HOLLYWOOD, Fla. – There is no doubt that the war between Israel and Hamas is having a global impact.
It’s raising fears in the Jewish community, including those in South Florida.
There has been a rise in gun and ammo sales, and experts say it’s primarily coming from people within the Jewish community who want to protect themselves.
Dozens of South Florida gun shops and shooting ranges are seeing a spike in gun sales and a desire to train since Israel was ambushed by Hamas terrorists.
David Kowalsky, of the Florida Gun Store in Hollywood, said he has been restocking supplies as they fly off his shelves.
Tensions have been high all across the country, and he said business has tripled as many in the Jewish community look to protect themselves and their families.
“Israeli and Orthodox Jews for the most part,” said Kowalsky. “Just wanting to be trained to protect their families and have a firearm at home or on their person. Since last Saturday, we have seen a tremendous public display of how prevalent anti-Semitism is and hate speech and how they want to rid the world of Jews.”
On Monday night at his store, a group of Jewish woman took an introduction course on guns.
Endi Tennenhaus told Local 10 News most of the men in her synagogue are arming themselves.
“We said, ‘What about the women?’ We need to do the things we need to do to prepare,” Tennenhaus said. “To stay safe and to be able to use a gun, God forbid if we ever should need one.”
Employees at Pembroke Gun Range in Pembroke Park noted a big uptick in training and sales among those in the Jewish community as well.
Staff at Nexus Shooting in Davie said the increase there has been significant as instances of anti-Semitism continue to rise across the country.
The Florida Gun Store, which specializes in concealed carry and training, has even started additional classes just to meet this demand for safety, training a group of men and women from Kowalsky’s local synagogue.
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