A moral theologian talking about the Israel situation, regarding human shields. Is it reasonable to kill the terrorists hiding among a civilian population, if the population will suffer from it? It is at this moment that I like to imagine myself leading a seminar in theological ethics. And using my best Socratic pedagogy, Id present the class with a few scenarios: If a genuine terrorist were in the street, armed and lethal, and hiding behind two innocent civilians, would you consider shooting all three of them in order to save 25 bystanders? Would it be morally justified? I can imagine a long silence while the class anticipates a trap. Some would argue against the triple deaths; others would argue that it is expedient and necessary. I can hear it now: What if the man killed 25 people while you didnt do anything? This is the ticking-time-bomb argument. You are justified in doing anything if it saves the greater number of people. But then Id like to press on: What if our terrorist were holding 15 people hostage and threatening to kill 25 bystanders? Do we kill all of them to save the 25? And on we go. Im pressing the parameters of proportionality (a vital component in any just-war theory). But there is more: What if the terrorist were sleeping in bed with his wife, dreaming about whom he might kill tomorrow, and his 10 children were in his apartment with him? And what if there were 50 innocent neighbors on adjacent floors in his building? This is precisely the scenario that occurred in the Jebaliya refugee camp in northern Gaza on Tuesday evening. We are targeting Hamas militants, Israel argued. But wait. Is it morally acceptable to also kill his 10 family members who do not participate in his work? Are we justified if we demolish his entire building? Two buildings? Six? May we kill 1,200 people in Gaza to protect 50 Israelis? Why not kill 5,000? Why not all of them? I would be interested in comments on the whole article. Jeffs rule of discussions of Israel: if youre not interested in learning as well as pontificating, if youre not open to changing your view, if you engage in comments on other commenters, please dont bother commenting. And if anti-semitism comes up, you had better provided some damn strong evidence for it in the message. Because I will moderate aggressively.
Posted on: Mon, 04 Aug 2014 17:01:54 +0000
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