Israel's Twisted Morality: the Killing of Shireen Abu Akleh
Photo: Al Jazeera
The Israeli investigation into the killing of Palestinian-American journalist Shireen Abu Akleh was finally released, confirming what everyone already knew. She was in all likelihood killed by an Israeli sniper from his armored vehicle who specifically targeted her, shooting about 10 bullets total and wounding another journalist who was with Shireen. But, the report also claimed that this was a case of “mistaken identity” because the soldier thought Shireen was an armed militant who had been shooting at him. The report also stated categorically that no Israeli soldier was going to be disciplined or tried for the murder. “We will not put a soldier on trial in order to get international applause,” the Prime Minister later said.
The US State Department, which had requested an investigation because the victim was an American citizen, was in for another shock. After mildly and almost shyly suggesting that perhaps the Israeli Army should reconsider its rules of engagement and “open fire regulations,” to ensure that such events do not occur in the future, they were treated to a harsh public rebuke: “No one will dictate to us the open fire regulations” said the Israeli Prime Minister. This was followed by another statement that only the IDF will make its own regulations as to when to shoot. “We have a moral duty to fight terrorism, and no one will dictate to us how to do it.”
What intrigued me most about this arrogant response was the use of the concept of morality to justify blatant criminality, violations of the rules of war, of international law, and public opinion. In that twisted morality, Israel had a supreme “moral” duty to fight its enemies and protect the lives of its soldiers and civilians. Any action taken during that fight is by definition a moral action. Palestinian lives do not count for anything in that calculus, and international public opinion matters only in those rare occasions when video documentary evidence that cannot be dismissed goes viral and produces a public relations embarrassment. When this inevitably occurs, the PR machine moves into overdrive:
first, denying the incident altogether, dismissing the Palestinian narrative and witnesses as unreliable,
then, claiming it was Palestinian fire that caused the death,
then, if there is enough pressure, announcing that an investigation is being held,
then, muddying the waters by saying the facts are unclear, and
finally, when all else fails, reluctantly admitting the undisputed facts, but claiming that it was an understandable mistake of stressed out soldiers under attack and fearing for their lives.
Meanwhile, the 80+ Palestinians killed this year alone, including 17 children, have not produced any criminal investigations or indictments. Even the mild American request to reconsider open-fire regulations drew the above mentioned rebuke.
From a moral and ethical point of view, such twisted logic fails on a number of counts. I suspect every army prioritizes the lives of its own soldiers over the lives of its enemies. That is normal. However, the total absence of care or concern for the lives of others cannot be permitted or condoned. At least some value must be placed on the lives of others, especially if they are unarmed civilians. While soldiers have a right to defend themselves, the vast majority of these cases have nothing to do with self-defense. Furthermore, when taking the initiative and entering civilian areas at night, the heavily armed soldiers must take every precaution to avoid civilian casualties. When an army rules over millions of civilians, who are not its citizens, additional duties and burdens must be imposed and cannot be dismissed out of hand. A higher morality may be to follow the Golden Rule and require the more powerful army to give the same care and value for the lives of others that it does for its own soldiers. But, for the time being, this may be perhaps too much to ask.
So, a second layer of moral guidance comes in the form of international law and the rules pertaining to the protection of civilians under the military rule of a country other than their own. These rules have been enshrined in the Fourth Geneva Convention and the Hague Convention, but Israel avoids these rules under a variety of convoluted legal excuses. It claims they do not apply to it because it acquired the territories in a defensive war, or because its Knesset never ratified the Geneva convention it signed, or because there really is no occupation and the territories never belonged to another sovereign country, or other such legally convoluted excuses. Even so, international law does provide some standard for the protection of occupied populations against collective punishment, deportation, arbitrary arrest, and torture. International law (and morality), for example, requires that a wounded combatant must be treated medically and a dead combatant must be treated with dignity. Israel, by contrast, follows a policy of “verifying the kill,” by pumping bodies of wounded Palestinians with bullets, delaying access to ambulances, and withholding the bodies of killed Palestinians.
International law and public morality is based on the concept of universality and the equal application of rules to all. If other countries violate some of these rules, this does not provide an excuse for Israel not to apply them.
At the root of Israel’s policies is a twisted morality that refuses to acknowledge the humanity of Palestinians, much less their equality. It also rejects the requirements of international law and holds that Israel is the only arbiter of right and wrong. It refuses to accept the jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court, refuses to take responsibility for its actions, and allows its soldiers (and Jewish settlers) to act with impunity, facing no consequences when they kill Palestinians. This “morality,” of fighting its enemies, is a twisted morality of privilege, superiority, and impunity.
The next time Israel claims its army is the "most moral army in the world," perhaps we should remember and understand what they mean by that. It has everything to do with the twisted morality of acting in its own interest, with impunity, subject to no universal laws or rules, and it has nothing to do with ethics or morality as understood by the rest of the world.
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September 15
An Unhealed Wound: Sabra-Shatila at 40
Thursday, September 15, 2022 at 6:30 pm
450 K St NW, Washington, DC, 20001
Busboys and Poets
We are pleased to invite you to an important event honoring the tragic massacre of Palestinians and poor Lebanese civilians in Beirut's Sabra and Shatila Refugee camps. The evening will feature testimony from nurse Ellen Siegel who was serving in the hospital adjacent to the camps; a Palestinian survivor of the massacre: Nabil Mohamed, vice president, ADC; and Rev. Don Wagner, who entered the camps a day after the massacre and details his experience in his just released memoir: Glory
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September 21
Bonhoeffer and the Jews
(ICMEP) Dr. Michael Spath interviews Kairos USA Executive Director, Mark Braverman, for what promises to be a fascinating conversation. They’ll be discussing Mark’s recent article, “Theology in the Shadow of the Holocaust: Revisiting Bonhoeffer and the Jews.”
September 24
The Holy Land – What's Next?
FOSNA is incredibly proud to spread the word about this important event, held in honor of our founding Executive Director, Rev. Richard K. Toll. This symposium brings together prominent voices from different religious backgrounds to ask where the struggle to achieve justice and peace in the Israel-Palestine goes from here. Participants include:
Naim Ateek, Founder, Sabeel Ecumenical Liberation Theology Center
Richard K. Toll, Founding Executive Director, Friends of Sabeel North America
Don Wagner, former National Program Director, Friends of Sabeel North America
Jonathan Kuttab, Executive Director, Friends of Sabeel North America
Mark Braverman, Executive Director, Kairos U.S.A.
Alice Rothchild, Jewish writer and social activist for peace
Ranna Harb, Co-Founder, Falastiniyat (Palestinian diaspora collective)
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Christian Support for the State of Israel: Is it Biblical?
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