A believing Jew never lives at the mercy of any gentile.

He lives at the mercy of Hashem. If he finds himself in the hands of gentiles it is due to the fact that he sinned and Hashem sent him to exile to learn a lesson. It is not the IDF that keeps us safe. Hashem keeps us safe. Have you ever noticed that Israel has never fought a war against an enemy that was bigger than its own defense forces? Hashem made it so. No disrespect to the IDF but I don't think they'd stand a chance against Russia or China or the USA. They might even lose to Turkey. Hashem keeps us safe. Saying that we can keep our selves safe with guns is heresy, just another form of secular materialism, a faith in technology and physical power.