Storobin Spox: Military Gear, Guns Were For Protection

Steven Stites, a spokesman for Republican State Sen. David Storobin, passed along the following note this morning about this photo of Storobin on the Syrian border, donning Israeli army fatigues and holding an assault rifle.

The ginned-up controversy about the Senator’s photo on the Syrian border is quite amusing, especially to folks who have been to Israel.

As Israelis know all too well, the Syrian border is a hostile area. Visitors there are required to don a uniform and carry a gun. Even members of the Knesset do so. There are snipers on the other side. If they see an unarmed person not in uniform, they may assume it’s a leader of some kind, and that person could be a target.

Pictured on the right is Storobin’s chief of staff, pointing a weapon in the general director of these snipers.

Update:

Azi Paybarah did some debunking of this Storobin press relesase.