Approved by a majority Giving preference in the Authority's tenders to security companies where the security guards' weapons are deposited at the end of the workday

The proposal of council members Naama Lazimi and Shahira Shelbi, to give preference in the Authority's tenders for the employment of security companies, to companies where the weapons carried by the security guards are deposited at the end of the work day, was passed by a full majority in the city council that was held last night (Tuesday) 3/11/20.

19 councilors voted in favor | 2 voted against | 1 avoided.

"The gun on the kitchen table"

The proposal states, "In a reformed world, the PA's security guards would be municipal employees for all intents and purposes, but as long as the contractual employment continues, the least that can be done is to ensure public safety. The authorities can and should be pioneers of this concept, which is also part of the eradication of the phenomenon of feminicide in Israel And murder in general."

The proposal was submitted in collaboration with the "Gun on the Kitchen Table" project as well as with the "Woman to Woman" organization - a Haifa feminist organization.

40 women were murdered by the weapons of security companies

Since 2002, at least 40 women and men have been murdered in Israel (three of them in Haifa), with weapons belonging to security companies that were stored in the security guard's house.

Femicide • Data presented in the proposal:

• In January 2020, Yelena Yitzhakbaev, 57, was shot and killed by her security guard partner who committed suicide after the murder with the security gun he kept for his job.
• In September 2018, a 62-year-old woman from Modi'in was murdered by her guard husband, who committed suicide after the murder with the security gun he was holding.
• In March 2018, a 91-year-old woman from Bat Yam was murdered by her security guard son, who committed suicide after the murder with the security gun he was holding.

Shahira Shelby in a speech regarding the storage of security guards' weapons (photo: Haifa Municipality)

Shahira Shelbi (Haifa Front):
I am a member of the "gun on the kitchen table" group. This is the storage of a legal weapon. The wish of this group is that security guards will deposit the weapons at the end of the working day. This is a process that takes place in several countries around the world and not only in Israel. We want women to come home to a safe place. I am not saying that every security guard who keeps a weapon is dangerous to his wife, except in isolated cases, but the way to prevent these cases is to store the weapon at the end of the work day.

A power multiplier in the prevention of PFA:

With the increase in the wave of terrorism that has been in Israel in recent years, the Minister of Internal Security instructed in a temporary order that security guards will be able to carry their weapons at all times.

In the order of the hour, the minister stated:
"In view of the ability of skilled security guards to be a "force multiplier" in the hands of the security authorities in the public space and to assist in providing a quick and professional response to incidents of hostile sabotage activity... those employed by the organization for security services will be allowed to carry only pistol-type firearms, given to them with lawful permission from the security organization, in any area The state..."

reaction Gerry Koren, city council member from the "Haifa Beitno" party for the proposal:

This is discrimination against civilians and armed security personnel.
All the ideas of the "safe space" in the public (protected public space) and the "shanty bunty" are very nice on paper, but these are daydreams. But the reality is different.
The reality is that the carriers of personal weapons help public safety. Instead of dealing with emotions and feelings, let's talk about data and research:
For example, in a study conducted over three years, Dr. Shlomo Shapira from Bar Ilan University examined dozens of terrorist attacks in which citizens used their private weapons for defensive purposes. It was found that in more than 70 percent (!) of the terrorist attacks in which armed civilians were involved, the civilians made a decisive contribution to neutralizing the attacker and stopping the killing spree.

Many attacks in which civilians used their weapons to stop the terrorists are etched in the Israeli national memory: the tractor attacks in Jerusalem, the attack on the "Sea Food Market" restaurant in Tel Aviv, the attack on the Merkaz Rabbi yeshiva and many other such examples.

The murders stopped completely between 2016-2014 when section (10 c b) of the Firearms Law was enforced

These murders and killings stopped completely between 2016-2014, during the short period in which section (10 c b) of the Firearms Law was enforced, which prohibits the carrying of security weapons outside the place and during the security guard's working hours.

During the enforcement period of the law, 85% of the security guards moved to deposit their weapons at their workplaces.

This change clearly demonstrates that law enforcement is possible. However, five years ago the section of the law was repealed, by order of the Minister of Internal Security. The order given for apparent security reasons has been repeated and renewed every six months since, regardless of the changing circumstances.

The permit for tens of thousands of security guards to carry security weapons anywhere and at any time provides the security companies with a cheap storage solution for their weapons, while putting their daughters and family members at risk. In August 2020, Judge Mazuz ruled at the High Court that the temporary order: "stands in contradiction to the rule established by law" and that "it is impossible to continue to extend the temporary order that has already become a permanent order."

In the past, the security companies had already complied with the directive to enforce the law and had successfully collected and deposited weapons in workplaces. There is no justification for continuing to risk the daughters and members of the household and family of security guards and guards. Additional cases of murder and killing with off-duty security weapons can be prevented, at least most of them.

The gun on the kitchen table project works to reduce the distribution of small arms and dismantle them in the civilian space based on gender knowledge and perception. The project operates civil control in an effort to promote preventive legislation, effective enforcement and transparency. We work to prevent deadly violence with firearms against women, within families and in the entire civil space, and to hold armed organizations and individuals accountable and under close public control.

The project leads the Gun on the Kitchen Table Coalition that unites 17 women's, human rights and civil society organizations in action for these goals.

The report The gun on the kitchen table is not under siege: Firearms in the civilian space - how many tools and how much supervision? (2017) is a first-of-its-kind assessment of the number of firearms scattered in the civilian space, a review of the variety of parties that possess them, as well as the level of supervision of this weapon.

These days, the petition for the gun on the kitchen table against the firearms policy of the State of Israel is being clarified in the High Court. In the face of an accelerated trend of the distribution of firearms and the removal of responsibility, the coalition demands a balanced and transparent prevention policy and institutional and governmental responsibility for the misuse of firearms. We reject the false identification according to which multiple weapons means security.