In November 2022, Arvin Nathaniel Ghahremani, a 20-year-old Iranian resident, left the gym where he was working out and noticed a group of seven men lying in wait for him over an outstanding debt. Amir Shokri, identified by Iranian agencies, grabbed a knife and attempted to stab Ghahremani, who allegedly overpowered the assailant, seized the knife, and fatally stabbed him in an act of self-defense, according to the indictment. In Tehran, the court decided to sentence Ghahremani to an unappealable death sentence.

The intention to execute Ghahremani sparked worried reactions from members of the small Jewish community in Tehran, Iranian Jews abroad, and Jewish communities worldwide, who sought to send a clear message – this is a perversion of justice. It is worth noting that Jews constitute a tiny minority in the Islamic Republic, with their current population estimated at around 8,000 people.

Members of the Jewish community fear that over time, Ghahremani's situation will worsen, and the court's decision cannot be overturned. Dr. Homayoun Sameyah, the Jewish representative in the Iranian parliament, has asked several Muslim lawmakers to try to persuade Shokri's family to accept financial compensation from Ghahremani and agree to have a mosque built in Shokri's name. However, these efforts have so far been in vain.

The post Jewish man's execution in Iran postponed for 1 month appeared first on www.israelhayom.com.

Tough times demand tough Jews. If Jon Loew has his way, Jews in the United States and around the world will invest the time and energy needed to learn self-defense to protect themselves. Loew has been worried about the safety of the Jewish community for years and has been passionately making this case for Jewish self-defense, often feeling that the Jewish world wasn't listening.

Follow Israel Hayom on Facebook and Twitter

In 2001, the Long Island native who is a lawyer, businessman and firefighter started Fuel for Truth – Israel Education and Advocacy Training in response to the 9/11 attacks on the World Trade Center in New York City and Pentagon in Washington, DC.

"After I saw the buildings burning on 9/11, I knew this would have implications for American Jews," he said. "I was worried about what would happen on college campuses."

Loew found that most in the Jewish community did not share his level of concern: "Jewish organizations said there was no problem – in academia, the media, etc."

His self-funded training program continued to expand in its quest to educate college students about Israel. Loew continued to worry about the Jewish community. "With the summer conflict in Gaza in 2014 [Operation Protective Edge], I saw a correlation between the war against Israel and attacks on Jews outside of Israel."

Again, he found the organized Jewish community to be unresponsive with many saying, "It will never happen."

"They had their head in the sand, again!" said Loew.

That same year, in response to what Loew felt was a "rising tide of physical attacks against Jews," he established the Legion self-defense and counterterrorism training program.

Legion's mission is to train and equip civilians with the skills needed to defend themselves and their families. The founders of the organization sought to establish deterrence so Jews would not be seen as "easy targets."

The nonprofit has grown to facilitate the training of Jews in 12 US cities, including in New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, California and Florida. Legion has also announced the addition of the first two gyms outside the US, in Toronto and London.

To date, more than 400 men and women aged 20-70 have received training from instructors, which include special forces veterans from the United States and Israel, senior intelligence officers, combat medics, and mixed martial arts and Krav Maga professionals.

Legion is expanding and making it easier for Jews across the country to access self-defense training. "We have become a networking organization to connect gyms and people who want to train there," notes founder and former chairman Loew. He is committed to "hooking people up with self-defense gyms in their area, wherever they live." 

Loew is concerned that violence against Jews continues to increase, that Jews are not properly acknowledging the problem and that they are not learning to defend themselves. "We want Jews to increase awareness of the threat, to restore some level of deterrence and to increase their ability to defend themselves," he explained. "As a result, they will feel more confident."

Loew even imagines a day when every Hebrew school and Jewish day school will teach self-defense as part of regular physical education classes. "I want every Jew to be a Ninja!"

Meredith Weiss, co-founder of Legion and its voluntary chief operating officer, shares Loew's concerns and supports his approach to addressing the problem.

"I fully believe Jews must take a proactive approach in their own safety. It's all about deterrence. We cannot leave our physical well-being or security in the hands of others."

Subscribe to Israel Hayom's daily newsletter and never miss our top stories!

Weiss, who grew up in Lawrence, NY, has always been strongly connected to Israel and went through Legion's programs, though she notes that it was a bit challenging in the beginning. "We had people laugh at us when we started up. 'You'll never get a room of Jews training.' We did exactly that. Then, we did it again … and again … and again."

The first chapter was in Manhattan, and by 2015, they were training a full class of students.

Weiss firmly believes that "self-defense can no longer be a foreign concept to American Jews. It must become the absolute norm."

Reprinted with permission from JNS.org.

The post Attacks on Jews sparks demand for self-defense classes appeared first on www.israelhayom.com.

The escalating security situation in Israel has led to a spike in demand for self-defense equipment.

Follow Israel Hayom on Facebook and Twitter

Shmulik Anchel, CEO of Rikushet retail chain, which sells self-defense gadgets, said its stock had run out in a week.

"There is an incredible demand for pepper spray because of the situation. With such products, you never know what to expect. Women used to purchase them for self-defense, and now it's obviously because of the [security] situation," he said.

The manager of a Hagor outlet in Ramat Gan, which also sells self-defense tools said, "currently there is a very high demand for tear gas, gas pistols and self-defense equipment like bulletproof vests."

The post Demand for pepper spray in Israel spikes due to security situation appeared first on www.israelhayom.com.

"When this happens, you get a wake-up call," said Ortner, a 28-year-old shop owner in Monsey, New York.

Ortner was one of nine Jewish men who attended a one-day course on Tuesday at the privately owned Cherev Gidon Israeli Tactical Defense Academy near Scranton, Pennsylvania – a class that was scheduled on Sunday in response to the Pittsburgh synagogue attack.

He was there to learn how to use a gun to protect himself and his community and prevent a repeat of Saturday's massacre, the deadliest attack targeting Jews in U.S. history.

"The fact is, we're at war," said Yonatan Stern, a veteran officer of the Israel Defense Forces and director of the academy, told his class. "We want every Jew in America armed."

In the six years since Stern started the academy, demand for firearms training has never been higher than after Saturday's attack. Hundreds of interested students contacted Stern in the last 72 hours. All but three or four were Jewish.

The spike in demand follows U.S. President Donald Trump's statement that the shooting might have been prevented if the synagogue had employed an armed guard.

But many Jews have resisted the idea that having guns in synagogues is the best way to prevent such attacks.

Rabbi Moti Rieber, executive director of the Kansas Interfaith Action, an advocacy organization, said on Tuesday that he did not believe Trump's call for more armed guards could prevent attacks on places of worship.

"What kind of country we're going to be if every house of worship has to have an armed guard?" Rieber said. "I think having less access to that kind of weaponry is going to be much more effective in the long run than having a single armed guard."

According to Stern, an armed guard at a synagogue is a useful deterrent but not a replacement for armed civilians, since a shooter could kill the armed guard before entering and killing congregants.

"To wait for law enforcement to arrive simply is not the answer," Stern said.

Some of the students attending the course were card-carrying National Rifle Association members. Some had never fired a gun before. Two worked in schools and wanted to defend Jewish children. Many of them intended to bring guns to their synagogues on the next Sabbath for protection.

"Everybody has to find a way to react; this is my way," said Zev Guttman, who said he was scared of guns until Saturday's shooting convinced him he had to be armed.

Tuesday's course, held in a log cabin on an outdoor shooting range in rural Honesdale, about 300 miles northwest of Pittsburgh, consisted of active-shooter response drills using handguns and rifles. Students practiced drawing concealed weapons, loading and firing AR-15 rifles at bull's-eye targets.

Stern said that it "touches my heart" to see his students in training because he knows they will return to their synagogues as a first line of defense.

The post Fighting fire with fire: Jews train to prevent another shooting rampage appeared first on www.israelhayom.com.