Is this how religion makes people more moral?
If it is, I'll stick to atheistic amorality.
Eliyahu advocates carpet bombing Gaza
Obviously, he and I operate with two very different sets of morality. In mine, murder is wrong, in his, it's okay. Obviously, he must be right though, since his morality is based upon religion.
I could swear that the Bible contained something about "an eye for an eye", not "an city for a person". And "an eye for an eye" is considered a horrible principle among civilized people, since it will only keep the perpetual circle of violence going.
Let's not mince words - what Eliyahu is advocating is genocide, pure and simple. Jews, of all people, should oppose this, yet here we have the former chief rabbi of Israel calling for that very thing.
To call for such a thing is illegal according to international law, though it is only prosecuted if it actually leads to genocide. Let's hope that this never have to be prosecuted.
Eliyahu advocates carpet bombing Gaza
All civilians living in Gaza are collectively guilty for Kassam attacks on Sderot, former Sephardi chief rabbi Mordechai Eliyahu has written in a letter to Prime Minister Ehud Olmert.
Eliyahu ruled that there was absolutely no moral prohibition against the indiscriminate killing of civilians during a potential massive military offensive on Gaza aimed at stopping the rocket launchings.
Obviously, he and I operate with two very different sets of morality. In mine, murder is wrong, in his, it's okay. Obviously, he must be right though, since his morality is based upon religion.
According to Jewish war ethics, wrote Eliyahu, an entire city holds collective responsibility for the immoral behavior of individuals. In Gaza, the entire populace is responsible because they do nothing to stop the firing of Kassam rockets.
The former chief rabbi also said it was forbidden to risk the lives of Jews in Sderot or the lives of IDF soldiers for fear of injuring or killing Palestinian noncombatants living in Gaza.
I could swear that the Bible contained something about "an eye for an eye", not "an city for a person". And "an eye for an eye" is considered a horrible principle among civilized people, since it will only keep the perpetual circle of violence going.
"If they don't stop after we kill 100, then we must kill a thousand," said Shmuel Eliyahu [son of Mordechai Eliyahu]. "And if they do not stop after 1,000 then we must kill 10,000. If they still don't stop we must kill 100,000, even a million. Whatever it takes to make them stop."
In the letter, Eliyahu quoted from Psalms. "I will pursue my enemies and apprehend them and I will not desist until I have eradicated them."
Let's not mince words - what Eliyahu is advocating is genocide, pure and simple. Jews, of all people, should oppose this, yet here we have the former chief rabbi of Israel calling for that very thing.
To call for such a thing is illegal according to international law, though it is only prosecuted if it actually leads to genocide. Let's hope that this never have to be prosecuted.
posted by Kristjan Wager at 10:49 AM
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1 Comments:
As beastly as this may seem, such an approach was utilized by the late and unlamented dictator of Syria, Hafaz Assad, in 1982. At that time, Syria was undergoing a series of bombings by Islamic terrorists from the City of Hama. Assad had the city surrounded by several hundred artillery pieces which commenced firing. The assault lasted for two days and an estimated 20,000 people were killed. New York Times reporter Thomas Friedman referred to this incident as Hama Rules. Although rather brutal, this tactic has proved to be very effective as the denizens of Hama, those that are still with us, have not caused any trouble since that time. I suspect that the good Rabbi is probably familiar with this incident and feels that a similar action in the Gaza Strip would prove equally effective.
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