Getting Real
By Moshe Katz
CEO
Israeli Krav International

March 28, 2016, Israel

I recently shared an advertisement about some special undergarments for women that are a great deterrent to rape. It is some sort of underpants that are impossible to open by anyone other than the person wearing them. I think it may only be a prototype but I felt it was worth sharing.

Assuming this is all that it is advertised to be it can be a great help in the struggle against rape. The advertisement basically suggests that a woman can be free to dress as she wants and still be protected from a man trying to remove her underpants.

But lets' read between the lines and then address some issues. They say "You can go clubbing" and they show attractive young women dancing provocatively and scantily glad. i.e. you can dress that way, act that way, and get away with it.

They say you can go jogging in the park and not worry. I.e. wearing tiny little shorts and a sexy running outfit.

And yes, we are getting to some controversial areas.

I am not suggesting the ultra liberal point of view that to protect the "rights" of certain religious groups women must cover up from head to toe. No. I am also not taking the ultra conservative point of view that if a woman is raped it is her fault for dressing/acting a certain way and she must cover up to protect the 'natural urges of men'

No, I am not taking either of those points of view, (so please no angry letters to the editor), I am simply looking at it from a totally practical point of view. If you are on a plane do not wear high heel shoes or crocs. Wear something you can run in. This is neither pro high heels or anti, it is simply being practical.

I am not getting involved in the debate of what kind of clothing is suitable for women.

But I would like to address a certain comment made by a dear friend of more than twenty years. She wrote..."How about getting underwear for men saying keep your...in your pants."

Fair enough, I will respond.

Of course I agree and believe that we should raise young men not to rape women. (I hope there was never a question about this). I also believe we should raise all people to be honest, not to cheat in business and not to take what is not theirs. But when my home was broken into and robbed last year, and all the money from my Krav Maga seminars was stolen, I did not respond by going on an education campaign.

Actually, I did, but in the other direction. I tried to educate my community, with little success, about the dangers we face and the actions we must take. We knew where the crime was coming from; Nomadic Arabs. Nonetheless I did not take my friends advice and go teaching these Arabs about the value of hard work and that stealing is bad, no, that is a waste of time. Sadly these people have been stealing since before my great grandparents were born. What I need to focus on is protecting myself.

Recently a friend of mine was robbed in South America. Sadly he was carrying my money, my hard earned money that I was eagerly waiting for. My response is not to go teaching criminals that crime is not nice. No, all we can do is learn how to better protect ourselves.

But does this mean that we have given up on mankind? No, not at all.

So to my dear highly optimistic, or highly cynical friend, allow me this story as an answer. But first this is not about women's' rights, this is not about a woman's right to dress provocatively. This is only about self defense, practical steps that we can take.

Education is a long process, one that we must take but one that we cannot rely upon. Most of us are active in social media in protecting Israel against its many enemies, this does not mean that our military can go home. No, not by a long shot. We must work on both fronts simultaneously.

So here is my story. When I was a young yeshiva student I lived in a very religious neighborhood of Jerusalem. Many of us studied late into the night and often forgot to buy food. We had a local grocery store run by a kind simple and pious Jew named Haim. We all remember him.

Now Haim closed his shop early and went home. He too wanted to pray, study and spend time with his family. But he was concerned about "his boys" as well. So he had an interesting policy. He left the door to his grocery store unlocked.

Yes, and this way a hungry young man could do his shopping whenever he wanted. He could come in, take some bread and cheese or whatever he needed and leave the money on the counter. Sometimes one would take change or leave a little extra. In the morning Haim would come in and put the money in the cash register. Yes, this is all true.

Is this the real life or is this just fantasy?

This is the real life when you educate people correctly, when you raise them the right way. There will be no robberies, or rape, or home break ins. Yes, this utopia did exist.

So yes, dear friend, you can manufacture underpants for men with "How about keeping it in your pants" and I will continue to raise boys to be good men but I will also teach Krav Maga. I will not rely upon the results of education.

I will raise girls to dress sensibly, and for boys and girls to behave the "right way". (Yes, such a thing does exist despite modern "thinking".)

I am not being insensitive to the victims of rape. I am trying to help them. I am not being insensitive to the victims of violent crime, home break ins, frauds and theft. No. I am training to raise awareness.

Super protective underwear is a step in the right direction. I do not get any commission for promoting this product. Education is important and must never stop. But even with all that, education and great underwear we still need Krav Maga.(i.e. a practical martial art)

And I will keep crying out like a voice in the wilderness, like a Hebrew prophet of old, like a Jeremiah, mocked by the people, and I will not stop.

For Krav Maga training you can contact me below (despite the fact that one angry person wrote in recently that I am using scare tactics to "hawk" my products, the world is full of the mentally ill).

Please note that all fields followed by an asterisk must be filled in.

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