The issue of morality comes up over and over in the Israel/Palestine conflict. In particular, Diaspora and Israelis Jews tend to argue that the Israeli army is “the most moral army in the world.” By contrast, the Palestinians are considered by these same people to be the moral equivalent of Hitler. Even those who distinguish between the Palestinian people and their leadership, still for the most part argue that the Palestinian people are morally inferior and deserve their fate.
I have already written a couple pieces (here and here) about “moral equivalence.” But Neve Gordon goes a bit deeper in this article by focusing on the issue of moral relativism.
“The chain of events since the outbreak of the second intifada suggests that the IDF has employed more and more force against a primarily civilian population, and that every action is justified by comparing it to more brutal actions the IDF could, theoretically, have carried out.”
“In the absence of a universal moral approachwhereby there are things that one simply does not doone is left with a tribal or relativistic worldview. Here the right to human dignity is contingent on national, ethnic or religious affiliation.”
Tags: War Crimes