Bethany Shondark Mandel: Freelance Writer and Jewish Markswoman

Today's Jewish Markswoman is Bethany Shondark Mandel. She is freelance writer/blogger of politically right leanings. In a recent piece she wrote for the New York Post we learn:

As a child, I was saved by the presence of a gun in my home. A man tried to climb in my bedroom window one night. My single mother heard the noise, grabbed her gun and explained (though no explanation was really necessary) that it would be in the man’s best interest to return from whence he came.

I’ve always appreciated my mom’s gun possession ever since. But now, as a mother myself, I understand it, too.

Mandel also participates in a female-oriented gun ownership group on Facebook called Responsible Women Gun Owners: https://www.facebook.com/groups/810239475752825/?fref=nf

Mandel is yet another example of the false narrative that all American Jews are anti-gun. To the contrary, Jews of all walks of American life are at the forefront of promoting and preserving the Second Amendment.

Gabriella Hoffman - Jewish Markswoman and Second Amendment Advocate

Gabriella Hoffman is Jewish "conservative activist/blogger," who has been "shooting since age 19." You can read more about her biography at her blog: http://thegabriellahoffman.com/about/ and her current job https://www.leadershipinstitute.org/contactus/staff.cfm?staff=511574.

One of her recent columns is "More Guns, Less Tyranny" available at TownHall.com. I believe she was interviewed by an NRA podcast about that article, and will try to follow up with an audio link if I can find it. She has written many other pro-gun columns you can easily find via google.

Gabriella joins a growing list of influential Jewish columnists who staunchly support the Second Amendment (including Ben Shapiro, Mark Levin, Debbie Schlussel, Dennis Prager and others). She is further proof that contrary to many misinformed narratives, American Jews are at the forefront of Second Amendment support.

Jewish Marksman Arie Friedman Defends the Second Amendment Against Illinois Suburb

Anyone informed on gun policy knows that Chicago and its surrounding suburbs (aka Chicagoland) have some of the country's most restrictive gun laws.  I'll refrain from comment, and simply leave it to the reader to draw her own conclusions with respect to such laws and Chicagoland's appalling murder rate.  Suffice to say that Chicagoland has convinced itself that more gun laws will save lives, and is willing to spend millions of tax payer dollars defending laws of dubious constitutionality and efficacy.

One Jewish gun owner, Arie Freidman, is fighting back in court, challenging one suburb's irrational restrictions on magazine capacity and certain semi-automatic rifles, including the AR-15.  (Longtime readers will recall that advocate all Jews own an AR-15).  Specifically, Friedman is appealing the decision of an Illinois federal appellate court to the US Supreme Court.  The legal issues are beyond the scope of this blog's purpose (though as an attorney I do have some thoughts...).  A general summary of the issues is here.

Keep in mind that all lawsuits require fuel to keep going: money, emotional will, and time.  We have no way of knowing what is happening behind the scenes, but it is fair to assume that Friedman is at a minimum fighting the good fight by serving as the plaintiff, and maybe more.  At this time it is not certain whether the US Supreme Court will even hear the case.  Hopefully Friedman will earn a victory for all of the oppressed people of Illinois.

Jewish Marksmen Prominent in Newsmax Top 100 Gun Rights Advocates List

A news publication called Newsmax recently published a list of who it considers the top 100 most influential gun rights advocates.  I identified at least three Jews:

14. Mark Levin, conservative talk radio host and Constitutional attorney, a gun owner and strong supporter of the Second Amendment.

22. Ben Shapiro, editor-at-large of Breitbart News, who is a strong supporter of the right to bear arms.

69. Steven Spielberg, movie producer and director, is a skeet shooter and owns a large arsenal of weapons, including guns from each of his movies. Fabbri, the luxury Italian gunmaker, has a photo of Spielberg on their website holding one of his custom Fabbri guns with a "Jurassic Park" engraving.

The article does not say how the list was assembled.  Frankly, there were quite a few names I've never heard of, and some who might be a little iffy.  Personally I think there are a number of Jews that were left off the list who could have been included, but it was nice to see those listed above.

Mazal tov to all of the list members!

Jeff Spiegelman - Delaware State Representative and Jewish Marksman

I learned about Delaware's 11th District Representative Jeff Spiegelman from a JPFO newsletter, wherein he wrote:

As a Jewish man who lives in a rural area, I am often at odds with my urban and suburban Jewish friends and family who often see their world as representative of the country as a whole. They often believe that the gun restrictions that have been placed on some of America's biggest (and, ironically, most dangerous) cities must be applied universally. These places have police and fire protection that is, in comparison, nearly instantaneous. These friends and family often say that I am pro-gun because I simply cannot understand their "plight" when it comes to firearms in the inner-cities. I think it is the opposite. I think they cannot see the need for my rights in my rural home.

According to his web site, Jeff is a NRA life member.  Yet more proof that Jews are indeed at the forefront of the gun rights movement.  If you live in Delaware, please consider supporting him!

David Mamet - Hollywood Director, Writer and Second Amendment Supporter

You may not immediately recognize the name of Jewish Hollywood big-wig David Mamet, but you've probably seen his work, as cataloged by Wikipedia:

Best known as a playwright, Mamet won a Pulitzer Prize and received Tony nominations for Glengarry Glen Ross (1984) and Speed-the-Plow (1988). As a screenwriter, he received Oscar nominations for The Verdict (1982) and Wag the Dog (1997). Mamet's books include: The Old Religion (1997), a novel about the lynching of Leo Frank; Five Cities of Refuge: Weekly Reflections on Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy (2004), a Torah commentary with Rabbi Lawrence Kushner; The Wicked Son (2006), a study of Jewish self-hatred and antisemitism; and Bambi vs. Godzilla, a commentary on the movie business; and The Secret Knowledge: On the Dismantling of American Culture (2011), a commentary on cultural and political issues.
Mamet's feature films, which he both wrote and directed, include Redbelt (2008), The Spanish Prisoner (1997), House of Games (1987) (which won Best Film and Best Screenplay awards at the 1987 Venice Film Festival and "Film of the Year" for the 1989 London Critics Circle Film Awards), Spartan (2004), Heist (2001), State and Main (2000) (Winner of a Best Acting - Ensemble award from the National Board of Review), The Winslow Boy (1999), Oleanna (1994), Homicide (1991) (nominated for the Palme d'Or at 1991 Cannes Film Festival and won a "Screenwriter of the Year" award for Mamet from the London Critics Circle Film Awards and Best Cinematography for Roger Deakins from the Los Angeles Film Critics Association Awards), Things Change (1988) (which won the Volpi Cup for Best Actor at 1988 Venice Film Festival for Don Ameche and Joe Mantegna), and most recently an untitled TV movie in 2012 about Phil Spector starring Al Pacino as Spector, as well as Helen Mirren and Jeffrey Tambor.
Mamet has also written the screenplays for such classic films as The Verdict (1982), directed by Sidney Lumet, The Postman Always Rings Twice (1981), The Untouchables (1987) directed by Brian De Palma, Hoffa (1992), Ronin (1998), Wag The Dog (1997), The Edge (1997), and Hannibal (2001).
Mamet is also the creator, executive producer, and frequent writer for the TV show, The Unit.

David recently wrote an opinion piece for Newsweek, exhibiting his strong opinions in favor of private firearms ownership.  He makes many great points in the article, but this line sums it up:

The individual is not only best qualified to provide his own personal defense, he is the only one qualified to do so: and his right to do so is guaranteed by the Constitution.

Mazal Tov.  It is good to know we have more Jewish friends in Hollywood!

Ben Shapiro - Jewish Second Amendment Advocate

I apologize to those readers who primarily visit this blog to learn about Jewish athletes involved in the shooting sports.  I assure you that such was the original intention of this blog, and that I fully intend to return its focus to those profiles, as well as my own shooting sports exploits.  But...

Unfortunately, we are at a critical moment in the history of the United States which demands the attention of all Jews who know world history.  Although I am somewhat well versed in instances of armed Jewish resistance to tyrannic government, there are other places on the internet where you can study that issue (google "Warsaw Ghetto Uprising" for a start).  I firmly believe that Americans must have some degree of parity of arms with government forces.  The AR-15 and other so-called "assault rifles" (which I've blogged about) are required to maintain that parity.  If you have any doubts, you need only study the history of Afghanistan and present events in Syria to realize that the "people" do not necessarily need tanks or fighter planes, but they do need rifles.  A group of motivated riflemen can, at least by today's standards of military technology, overcome a superior armed force.  There is absolutely no historical precedent for Jews to not eventually become the targets of first discrimination, and ultimately physical abuse and murder.

So in that vein, Jewish political commentator, radio talk show host, and attorney Ben Shapiro recently confronted one of the most vile human beings on American soil, Piers Morgan, and did rather well:

Robert J. Avrech - Emmy Winner and Proud Jewish Marksman

Robert Avrech is a screenwriter (Body Double, A Stranger Among Us, The Devil's Arithmetic) and describes himself on his blog, seraphicpress.com as follows:

I'm an Emmy Award winning screenwriter. I'm also an observant Jew, a religious Zionist, a conservative Republican, and a member of the NRA. I've been writing and producing in Hollywood for over twenty-five years. But the focus of my life is my family: my radiant wife, Karen—with whom I have been in love with since I was nine years-old—and my two daughters, who, thankfully, look like Karen. Not too long ago, we had three children. But our son, Ariel, died at the age of twenty-two from cancer. We miss him terribly. We think about him practically every minute of every day. People tell us that time heals, but Karen and I know this is not true. Time grinds away doing its terrible work. Ariel is gone. Yet absence becomes presence.

He blogs on a variety of topics, most of them unrelated to guns in any way.  But a few excellent postings that every Jew and gun owner should read:

Jew without a Gun http://www.seraphicpress.com/jew-without-a-gun/
Girls with Guns http://www.seraphicpress.com/girls-with-guns/
Philistine Gun Control and Jews http://www.seraphicpress.com/gun-control-the-philistines-and-the-jews/

Definitely a blog worth following!  The first essay "Jew without a Gun" above is an excellent story that explains, in part, what brought him into the fold of gun ownership.

Jewish Legal Minds and American Gun Rights: Gura, Sigale, Gottlieb, and Posner

It has not escaped notice of many gun owners that Jewish politicians like Dianne Feinstein (D-California) are contributing to the efforts of late to destroy Americans' gun rights.  However, many are unaware how prominent Jewish attorneys have been in protecting those rights.  Here are a few examples:

Alan Gura is a sort of superstar in the fight for 2nd Amendment rights.  First he won the 2008 case  United States Supreme Court in District of Columbia v. Heller, which finally settled the notion that the 2A provides a right to firearms ownership independent of membership in any organized "militia."  Then in 2010 he won  McDonald v. Chicago, which held the 2A and Heller applied to the states.  His most recent 2012 win is Moore v. Madigan, where a federal district court held that Illinois' ban on concealed carry (the only state to ban all concealed carry) is unconstitutional.

In a 2008 article about Gura:

Gura, in contrast, said statistics indicate that gun ownership tends to reduce crime and increase public safety. Moreover, self-protection is a fundamental right, he added, because citizens cannot always depend on the government to protect them from criminals or tyrannical rulers. He said Jews, in particular, should take note.

"We should examine our history and see that our reliance on governmental officials to preserve our liberties has not always worked out so well," explained Gura, who considers himself a libertarian. "There is still anti-Semitism. The sad fact is that many Jews have the option of being armed or dead and not that many prefer to be armed."

Asked why Jews seem disproportionately opposed to gun ownership, Gura said, "It's puzzling. Many Jews seem to prefer heavy government intervention, and it's not a good thing." Jews, he said, often have the mistaken belief "that the government is a beneficent force to always do good and help people out."

An Israeli native now living in Alexandria, where he attends the Conservative Agudas Achim Congregation, Gura, 37, came to the United States with his family when he was 7. They settled in Los Angeles. He received his undergraduate degree in government from Cornell University and his law degree from Georgetown University. Gura, whose law practice, Gura and Possessky, has offices Alexandria and D.C., focuses mainly on civil rights and intellectual property matters.

Gura, who with his wife has a 1-year-old son, first became a gun owner in the early 1990s because, he said, he wanted to be able to defend himself against crime. Among the contributing factors in his decision to buy a weapon were the 1992 riots in Los Angeles, which Gura said he watched on TV "with a great deal of concern" while he was in college at Cornell. He said he has never used the gun in self-defense.

Gura was hired to handle the case in 2003 by social acquaintance Robert Levy, a nonpracticing attorney and libertarian scholar. Levy and another lawyer recruited the plaintiffs, six D.C. residents who wanted to own handguns. 

Another attorney, David G. Sigale assisted Gura on the McDonald and Madigan cases, and appears to be involved in a Chicago-land synagogue.

The Jewish judge writing the majority opinion in the Madigan case was none other than Richard Posner.  Posner's opinion is very good for gun rights, because he wrote that "...a ban as broad as Illinois's can't be upheld merely on the ground that it's not irrational..."so substantial a curtailment of the right of armed self-defense requires a greater showing of justification than merely that the public might benefit on balance from such a curtailment, though there is no proof it would."  That language is critical because the Supreme Court's Heller opinion did not explicitly tell courts what test to apply when determining whether certain laws restricting gun rights are constitutional or not.  Lower courts are still feeling out the parameters, and Posner's opinion is a step in the right direction towards strict, or at least intermediate scrutiny.

Finally, Alan Gottlieb is not an attorney (according to Wikipedia) but is  is the Chairman of the Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms, Founder of the Second Amendment Foundation.  The SAF, as I understand it, funds Gura's and other gun-rights lawsuits, but also promotes knowledge of the 2A and its history.

Jews and the Second Amendment

Here is the beginnings of a list of locally or nationally prominent US Jews who support the Second Amendment:

• Eric Cantor, Republican Congressman from Virginia "is opposed to Gun Control, voting to ban product misuse lawsuits on gun manufacturers in 2005, and to ban gun registration and trigger-lock laws in the District of Columbia. He has a rating of "A" from the National Rifle Association (NRA)."
• Mike Weisman, 1st Vice President of the Illinois State Rifle Association.
• Alan Gottlieb, founder of the Second Amendment Foundation.
• Debbie Schlussel, a conservative thinker and nationally recognized political commentator, describes herself as a "strong proponent of the Second Amendment" and blogged about her experience applying for a concealed carry permit.
• Bill Bernstein, a Tennessee gun store owner and prominent local conservative.
• Ronald Miller, a prominent Michigan real estate professional and organizer of the Detroit Jewish Cigar and Shooting Club.
• Jackie Mason, world famous comedian speaks plainly about the right to self defense with a firearm.
• John Stossel, prominent reporter formerly on ABC and now on Fox, has reported and written about the fallacies and myths of gun control.
• Dennis Prager, conservative talk show host and author, wants "more good people to have arms," as it brings more "goodness" into the world.
• Eugene Volokh, a world renowned conservative law professor, argues that "[p]eople should be free to have the weapons that are necessary to effectively defend themselves."
• Mark Levin, conservative radio talk show host and renowned author.
• Joshua Streiff is a leader in the Appleseed Project.
• Aaron Zelman (1946-2010) was the founder of Jews for the Preservation of Firearms Ownership, an organization whose name speaks for itself.
• Robert Farago is the Publisher and Managing Editor of the influential gun blog, thetruthaboutguns.com.
• Dan Lederman is a state legislator in South Dakota, and has been awarded a Defender of Freedom award and A+ rating from the NRA.
• Itamar Gelbman is a congressional candidate in Texas, and a strong supporter of the 2nd Amendment.
• Jeff Spiegelman a state Representative in Delaware and NRA life member.
• Ben Shapiro is a prominent conservative pundit, lawyer, and supporter of the 2nd Amendment.
• David Mamet is a well known Hollywood big-wig and supporter of the 2nd Amendment.
• Robert Avrech is an award-winning screen writer and 2nd Amendment supporter.
• Alan Gura is an attorney who has won several landmark 2nd Amendment cases, including Heller, McDonald, and Madigan.

Please feel free to suggest additions to the list, I am sure there are many more! I will keep it updated and re-post from time to time.