Jews for the Preservation of Firearms Ownership
JPFO logo
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| Formation | 1989 |
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| Headquarters | Bellevue, Washington |
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Membership
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7,000 (as of 2011) |
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Founder
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Aaron Zelman |
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Executive Director
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Charles Heller |
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Rabbinic Director
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Rabbi Dovid Bendory |
| Website | |
Jews for the Preservation of Firearms Ownership (JPFO) is a group dedicated to the preservation of gun rights in the United States and "to encourage Americans to understand and defend all of the Bill of Rights for everyone". The group was founded by former firearms dealer Aaron S. Zelman in 1989. The JPFO interprets the Second Amendment as recognizing a pre-existing natural right of individuals to keep and bear arms. It is based in Hartford, Wisconsin.
JPFO takes the position that an armed citizenry is the population's last line of defense against tyranny by their own government. The organization is noted for producing materials (bumper stickers, posters, billboards, booklets, videos, etc.) with messages that equate gun control with totalitarianism. The most famous of these are the "All in favor of Gun Control raise your right hand" materials, which features a drawing of Hitler giving a Nazi salute. The organization also attempts to prove that genocide is linked to gun control, by showing that most countries where a genocide has taken place had gun control first.
Members do not have to be Jewish. The only membership requirement is that you be a "law-abiding citizen," by "obeying the Bill of Rights."
The JPFO has been highly critical of the Anti-Defamation League (ADL). In pamphlets such as "Why Does the ADL Support Nazi-Based Laws?" and "JPFO Facts vs. ADL Lies," the JPFO has accused the ADL of undermining the welfare of the Jewish people.
In response, Abraham Foxman, National Director of the Anti-Defamation League, wrote about the JPFO, "Anti-Semitism has a long and painful history, and the linkage to gun control is a tactic by Jews for the Preservation of Firearms Ownership to manipulate the fear of anti-Semitism toward their own end... It is a campaign that has been viewed with concern by many in the Jewish community."
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Wikipedia