exclusive Schmear & Wesson: Jewish New Yorkers rushing to buy guns for protection
Bergida, shown here working with a customer, said the post-election climate in the city is “like doomsday prepping – people are loading up ammo.” Helayne Seidman
Jewish New Yorkers say they are preparing themselves “lock, stock and barrel” for life under an incoming Mamdani administration.
Several residents told The Post this week that they are purchasing firearms out of fear that an anti-Israel mayor “who despises us” will soon run New York City.
Michael Bergida, 30, who recently opened Samson Armory — a Marine Park, Brooklyn gun shop named for the Biblical figure known for strength — said business has exploded. He says he’s outfitting everyone “from nervous zaydes to anxious rabbis.”
“We’re probably the only gun store with a minyan,” the Orthodox shop owner said, adding that he expects “chaos” under the incoming mayor, whom he describes as a radical socialist. “The NYPD is all retiring — we have to fight for ourselves. People are freaking out over Mamdani, anyone who has Judeo-Christian values.”
Bergida, who says most of his customers are Jewish, added, “We have to let everyone know — don’t f–k with the Jews. Never again.” As an NRA-certified firearms instructor, he said he works with synagogues on preparedness drills and active-shooter response. “It’s like doomsday prepping — people are loading up ammo. I have a passion to prep Jews.”
Despite the tense political climate, he insists he’s not going anywhere. “We ain’t fleeing — we’re here to stay. We’re not victims anymore.”
Other instructors and gun shops reported similar spikes in demand the morning after mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani’s victory.
“It’s getting busy because of him,” said longtime gun safety instructor Lance Dashefsky, 57. NYPD data shows that concealed-carry permit applications rose 14% between June — when Mamdani won the Democratic primary — and August, climbing from 620 to 706. Applicants in New York City face a process that can take six months to a year, including state-mandated training with 16 hours of classroom instruction and two hours of live-fire practice.
Dashefsky caters to his growing clientele by serving bagels, lox, and schmear during Sunday classes. “I always ask people why they want a gun,” he said. “And now the answer is Mamdani.”
Brooklyn firearms instructor Ross Den said anyone previously unsure about carrying a concealed weapon is now “off the fence,” including Jewish doctors, lawyers, plumbers — and rabbis.
“There are plenty of rabbis who carry — shul is where the greatest threat is,” Den said, noting that carrying in a synagogue is legal if the armed person is designated as a security volunteer. “People are waking up and realizing they have to defend themselves and not rely on the cavalry to come save them.”
Mamdani, who founded his college chapter of Students for Justice in Palestine and supports the Boycott, Divest, Sanction movement, has drawn controversy for past statements. As an assemblyman in 2023, he claimed that “when the boot of the NYPD is on your neck, it’s been laced by the IDF.” He has also refused to recognize Israel as a Jewish state and has said he would arrest the Israeli prime minister on his next visit to New York.
Election results by district showed Hasidic neighborhoods like Borough Park and Crown Heights voting overwhelmingly for former Gov. Andrew Cuomo, at 88% and 75% respectively. Israeli immigrants in the city say they are especially alert following the release of a Democratic Socialists of America wish list tied to Mamdani’s incoming administration, which critics call strongly anti-Israel and antisemitic.
“We are Jewish and we will protect ourselves — even if the mayor despises us,” said an Israeli-born mother of four who applied for a gun license the morning after the election. “We want a say in our own protection and not have to rely on others.”
About Post Author
