingpin “eliminated”. The cache was seized so the dirtbags no longer have it. And this raid seemed to have taken place deep in (enemy) controlled territory.
Meanwhile their “allies” are drubbing them to stand down and “seek peace” and a ceasefire.
Thus far their response has been
I HAVE NOT READ ANY OF MARK’S BOOKS YET, BUT I DO WATCH HIS YOU TUBE CHANNEL AS OFTEN AS HE PRESENTS NEW CONTENT. BRILLIANT IS AN UNDERSTATEMENT. I HAVE COME TO THE CONCLUSION THAT THE ABSOLUTE, HARD CORE DISARMAMENT TYPES CANNOT BE REASONED WITH. IF SO MANY OF THEM WERE NOT IN THE HALLS OF POWER, THEY WOULD BE LAUGHABLE AND EASILY IGNORED. SADLY, THIS IS NOT THE CASE. AS CIVILIZED FOLKS, ALL WE CAN DO RIGHT NOW IS TRY TO VOTE THEM OUT OF OFFICE. AT WHAT POINT DOES THIS BECOME INEFFECTIVE ? THEY’RE ALREADY PLAYING GAMES WITH MY BALLOT HERE IN AZ !
T Y Esteemed Gaffer! Just curious about Section 3: (b) of the directive and the question EXACTLY of what “without compensation” refers to, whether to the President (what else is new?) and/or the recipients of the President’s orders. Additionally, threat from “white nationalists” (which Mr. Trump is not!) to national security pales significantly for me from threat from unvetted foreign criminals and lunatics, hostile foreign troops and agents, drug cartels, street criminals, too many immigrants at once, leftist fanatics, cabals of pedophiles and other criminals fearful of justice, rapists, hackers, diehard Bolsheviks, certain vicious abortionist physicians, cowardly grifting and treasonous politicians, anti-Christians, wannabe speech police, compulsive castraters, warlike pacifists, anti-law-enforcement anarchists, compulsive anti-firearms activists, Constitution abolitionists, open-border nuts, intrusive Artificial wannabe Intelligence, tyrannical government, various bombers, phony Federal directives, and other annoying anti-conservative factors.
Smith writes that earlier in 2023, after a series of smaller attacks by terrorists, “Minister of National Security Ben-Gvir responded to the attacks by saying he wanted to loosen some gun restrictions.” But, as Smith points out, it was too little, too late.
I recall an analysis of Ben-Gvir’s proposal to “loosen some gun restrictions”, and the result is that only a few thousand more Israelis would have qualified for carry permits (read: in a nation of over 9 million people, a few thousand more could apply, not necessarily would apply), and people could keep 100 or 200 rounds of ammunition instead of 50. Not exactly game-changing, statistically.
But I recognize it’s also possible that’s the most he could garner the political support for. Baby steps.
However, the problem with baby steps is that it takes time — sometimes a LOT of time — to make significant and meaningful change. Too little, too late, indeed.