Tuesday, July 15, 2014

A LITTLE MORAL CLARITY, PLEASE


It was the last day of June of this year when our hearts were broken.  We finally found Naftali, Gilad, and Eyal.  Their bodies were desecrated, violated, ripped away from their parents, their siblings, their community, and from us.
Why?  What was the point?  What was the objective?

There was no military advantage in killing them.  There was no political gain in murdering them.  There was no territorial advance in snuffing out their young lives.  It was pointless violence.

Bibi was right in questioning what manner of human being does such a thing.  And his answer was that no human being would do such a thing.  An animal—yes.  But a human being, no.  What manner of human being launches  hundreds of rockets aimed at civilian targets with the intent of killing as many people as possible?  No human being would do such a thing.  Animals—yes.  Not a human being.

We, as Jews, have our own problem with those who would act violently.  But when our own acts violently and sins, we arrest them, we try them, we convict them because they are a bushah, an embarrassment to us and to everything we hold dear.  We do not celebrate the deaths of the innocent, we do not sing songs of triumph to Allah when the innocent are murdered, we do not hand out candy upon hearing news of bloodshed.  What manner of human being does that?  No human being would do that.  An animal—maybe.

We have been bombarded for years already with all sorts of reasons why Israel is the culprit in this continuing conflict.  And actually, because we are decent human beings, and because we believe in justice, and because we cherish western liberal values that embrace the importance of each human being, we take those criticisms seriously.

But the time has come for moral clarity.  The IDF has scored 1800 hits, that have resulted in 170 deaths. The ratio between deadly fire and actual deaths is probably the lowest in the annals of warfare because of the humanity of the IDF and the fact that its strikes are targeted.  The Israelis give warning to those within the buildings, the homes, but Hamas encourages people to stay, populate the roof top, act as a shield.  What manner of human being asks another human to be a shield for a bomb?  No human being would do that.  In this case, not even an animal would do that. 

The media keeps reminding us, forever pointing its own bloody finger at Israel, that innocent lives have been lost.  And innocent lives have been lost.  That’s what happens in war.  All war.  It doesn’t matter which war.  It happens in all war.  That’s why there’s  great benefit in solving a problem diplomatically.  But the fact of the matter is that as far as Hamas is concerned the problem is not one of settling borders.  It’s one of the Jews having moved into the wrong neighborhood.  And until the Jews leave, the neighborhood will see no peace.

Guess what…  the Jews are not leaving the neighborhood.  We will not practice restraint when our children are murdered or rockets fall on our cities.  We will not practice restraint because under those conditions, no decent government  committed to protecting its people would practice restraint.  Now is the time for moral clarity.  And if few others in this world have the guts to stand up and tell the Palestinians that their leadership has failed them miserably, and that their military strategy is immoral and unethical and irreligious, and an abomination to all civilized people wherever they may be, then thank God for Israel who will.  This is no time for equivocation.   This is a time only for moral clarity.