Charlie Kirk and Guns and Moses

by Audrey Lichter

For the past 24 hours, we have anxiously awaited the FBI’s report that let us know that the deceitful and heinous killer of Charlie Kirk has been apprehended. Thankfully, the news came just a few minutes ago. Over the next weeks, we will learn more about who he was and his motives. My guess is that he is a young man, unable to find his way, isolated and directionless, and perhaps active on some nihilistic social media sites (I wouldn’t count out antisemitic ones as well). One person is causing so much despair. 

Last night, we saw the Film Guns and Moses. Our board chair and founder, Scott Shay was one of the producers. Inspired by the Poway shooting ,when a neo-Nazi gunman opened fire at a Chabad synagogue in Poway, California, killing a 60-year-old woman. The movie makes the case for Jews to be armed. What does the Bible say about arming oneself?

The residents of Jerusalem during the rebuilding of the wall understood this when they both prayed to God and set up an armed guard as a means of protection (Nehemiah 4:7-9). It is not wrong to trust in earthly means, provided we recognize that it is ultimately God who works through them (Proverbs 21:31).

I never thought I would even think these thoughts, let alone believe that we as American Jews could ever need to arm ourselves, but in our little peaceful Jewish community of West Hartford, CT, last week, lawn signs supporting Israel were desecrated and a garage door was egged. Was it the work of one deranged person or a sign of worse things to come? 

Was it the work of one deranged person or a sign of worse things to come? 

These are not happy times. Our beleaguered nation of Israel is entrenched in an unrelenting war with those who wish to destroy it. Condemnation comes from around the world as Israel fights for its sovereignty and survival. We, who always thought of American exceptionalism when it came to the Jews, are now seriously questioning  just how secure we are. Is it just the ranting of a few radicals and some lonely isolated individuals or does portend  much worse things to come?