Ex-Shin Bet Official Urges Armed Worshipers to Carry Weapons to Synagogues

A former senior official in the Shin Bet security agency, Arik Barbing, known as 'Harris', has issued a dramatic call for armed members of the public to bring their weapons to synagogues on Yom Kippur. Barbing, who previously held senior positions including head of the Judea and Samaria and Jerusalem region and head of the Shin Bet's cyber division, stated in an interview on Wednesday that this measure is necessary given the current security situation.

Barbing emphasized the difficulty of providing comprehensive security for all prayer locations, citing past attacks on synagogues and yeshivas. "It is impossible to hermetically seal every synagogue," he warned, adding that "the public today has many more weapons than in the past." He urged synagogue leaders to ensure that armed individuals attend services, describing the measure as a "minimum, at the level of saving a life."

He further explained that armed civilians represent the first line of defense. "The most correct solution is responsibility and understanding that we are in a very sensitive security situation, and that synagogues are targets for terrorists who can carry out attacks," Barbing said. "I think gun owners are the first solution for protecting those worshipers. That is the solution right now."