editorials
More Tremors in the Shaky Coalition
C ould Israel’s rightward-leaning
parties — who have historically
been the strongest advocates for the
settler movement — find themselves in
the position of causing Israelis who live
in the West Bank to be under martial
law? That actually might happen,
as another politically challenging
dilemma confronts the increasingly
fragile Israeli governing coalition,
which passed its one-year mark last
week. Since the Six Day War, the territory
beyond the historic “Green Line” has
been under Israeli military occupa-
tion. Israeli citizens who live in the
area have lived under civil law by
virtue of an “emergency measure,”
which has not been extended to the
area’s Palestinians, who remain sub-
ject to military law. The emergency
regulation, which must be renewed
every five years, is set to expire at
the end of June.

The reason most of us have not
heard about the “emergency mea-
sure” and its five-year renewal is
because renewal is practically a
given — or had been until this year.

But now, with the government hold-
ing a 60-seat tie in the Knesset
and the opposition committed to
obstruction, it isn’t at all clear that
the emergency measure can muster
enough support.

The bill lost a crucial vote on June
6. One partner in the coalition, the
Islamist Ra’am party, cannot support
a law that favors Jews in the territory
and not fellow Palestinians. Without
Ra’am, the number of Knesset mem-
bers likely to support the legislation
is down to 56. But some other coali-
tion members abstained. And even
though passage of the bill is unques-
tionably something favored by right-
ward-leaning parties who are joined
with Likud leader and former Prime
Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in the
Knesset opposition, they have com-
mitted not to support any measure
proposed by the governing coalition,
as part of their effort to topple the
current government and its leader-
ship, and voted against it.

These political machinations could
create real problems for the settler
community — which represents a sig-
nificant voter bloc for Netanyahu and
his opposition team. Under the civil-
ian control mandated by the “emer-
gency measure,” Israel’s 600,000
citizens who live beyond the Green
Line are tried in civilian courts and
receive social and health benefits just
like residents of Israel proper. They
lose all that if they fall under military
rule. Even a traffic ticket would have
to be adjudicated by a military judge.

Moreover, members of the Knesset
who live in the West Bank will cease
to be residents of Israel, a require-
ment for public service.

There are other dark clouds for
Prime Minister Naftali Bennett, who
seems to be paying the price for
favoring pragmatism over ideology
in leading his widely divergent eight-
party coalition — most of whom are
not his natural political allies. In fairly
rapid succession, four members of
Bennett’s inner circle — his chief of
staff, senior foreign policy advisor,
personal assistant and spokesper-
son — all announced their resigna-
tions, reportedly frustrated that they
can’t budge their boss to the right.

And, of course, there are the
continuing, unrelenting opposition
efforts of Netanyahu and friends,
who have been encouraged by
the recent further weakening of
the prosecution’s case against
Netanyahu. For now, Bennett is hanging on.

But his grip is weakening. JE
Deadly Ghost Guns
G host guns are unserialized,
unregistered and untraceable
firearms that are bought in pieces and
can be assembled at home. They are
a worrisome addition to the growing
arsenal of killing machines that plague
our country. They are legal in 40
states. As crime rates soar, the quick
spread and easy access of ghost guns
are raising alarms.

Ghost guns are unlike any other
dangerous item sold in America.

They can be bought online like an
Amazon purchase. Once delivered
to the buyer’s home, they can be
assembled in the family room like
an item from Ikea. And if one needs
guidance with the assembly, online
YouTube and other videos help navi-
gate the construction process.

Ghost guns begin with unfinished
frames or receivers — the piece
of the firearm that contains the fir-
ing mechanism, and the part of a
gun that is regulated under federal
law. When a frame is “unfinished,”
it is unregulated. And since it has
no serial number, the ghost gun is
14 JUNE 9, 2022 | JEWISHEXPONENT.COM
wholly untraceable. But once ghost
guns are assembled, they look, feel
and function like a traditional gun
and are just as deadly.

Last week, a Maryland law prohib-
iting the sale, receipt and transfer
of an unfinished frame or receiver
Los Angeles. But despite the public
uproar over increasing gun violence
and frustration over the prolifer-
ation of untraceable ghost guns,
Congress has not acted.

Although we favor a ban on ghost
guns, we cannot understand why
But despite the public uproar over
increasing gun violence and frustration
over the proliferation of untraceable
ghost guns, Congress has not acted.

that does not have a serial num-
ber by the manufacturer went
into effect. That day, the city of
Baltimore sued the largest manu-
facturer of ghost guns, Polymer 80,
as part of an attempt to fight the
public health crisis of gun violence.

Similar suits have been filed by the
District of Columbia and the city of
they aren’t, at the very least, sub-
ject to regulation and registration.

And why is it that the Bureau of
Alcohol Tobacco, Firearms and
Explosives does not consider ghost
guns a firearm? Purchasers are
supposed to show identification to
establish proper age when they
buy cigarettes and alcohol. Every
automobile is issued a vehicle iden-
tification number, and drivers must
be licensed.

But none of that applies to ghost
guns. There are no age limits on who
can buy them, there are no limita-
tions on how many can be bought,
and they are sold in interlocking
pieces like Legos, in order to facili-
tate easy assembly and use.

The fundamental problem with
ghost guns is that many purchasers
buy them to evade law enforce-
ment or because they cannot oth-
erwise buy firearms legally. That
includes underage buyers, buyers
with criminal convictions, gun traf-
fickers and others we don’t want
walking around with a deadly arse-
nal. While we understand that
regulating ghost guns will not end
gun violence, restricting access
and insisting on only allowing sales
of traceable firearms to those of
age who pass a background check
would be a positive step in the
development of sane gun laws to
protect our lives. JE