Rabbi with a Glock: Will Guns & Moses Redefine Jewish Heroes?
Guns & Moses, a thriller releasing July 18, 2025, follows Rabbi Moses Zaltzman, who becomes an armed detective to find the true culprit behind an antisemitic attack on his synagogue. Inspired by real events, the film addresses rising antisemitism and sparks debate with its pro-Second Amendment message.
Set to hit theaters on July 18, 2025, the neo-Western thriller Guns & Moses casts a Hasidic rabbi as an unlikely hero confronting America’s rising tide of antisemitism. Directed by Salvador Litvak, the film stars Mark Feuerstein as Rabbi Moses Zaltzman, a beloved Chabad leader in a quiet California desert town. The story, inspired by the 2019 Chabad of Poway synagogue shooting that killed one and injured three, begins when a sniper attacks a gala honoring solar entrepreneur Alan Rosner (Dermot Mulroney), shattering the community. Police swiftly arrest a young white nationalist, Clay Gibbons (Jackson A. Dunn), known for prior threats, but Rabbi Mo, convinced of the teen’s innocence, takes up the role of detective, and eventually a gun, to uncover the truth.
As bodies pile up, Rabbi Mo investigates suspects including Mayor Donovan Kirk (Neal McDonough), Rosner’s enigmatic Israeli wife, Liat (Mercedes Mason), and a disgraced scientist, Sid Barofsky (Paulo Costanzo), ruined by Rosner’s success. The film, also featuring Christopher Lloyd as a Holocaust survivor and Alona Tal as Mo’s wife, explores themes of faith, justice, and self-defense. Litvak, who co-wrote the script with Nina Davidovich Litvak, stated, “This film is more than a story, it’s a conversation we need to be having. Every moment on set carried the weight of real lives at stake. Jews are under attack. When we say ‘never again,’ it means we need to step up and defend ourselves. And thank G-d we have allies in this fight.” He added, “Moving toward release, we’re not just sharing a movie, we’re inviting audiences into a movement for security, partnership and responsibility around firearms.”
Premiering at the 2024 Los Angeles Jewish Film Festival, Guns & Moses has sparked debate for its pro-Second Amendment stance and unflinching portrayal of antisemitism, with X posts praising its “badass Jewish hero” while critics note its potential to inflame tensions amid the Israel-Hamas conflict. Filmed in Santa Clarita, California, in late 2022, the movie blends noir suspense with a timely narrative, emphasizing resilience against hate.