Do you have a weapon? When you go to the synagogue on Yom Kippur, don't forget it at home: Eric Berbing "Harris", former head of the Judea and Samaria region and head of the Shin Bet's cyber division, recommends that all gun owners take it with them even on the holiest day.
In a conversation today (Wednesday) with Ron Kofman and Prof. Aryeh Eldad on 103fm, he explained why.
""We have had difficult events in synagogues and in the Merkaz HaRav yeshiva, unfortunately, and this is very difficult, even for me as a Jew - but it is impossible to hermetically secure every synagogue," he warned. "Therefore, I appeal to the public: They have many more weapons today than they had in the past. The leaders of the synagogues should do their best and make sure that armed people come. This is a minimum, it is at the level of vacation supervision.".
He added: "The most correct solution is responsibility and understanding that we are in a very sensitive security situation, and that synagogues are targets for terrorists who can carry out attacks. I think that gun owners are the first solution for protecting those worshippers. That is the solution right now.".
Barbing was also asked about a 'reverse of the tables' scenario - a situation in which the weapons of the Palestinian police would be turned against Israelis.
""We need to deal with this - and it is being dealt with, both in the army and the Shin Bet, and by other parties," he said.
He believes that such a scenario should be prepared for quietly. "That this discussion be held professionally and not released to the media - which the Palestinians are also listening to. Only dealing with this matter raises the issue again and creates tension.".
In any case, he believes that the security reality in Judea and Samaria is completely different from what it was here on the evening of October 7. "The IDF and the security forces control there and are accessible to any point at any time. Every evening there are arrests - from the refugee camps in Jenin to the southern Hebron Hills. The IDF is deep in the area and there is activity there. That was not the case on October 7," he said.
""I don't know of an organized coup. But what could happen? A local incident could develop that would result in a more serious development," he said. "I know that the IDF is also prepared for such events, but this is an event that could develop by surprise.".
