As antisemitism surges, Jewish people on Long Island apply for pistol licenses in growing numbers

Jewish people on Long Island are applying for pistol licenses and receiving training to obtain concealed carry permits in increasing numbers since Hamas’ deadly attack on Israeli citizens — a sign that many fear a growing wave of antisemitism could turn violent, according to local firearms instructors and law enforcement agencies.

More than 1,400 Israelis, primarily civilians, were killed in the surprise Oct. 7 attack, including at least 31 American citizens, while about 240 others were taken hostage. More than 340 Israeli soldiers have died in the weeks since the attacks, according to Israeli officials, while the Ministry of Health in Hamas-run Gaza has reported that more than 10,000 Palestinians have been killed. 

The Oct. 7 assaults, including on children and the elderly, have been followed by a steep rise in antisemitic incidents in the region and beyond and have left some Long Island Jews, many of whom were traditionally averse to firearms, shaken and seeking protection for their families, firearms experts and community members said. 

Lisa Ludwig, who is Jewish, a certified pistol instructor and president of She Trains You in West Babylon, said she’s been inundated with requests from Jews in Nassau and Suffolk counties seeking concealed carry permits.

“They’re all petrified,” Ludwig said. “ … They’re coming to me and saying, ‘Enough is enough. I really would like to arm and train myself.’ They feel like they’re behind the eight-ball and have to be their own heroes. They’re finally waking up to what’s going on and are aware that this can happen here. Which it could.”

Data from local police departments in the weeks since Oct. 7 shows a significant increase in pistol license applications, although it's unclear precisely how many are coming from Jewish Long Islanders.

In a landmark decision last year, the U.S. Supreme Court struck down New York’s century-old law that required a judge to determine that an applicant had a legitimate need to carry a concealed pistol or revolver outside the home.

Concealed carry permits now require 16 hours of in-person classroom instruction and two hours of supervised “live fire” training at a shooting range.

From Oct. 7 through Oct. 21, the Suffolk County Police Department received 169 pistol license applications, compared to 81 in the two weeks prior, according to data shared with Newsday.

The uptick was just as stark in Nassau.

Nassau police received 114 pistol applications between Oct. 9 and 20, compared to 57 applications from Sept. 25 to Oct. 6, department officials said.

The Suffolk County Sheriff’s Office, which processes just a handful of firearms applications each week in the five eastern towns, said it has seen a minor uptick in submitted applications, but Victoria DiStefano, a spokeswoman for the department, added that it often takes several weeks for individuals to fill out the 12-page questionnaire, which also includes four notarized character references.

Long Island firearms experts said it often can take more than a year for local police departments to process firearm applications.

By most estimates calculated by Jewish advocacy groups, there are more than 300,000 Jews living on Long Island, including about 19% of Nassau's population and roughly 8% of Suffolk's population.

Antisemitic incidents had been on the rise before the start of the Israel-Hamas war, and have increased significantly in the weeks since Oct. 7.

Preliminary data from the Anti-Defamation League’s Center on Extremism indicates that reported incidents of harassment, vandalism and assaults against Jews nationwide increased 388% since the Hamas attack compared to the same period last year.

According to federal data, there were 351 antisemitic hate crimes in the state last year, the most among any racial or religious group.

Across Long Island, hate crimes jumped nearly 40% in the past year, the data shows, fueled by 30 bias crimes last year against Jews in Nassau and another five across Suffolk County.

For example, In Port Washington, a photo of three high school students doing the Nazi salute circulated on social media, authorities and school officials said. Meanwhile, East Hampton police are investigating the discovery of large swastikas and antisemitic graffiti at Ditch Plains Beach and in the downtown business district in Montauk while Nassau police are investigating two swastikas that were found in a classroom in East Meadow High School.

Firearms instructor: They want to 'live in peace'

Matt Seifer, founder of Guardian Security Investigation & Training in Deer Park, is a firearms dealer who trains Long Islanders in gun safety and helps them apply for both pistol and concealed carry permits.

In the two weeks immediately after the attack, Seifer said he assisted at least 30 members of the Jewish community applying for a pistol permit for the first time.

Many others, Seifer said, including rabbis and synagogue congregants, are seeking to obtain the mandatory 47 hours of firearms certification training needed to become registered as an armed guard and to be legally allowed to carry a firearm into a temple. One rabbi, Seifer said, plans to carry a pistol during his weekend temple services.

“Just like anybody else, they want basic human rights and to live in peace,” said Seifer, who is also Jewish. “But yet they also want to be able to respond to a dynamic emergency situation. It’s our job, my job to teach them the right, responsible, lawful way to do it.”

Local firearms instructors interviewed by Newsday said they've also seen an uptick in pistol applications and firearms training in recent weeks from members of the Muslim-American population but that those numbers pale in comparison to outreach from the Jewish community.

Joseph Barkan, 53, of Merrick, who is Jewish, said the attacks overseas and the subsequent spike in antisemitic incidents, have left him feeling uneasy. They prompted him to apply for a pistol permit earlier this month.

Several years ago, Barkan purchased a shotgun and a rifle, neither of which require a permit in New York State, but he had been resistant until recently to take the next step and get a handgun for home protection.

"It's starting to feel very much like we're under siege," said Barkan, a software engineer and married father of three children, ages 12, 18, and 21. "God forbid I ever have to use it, but I feel like it's an insurance policy."

Long Island firearms instructors said the spike among Jews seeking pistol permits and firearms training well exceeds the immediate aftermath of the 2018 terror attack at the Tree of Life synagogue in Pittsburgh that left 11 dead and six wounded.

Pistol application not an easy decision

There is limited data, both federally and locally, on the percentage of Jews who have registered firearms as pistol applications do not require individuals to state their religion.

But a 2020 Cooperative Election Study by Harvard University found that just 11% of Jews nationwide own a firearm, before only Muslims and Hindus.

Frank Melloni, owner of Renaissance Firearms Instruction in Uniondale, said a quarter of all of the men and women in his shooting courses in recent weeks have told him they sought out the training because of the Hamas attack.

“We’ve been seeing a very large response in the Jewish community,” said Melloni, who is also working with several area synagogues on firearms instructions. “ … I can tell you it is substantial.”

Barkan, meanwhile, said it was not an easy decision to apply for a pistol license. But he felt there was no other way to adequately protect his family.

"I don't consider myself paranoid at all. I consider myself very pragmatic," he said. "But part of being a parent is you look out for your kids, even though two of mine are almost adults … I have to look out for them. So I wish I didn't have to do this. But I feel like I'd be negligent if I weren't doing it."

By Robert Brodsky

robert.brodsky@newsday.com@BrodskyRobert

Robert Brodsky is a breaking news reporter who has worked at Newsday since 2011. He is a Queens College and American University alum.