Better late than never, the old adage goes. This certainly applies to IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Gadi Eizenkot's decision this week to allow soldiers to take their personal weapons home with them on leave. The murder of Staff Sgt. Tuvia Yanai Weissman by Palestinian terrorists last week was what prompted Eizenkot's decision. Weissman, who served in the Nahal Brigade, had been ordered to leave his weapon on base and was thus left helpless when he encountered the terrorists at a supermarket in the Shaar Binyamin industrial park in Samaria. This issue has been a hot topic of debate in many Israeli homes in recent days. Parents of soldiers were wondering why their children were being left defenseless while off duty. There is no doubt that public safety is bolstered by armed soldiers. If Weissman had been carrying his weapon with him, the result of the terrorist attack at the supermarket would have been much different. The flip side of the argument focuses on accidental shootings, lost and stolen weapons, and criminal activities by off-duty soldiers. So Eizenkot's decision was not an easy one, as there were both pros and cons. But it does appear that the pros outweigh the cons. This will remain the case as long as the wave of Palestinian terrorism continues.
