A Queens rabbi wants guns in shul.
Gary Moskowitz, a former NYPD cop who leads the Wellness Synagogue out of his Kew Gardens home, is trying to persuade politicians to change city law to allow “premise permits” for members of every synagogue in the five boroughs.
“People are scared,” he said, referring to violence against Jews in France and Germany. “It’s coming here, if it’s not here already.”
Under Moskowitz’s proposal, congregants willing to pack heat under their prayer shawls would have to be physically fit and undergo 100 hours of firearms training and a criminal-background check. He says he has reached out to politicians including Mayor de Blasio and City Councilman Mark Levine.
All houses of worship that have received credible threats should be eligible to legally allow their members to carry firearms, Moskowitz said.
Levine was unconvinced.
“We need fewer, not more, guns on the street, period,” the West Harlem Democrat said. “This would make us less safe, not more safe.”