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Stop Palestinians from being Killed or Injured by (Connecticut-based) Sturm Ruger Guns Sold to Israel

November 7, 2021

Nov. 7 2021 Hagar Shezaf in the Israeli paper Haaretz wrote, "Eight Palestinians in the West Bank have been killed so far this year by the Ruger rifle, a semi-automatic weapon regularly used as a crowd-dispersal tool by the Israeli army, in an increase from a single death last year, according to Defense Ministry statistics."

The article notes that the Defense Ministry numbers don’t include any Palestinians killed by the Border Police, or any killed in the Gaza Strip,

for the full article (behind a paywall) click here.

In our list of victims we have found accounts for seven killings.

So should we update our numbers to say that at least 33 Palestinians have been killed by live .22 Ruger bullets in the last decade?

We are thinking that we should perhaps consider all killings by rifle fire to have been committed by Rugers unless told different.

Ruger Guns are killing and maiming Palestinians

RUGER IS MAKING A KILLING

The picture to the right is of a Palestinian named Sabaa Obeid, a 22-year-old from a West Bank town named Salfit. He was shot to death in 2017 at a demonstration in Nabi Saleh with a .22 bullet that came from a Ruger rifle. The Ruger was bought by Israel from the Sturm Ruger corporation out of the billions in military aid American taxpayers give each year to Israel.

Ali Abu Alia was killed by Israeli snipers on his 15th birthday December 6, 2020 in al-Mughayyir, a village north of Ramallah. He was also killed by a Ruger rifle. The Jerusalem Post wrote that the mayor of the village of al-Mughayyir said the youth was shot from close range. The Palestinian Health Ministry said that a "live bullet" had been used (as opposed to a rubber coated metal bullet). An IDF spokesman told the Post that "The IDF has rejected a charge that 'live ammunition' was used, explaining that soldiers and border police at the scene responded with riot dispersal means that includes the use of less lethal 'Ruger' bullets."

These are just two of those killed or injured. The IDF lives in a brutal fantasy world where .22 caliber metal bullets can be used for "crowd control". In the early 2000's this Ruger "fan site" said the Israeli Judge Advocate General ruled that the Ruger carried by Israeli armed forces was a "lethal weapon". 22 caliber bullets can travel 500 feet per second even after traveling the distance of 4 football fields.

The company headquarters of Sturm Ruger is in Southport (Fairfield) Connecticut. Ruger is currently America's largest firearm manufacturer. It recently bought the Marlin division of the old Remington Arms company.

In June of 2020 the Israeli paper Haaretz had a piece where it interviewed Israeli snipers. They bragged about their output in shooting demonstrators. The headline? "42 Knees in One Day". In a discussion of the precision of sniper rifles it is explained how Ruger rifles are used. A sniper (no longer on active duty) named Shomi tells Haaretz, "the Ruger [a type of rifle used mainly at demonstrations] is intended for use at 100, 150 meters. From that distance, you see the leg even with the eye, and with a telescopic lens that enlarges to the power of 10, you can actually see the tendons.” Note that the distance being mentioned is greater than a football field, far far longer than anyone can throw a stone. Please take a look at the Haaretz article. One of the illustrations is of a Palestinian with a leg amputated from the knee down.

Sturm Ruger is a very successful company. We have no idea how many weapons it's selling to Israel, but it's no doubt making lots of money. That's why we entitled this section "Ruger is Making a Killing" and suggest it be used in memes.

So what can be done? Some ideas below.

The Protest in 2018

After the Great March of Return started in Gaza in 2018 many people were horrified at the great number of Palestinians shot and looked into who was making the weapons. CT's Middle East Crisis Committee felt it had a special responsibility to take action. It wrote to the company, to politicians, the media and staged a demonstration on a very hot June day. Here are some details:

Letters to Sturm Ruger CEO in 2018

MECC Executive Director Stanley Heller's op-ed in the New Haven Register June 2018,

MECC Calls for a Congressional Investigation

June 2018 "The Walk of Protest" to Ruger Headquarters

Unfortunately this had no effect on the company. An unofficial spokesperson told us the day of the June 2018 demonstration that Ruger obeys all laws and State Department directives and would likely not respond formally to our questions or protests. It never did.

# of victims As low as 200, As many as tens of thousands

Some of the Victims

Emad Ali Dweikat on August 6, 2021 during a protest march near Beita

On May 14, 2021 a 15 year-old was wounded in Lod. "Police say he was hit in the legs and lightly wounded. Police use a 22-caliber Ruger sniper rifle." Source

One victim was an Israeli Jew. He was a soldier shot dead by accident on February 27, 2021 by an IDF commander. His name was Yonatan Granot. Note the article in the Times of Israel says, "Granot was struck by a .22-caliber round for a Ruger rifle, a type of munition normally used for riot dispersal" Source

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Ali Abu Alia of al-Mughayyir was shot dead on the day of his 15th birthday on Dec. 4, 2020

Source

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Haaretz senior journalist Amira Hass writes 12/7/2020, "the two-two [nickname for the Ruger that fires .22 bullets] is an integral part of the methods for suppressing Palestinian demonstrations. And in the name of women’s liberation and equality, more Israeli women are eager to participate." Earlier in the article she wrote, "Suddenly a single shot was heard. In the video, one of the young men who was waving a slingshot is seen bending over suddenly and grabbing his shin. The bullet had hit him." Source

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For the full list of over 200 victims we've been able to find with simple google searches

click here. We include the name of the victim wherever possible. We also include the source of the information, mostly Israeli.

Ruger Guns are killing and maiming Palestinians

What can Be Done?

As you see from 2018 appeals to the company are useless. They just don't seem to care

1. Pressure from the city of Fairfield. Campaigns to get the Board of Selectmen to take action.

2. Memes and social media campaigns. Lots and lots of bad publicity.

3. Appeals to the United Nations since Ruger may be taking part in crimes against humanity

4. Stockholder resolutions.

5. Getting Congress to take action

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November 26, 2021

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"We Call for State and Congressional Investigations into the Sturm Ruger Company"

November 7, 2021

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