The Monsey machete attack has fueled a dramatic rise in the number of people seeking to own handguns in Rockland, with most coming from the community where the violence occurred.

Since the Dec. 28 attack on a rabbi's home, 73 pistol permit applications were filed with the Rockland County Clerk's Office as of Jan 10. Sixty-eight were filed by people living in the Town of Ramapo, including 31 from within the town's hamlet of Monsey.

That's compared with 51 applications filed during the eight weeks prior to the attack, according to County Clerk Paul Piperato.

Piperato has periodically seen spikes in pistol permit applications — usually tied to violence elsewhere in the country or a tightening of local gun laws — but the Monsey attack had driven an increase he said was unprecedented during his 14 years in office.

"It’s definitely because of this incident," Piperato said, referring the attack at Rabbi Chaim Rottenberg's home that left five people injured. "In some way, shape or form, they want to defend themselves."

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But if the prospective owners expect to get their hands on a pistol soon, or be able to take them to synagogue for protection, they're liable to be disappointed.

All of the recent applications are being processed under the "sportsman/residence" permit classification, which allows a permit holder to posses the weapon at home and transport it for recreational purposes, including at a shooting range or for hunting and fishing.

First-time applicants who want a "full carry" permit are advised by the clerk's office to seek sportsman/residence authorization first and later petition the licensing officer — a county court judge — to consider upgrading their status.

The application is just the beginning of a process that takes months. Residents must get fingerprinted by the Rockland County Sheriff's Department, submit to an extensive background check and undergo firearms training before the paperwork goes to the licensing officer, according to Chief William Barbera.

Among the requirements are letters from household members stating that they don't object to the applicant's possessing a pistol, as well as character references.

The sheer number of recent applicants means an even longer wait than usual.

"It's going to delay the process tremendously because everyone has to go through the background check and fingerprinting," Barbera said.

'Carry at synagogue'

A sportsmen/residence permit doesn't go far enough for Cherev Gidon, an academy run by veterans of the Israeli Defense Forces that has provided weapons training in Ramapo's synagogues since the machete attack.

The academy's trainers have been advising Jewish residents to obtain unrestricted pistol permits.

"The goal is to be able to carry at synagogue and not to just possess at home and take to the range," said Yonatan Stern, the academy's director.

Cherev Gidon gave a tactical defense course on Jan. 4 at a Monsey synagogue, where the agency said 40-50 people were instructed about how to defend their synagogue with a firearm against a violent anti-Semitic attack.

"Jews who would never have thought of owning guns before will now be getting further training and buying firearms," reads a statement from the group. "Events like these are very effective at positively changing the image of gun ownership in the Jewish community and getting more and more American Jews armed and ready to defend their communities."

Besides handguns, Cherev Gidon's training has focused on other weapons allowed under New York state law, including semiautomatic rifles like AR-15s with fixed magazines and pump action shotguns.

Buying a rifle is far simpler than getting a pistol permit. Background checks are done through the licensed gun dealer and buyers can sometimes walk out of the store with a weapon the same day.

Rifles can only be taken into a church or synagogue with permission from the religious institution, according to Rockland Sheriff Louis Falco.

'People are very on edge'

It's not only the Monsey machete attack that's behind the renewed interest in weapons ownership, Falco said.

"After that horrific incident, which I responded to myself, a lot of people in Rockland County — not only the Orthodox and ultra-Orthodox community — are concerned," Falco said. "Then we go a little further after the United States takes action against Iran, and other acts of both domestic and foreign terrorism. People are very on edge."

The sheriff said an influx of applications were filed before New York's SAFE Act went into effect in 2013, placing new restrictions on gun ownership and assault weapons.

Falco expressed no concerns about the prospect of more firearms in a community that has felt under siege during a spate of anti-Semitic attacks across the region.

"As long as they're following the law and they're complying with the licensing and eligibility for a pistol permit, and they are passing their background checks, and following the full process, they have the right to possess those arms and to protect their property or go hiking or hunting or target shooting," the sheriff said.

Frank Storch, director of the Chesed Fund Limited and Project Ezra of Greater Baltimore, two safety and security organizations, participated in recent security workshop in Monsey following the machete attack.

Storch said the surge in people seeking gun permits in the aftermath of the Jersey City and Monsey attacks, in addition to the Pittsburgh and Poway synagogue attacks, "is seemingly an instinctive reaction to protect ourselves."

"Armed congregants should be a last resort and only after a security plan is in place and hiring on-duty, off-duty or recently retired law enforcement professionals have been considered," Storch said. "People are vulnerable without firearm protection but people can also be hurt by those people trying to protect them (even qualified and experienced ones) as happens with friendly fire. For those who seek to carry weapons and are legally authorized to do so, proper and significant training and firearm and emergency response experience is essential. We all have to recognize that this is very serious decision with potentially life-threatening consequences and requires thorough consideration."

Twitter: @Bee_bob