The pro-BDS movement infuriates supporters of Israel. On
university campuses, students in search of a cause condescend to Israel,
protesting the lone democracy in the Middle East. They demand moral perfection
from the Jewish State, while ignoring the the actions of ISIS and Assad, and
scapegoat a Western style democracy in order to atone for the colonial sins of
their ancestors. Yes, the involvement of a few Jewish students in anti-Israel
activism seems shocking, but that’s because we underestimate how attractive self-righteousness
can be.
The posturing of privileged college students who have never
taken shelter from a Katuysha or attended the funeral of a terror victim is
both absurd and reprehensible. But in response, we need more than angry
rhetoric, because justifying Israel’s self-defense deserves more than cliches.
Indeed, the question of what is moral during wartime has been debated for
centuries and remains a hot topic of debate in contemporary Israel .
Idealists strive for moral purity, and there is nothing
purer than non-violence. The only way to categorically avoid violence is to
embrace pacifism, to meekly respond to aggression by turning the other cheek.
Remarkably, some groups have been steadfast pacifists; Mennonites have refused
to support the military in any way, and will flee if under attack, refusing to
protect their families and property.
As morally attractive as pacifism may be, it has an enormous
failing: it’s suicidal. If the good do nothing to protect themselves, then evil
will triumph, and as Jews, we know that it’s a failed ideology. In 1938, Mahatma Gandhi wrote the following
to the head of the German Jewish community, Rabbi Leo Baeck: “My advice to
German Jews would be that they commit suicide on a single day, at a single
hour. Then would the conscience of Europe awake.” Baeck gave a blunt response: “We Jews know that the single-most important
commandment of God is to live.” For Jews, pacifism is immoral, because we have
a responsibility to care for our own lives and defend ourselves.
Sadly, some in our community consider the right to self-defense
to be an ethical blank check. They argue that if war is unavoidable, any tactic
should be acceptable. So they encourage soldiers to execute prisoners, and
endorse reprisal killings of Arab civilians. Ignoring morality in the service
of self-defense, these extremists are the malevolent mirror image of pacifists,
distorting the value of self-defense to immoral extremes.
The path Israel has followed is one that undertakes a double
responsibility of war and peace. Israel defends herself vigorously, yet the
importance of human life is never forgotten. This “Just War” doctrine is well
grounded in Jewish sources. For example, Maimonides notes that the army must
open a path for people fleeing a besieged city, because they no longer want to
be combatants and should be allowed to save their lives.
The IDF continues to carry this dual responsibility with
pride. During the 2014 war with Gaza, a member of my synagogue told me how his
grandson, who was in a search and rescue unit, went in to save two young
Palestinian children who were pinned down in a firefight between Hamas and the
IDF. “Jonathan”, an IDF soldier serving
in Gaza at the same time, wrote a letter to Tablet Magazine about feeding animals
in an abandoned house, and dropping off a box of military rations for a hungry
Palestinian teen. These actions are the work of an army that takes seriously
the dual responsibility to protect Israel and pursue peace.
There are different ways to think about war and peace. Some
chant slogans from the safety of a university campus, ready to gamble the lives
of millions with naive schemes. But the young men and women of the IDF face
danger every day as they carry a dual responsibility of protection and peace,
and in doing so, make us proud.
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