[For a more general discussion of this issue, see this feature article].
Israelis and many diaspora Jews, often justify the most brutal actions of the Israeli government and army by pointing to the suicide bombings perpetrated by Palestinian terrorists. The latter are used to justify the most heinous acts on the part of Israel. There is no “moral equivalence” between acts of violence by the Israelis and those of Hamas, the argument goes. The former are acts done in moral purity by the “most moral army in the world.” The latter are acts of brutal revenge by blood thirsty terrorists. Unfortunately, the reality on the ground is quite different than the high minded arguments, which seem to be conducted in some remote and heavenly universe, far away from the earthly Israel and Palestine.
First, the dry facts:
Last night, a crowded city block in Gaza was wiped out and at least 145 Palestinians were hurt in an overnight strike by an Israeli F-16 fighter jet. Nine children aged between two months and 13 years were among the 13 bystanders killed in the strike, which took place shortly after midnight.
The IDF Spokesman’s Office released a statement Tuesday saying it “grieved over the killing of civilians in the assassination of Salah Shehada,” the military chief of Hamas in the Gaza Strip.
According to Shifa Hospital reports, at least 15 Palestinians were killed in the strike, including Shehada’s wife and three children, and his bodyguard Zaher Nasser. Doctors said more than 100 people were wounded.
The hospital list of the dead included two babies, ages 18 and 2 months, five children aged 3-5, an 11-year-old and three adults. Palestinians said a ninth child and two more adults were among the dead.
One can almost imagine from the IDF spokesman’s statement, the heads of the Israeli army, ripping their shirts and sitting on benches crying, in the traditional act of Jewish mourning. Almost. However, if one looks at pictures of Sharon and Mofaz after similar such events in the past, you always see them wearing a huge grin. “One point for our side” is a far more honest appraisal of their feelings on these occassions.
Perhaps you might say I am being too cynical. So let’s return to a cold and detached analysis of this event, like so many others before it.
First, one key argument that Israel apologists always gives in these cases, is that Israel, unlike the Hamas does not directly target civilians. Civilian deaths are a by-product of legitimate military actions. Here are some quotes from Israeli spokespeople:
“The IDF is sorry for any harm that befalls innocent people. Regretfully, this is what can happen when a terrorist uses civilians as a human shield and their homes for places of refuge,” the statement said.
The statement added that Tuesday’s operation was aimed only at Shehada, who “has been involved in terror for many years,” and that there was no intention to hurt his family.
Foreign ministry official Gideon Meir said the attack was a “strike against a known terrorist who is responsible for hundreds of attacks on Israeli civilians in recent years.” He expressed regret for the loss of life. “To our great sorrow, in these operations, sometimes, and in military operations, civilians are also killed,” he said.
One is left almost speechless by the hypocrisy of the Israeli spokespeople. Even if one can accept the moral justification for “collateral damage” under certain circumstances, when one drops a bomb from an F-16 onto a residential housing complex, one can’t claim that the civilian deaths weren’t intentional. Those who ordered the bombing knew without a doubt in this case, that Shehada’s family and many other civilians would be killed or wounded. They may have felt morally justified in killing them as well, but they can’t use “lack of intention” as justification. Moreover, to say that Shehada’s spending time with his family is a cynical use of them as a “human shield” is absurd. This is his home, not some strangers he has abducted to protect himself.
Lest these points be taking as the unrepentant moralizing of an unabashed “leftist,” here is a the Bush administration’s response to these events:
White House spokesman Ari Fleischer said “the United States regretted the loss of innocent lives and Washington’s message of displeasure would be conveyed to the Israeli government.” The United States opposes Israel’s policy of targeted assassinations.
“The president’s concern here is there is loss of innocent lives. The president has been and will continue to be the first to defend Israel. In this case the president sees it differently,” the White House spokesman said.
“This was a deliberate attack on this site, knowing that innocents would be lost as a consequence of this attack,” he said.
So having eliminated the argument of lack of intention, one must ask, what moral justification can there be for intentionally killing innocent civilians, particularly 9 very young children? One argument always put forth is that killing arch terrorists like Shehada prevents future deaths, both by serving as a deterent to other would be terrorists and by eliminating leadership in terrorist organizations. Of course, experience has shown quite the opposite. In fact, targeted assassinations have always spurred Palestinian resistance groups into action. this chart from the NY Times clearly shows that the more vigorously Israel pursued its policies of targeted assassinations, the more Israelis were killed in suicide attacks.
Again, please don’t take my word for this. Here is a quote from an Israeli military spokesperson:
Israeli military sources estimated Tuesday that Hamas would make “every effort” to hit back as quickly and as hard as possible in an attempt to exact revenge for Shehada’s assassination.
Hence the Israeli decision makers who ordered this bombing not only knew that this act would not save lives, but would in fact lead to the death of more Israelis.
The only possible explanation left for this bombing, is to say it is an act of retribution against a criminal. In more direct terms, civilians were directly targeted for death as part of an act of revenge on the part of the Israeli government. This is exactly the justification Hamas et al use for their military actions against Israeli civilians. They say the adults killed in their activities are people who perpetrate the murderous occupation against the Palestinians. They say these Israelis deserve to die just like Shehada. If innocent dies as well, its just collateral damage. In essence we have reached moral equivalency. Those who care about the value of human life must clearly condemn the murderous violence on both sides, equally. Those who justify one side are also justifying the other.
More cynical analysts will also point out the following. Over the past few weeks there has been a period of relative calm and diplomatic activity. Intense pressures were being brought to bear on the Israeli government to ease up on its imprisonment of nearly a million Palestinian civilians. From the point of view of Sharon and the IDF, such quiet is intolerable. Moreover, the IDF has not yet had its opportunity to do in Gaza what it is doing in the West Bank. What better way is there to heat things up again, than to assassinate a Hamas leader and in the process kill his family and many other innocents?
[For a follow-up to this article see this article.]
Tags: Feature, Hamas, Hypocrisy, Israeli Army, Moral Equivalence, Shehada, War Crimes