SANDY SPRINGS, Ga. — The Sandy Springs Police Department offered a gun safety class for its Jewish population late last month after more than 200 people expressed interest.
“Since the Israel-Hamas conflict began a couple of months ago, members in our Jewish community have inquired about the class to learn more about gun laws along with weapon safety and handling,” Sandy Springs Public Information Officer Sgt. Leon Millholland wrote in an email to Appen Media.
Millholland said police offer a public handgun safety class for all Sandy Springs citizens every other month. When requested, Millholland said the department offers the course to specific groups and organizations in the city.
He said there were 18 participants between two classes Nov. 22.
The request for gun safety classes tracks with a rise in gun sales among Jewish people around the country, fearing for their safety amid a rise in antisemitism after the war broke out in Israel and Gaza.
From Oct. 7 to Oct. 23, the Anti-Defamation League recorded a total of 312 antisemitic incidents — of those, 190 were “directly linked” to the Israel-Hamas War. The group has also reported a rise in anti-Muslim hate, listing a sampling of close to 30 incidents from early October to late November.
Alex Brill, an Alpharetta gun store employee, said he saw an increase in gun sales among his Israeli and Jewish patrons right after Oct. 7.
“I would say that it’s definitely connected to the rise in antisemitism in the United States,” Brill said.
Brill, who said he is pro two-state solution, served in the Israel Defense Forces for more than three years and has an Israeli citizenship. He said he ends up speaking Hebrew with his clients.
“I can kind of tell when somebody has Israeli-accented English,” he said.
Several antisemitic incidents have been reported around north Metro Atlanta since…
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