Jews with guns is not necessarily an oxymoron.

Certainly not in Israel, where the sight of firearms is commonplace. In contrast, gun ownership among American Jews is far rarer, although just how rare is unknown. Reliable statistics on this phenomenon may be nonexistent.

The organization Jews for the Preservation of Firearms Ownership, which claims about 5,000 dues-paying members, was unable to hazard an educated guess.

"I know of no study that has even asked that question," added longtime Jewish demographer Ira Sheskin, a professor at the University of Miami. "It's definitely lower than in the general population, but I suspect that it's more than minuscule."

Those who occupy the cramped statistical territory between zero and scant include Ed Shnekendorf of Falls Church, Jack Leeb and Scott Schlesinger of Silver Spring (and Schlesinger's wife, Anne), Steve Pomerantz of Annandale and Jerry Sussman of Alexandria.

Unlike the vast majority of American Jews, they own guns, and were not shy about discussing it in interviews. At the same time, most expressed bafflement, if not annoyance, over long-standing and widespread Jewish opposition to gun ownership -- a position, they said, that sometimes translates into fellow Jews regarding them as members of the lunatic fringe.

"It amazes me," said Pomerantz, a former assistant director of the FBI who has owned guns for decades both as a civilian and in connection with his job. "It's not just the position on guns, but on many things. This unwillingness to defend yourself; this liberalness. It's incredible to me."

Most local Jewish gun owners said they are armed primarily to protect themselves and their families, but several said they also find target practice to be a rewarding hobby. They were variously motivated to possess guns by libertarian, contrarian and iconoclastic impulses, as well as by concerns about government tyranny and anti-Semitism.

Sussman, a 56-year-old federal government employee who has owned guns periodically during the past 30 years, said he was initially drawn to firearms because "they are truly works of great technological genius."

He described himself as a sport-shooting enthusiast, but said he also keeps a gun for less benign reasons, such as personal protection from a government that could go bad or from anti-Semites and other "racist thugs." In fact, Sussman, who reported being victimized over the years in anti-Semitic incidents, said he would "relish" the opportunity to be threatened with "imminent and grievous bodily harm" by an anti-Semite, and "unbeknownst to him, I am carrying a concealed gun." (He said he has the proper permit.)

Although most Jewish gun owners contacted said they support "reasonable" gun control measures, they welcomed the recent U.S. Supreme Court ruling affirming the right of Americans to bear arms, as outlined in the Second Amendment. The high court upheld that right on June 26 when it struck down a Washington, D.C., ordinance that banned private handgun ownership and imposed other restrictions that the justices deemed to be excessive.

"It's about time," said Schlesinger, 51, owner of the Ben Yehuda Cafe and Pizzeria in Silver Spring. He maintained, as did other interviewees, that the ruling makes sense because police protection is largely an illusion. In fact, Schlesinger contended, law enforcement officers are not legally obligated to protect citizens, as evidenced by lawsuits filed by crime victims against allegedly lax police departments that have been decided in favor of the police.

"If we can't necessarily rely on the police to protect us," he continued, "we should be able to rely on ourselves and our own devices. I'm an independent guy, and I'll do just about everything I can to make myself, my family and my business safe."

It's worth noting, however, that the precedent-setting Supreme Court ruling that was lauded by Schlesinger and other gun owners was roundly condemned by several major Jewish organizations that maintained that the decision will increase handgun-related deaths.

According to the National Rifle Association, some 80 million American civilians legally own firearms, representing at least 40 percent of the country's households. But due to political, cultural and demographic factors, Jewish gun owners account for what may be a disproportionately small portion of that universe and a disproportionately large -- or at least especially vocal -- segment of those who favor strong gun regulations or oppose firearm ownership outright, according to observers.

Rates of gun ownership, Sheskin pointed out, are highest among conservatives and those living in rural states. Jews, by contrast, are generally liberal and tend to live in urban areas.

As a result, relatively few Jews grow up with guns -- including those who now own them. That was the case with Leeb, 49, who was raised in Manhattan, an anti-gun stronghold. "Where I grew up, even having this conversation would be a felony," he said with a laugh. "Instinctively, that position didn't make sense to me. As a boy, I was always fascinated with guns."

Leeb, a psychologist, bought his first gun about 25 years ago in Illinois, where he was attending graduate school. He made the purchase, he said, because he had the legal right to do so -- and because it was apparent to him that citizens cannot depend on the police to protect them.

"I'm a do-it-yourselfer," he explained. "My parents are Holocaust survivors, and that did more for me than anything else in this area. Jews need to be able to protect themselves. Why shouldn't we want to protect ourselves?"

Moreover, he added, a careful examination of statistics and other evidence -- seasoned with common sense -- demonstrates that a gun, more often than not, is an effective self-defense tool in the hands of a law-abiding, safety-conscious citizen.

"Bad guys are bullies, and bullies don't like anyone who can fight back," Leeb explained. "Bad guys are cowards. An armed society is a polite society."

That view, however, is not universally held. According to gun control advocates, statistics indicate that handguns are often used in suicides and other incidents that actually decrease home safety.

Leeb said he has never had to use his gun for self-defense, which holds true for all the interviewees except Pomerantz, 65, who was in the Air Force for several years before joining the FBI in 1968. He is now the associate executive director of the District-based Jewish Institute for National Security Affairs.

A New York City native, Pomerantz said he has never used his gun for self-protection as a civilian, but did so when he was in the military. He declined to elaborate, but added: "I've seen people shot. It's a big deal. It shows you that gun ownership is a big responsibility, and you can't take it lightly."

Unlike most other interviewees, Shnekendorf said he was exposed to guns at an early age thanks to his father, a one-time member of the military in the former Soviet Union. He kept a gun in the house, regularly took his son to the firing range and taught him how to clean the weapon and use it safely.

"For me, it was a perfectly normal thing," said Shnekendorf, 34, who had accompanied his family to America when he was 3. "He made me realize that it's not a toy. It's a lethal weapon and it has to be treated as such."

Shnekendorf, who works for a high-tech company in Northern Virginia (he declined to name it), said he acquired his first gun about 10 years ago, shortly after graduating from the University of Maryland at College Park.

"There were no crime issues, and I hadn't been victimized, but I believe in the Second Amendment," he explained. "I'm not a right-winger or anything like that, but I think that it's a good thing, especially for Jews, to own a firearm, given our history and current events. Anti-Semitism certainly hasn't decreased. There have been so many times in our history that Jews had to defend themselves and weren't able to."

Shnekendorf said his wife, who was born and raised in Silver Spring, "accepts" his decision to keep a gun, despite having grown up "in a more stereotypical Jewish home. Guns were not part of her upbringing. She has a different mentality." His wife declined comment.

All told, Jewish gun ownership in the Washington area appears to be a mostly male phenomenon. Interviewees said they were unaware of local women who independently own guns. The wives of gun owners declined comment.

There was, however, one exception -- Anne Schlesinger, 49, who said she owns a Smith & Wesson .357 revolver, and has fired it several times at the shooting range. "I had been scared of guns previously," she said. "But once you learn how to property handle a gun, it isn't such a scary thing. Jews, and all people, should be allowed to protect themselves. We saw what happened when the guns were seized in Germany."