It Is A Question Of Morality

A stranger posted pictures of dead children in Gaza and posted a comment about Zionists being the source of evil in the world.

I looked at the picture and wondered if they were really from Gaza and shook my head because there is something sad about wanting to verify the authenticity of a picture of dead children.

Shook my head because I have spent large amounts of time fighting online on behalf of Israel and the Jewish people because there is a blood libel that is being issued against us there.

Shook my head because part of my fight has been asking why people who readily believe the accounts of women who say they were raped question Jewish women.

Shook my head because what Hamas did has hardened my heart a bit and I am more callous and hard headed about some things.

It feels like I am between a rock and a hard place on some of this because I am certain innocent people are being killed.

There is no doubt in my head that Hamas is ultimately responsible and that they need to be rooted out and the ability to attack severely compromised.

The threat they pose is against my friends and family, it is personal and it is real.

I am furious with Bibi for his role here and when the war is over I want him to be held accountable but we’re not there yet.

It doesn’t require effort for me to feel badly for the innocents on both sides or to believe fighting to protect us is a question of morality.

Wives/Sisters/Aunts/Daughters

I read an article in which a daughter begged her 80 year-old father to stay with her on the phone. He told her about how the terrorists had removed all of the fingers from one of his hands and then died a short time later.

If my father were living he would be 80 now so it is very easy to put myself in that position. It is just one of many stories that I have read or heard about.

I keep thinking about the reports of the female hostages that have been released and how many of them were sexually assaulted.

It reminds me of the female tankists who took on the terrorists and who in addition to using guns and shells disposed of terrorists by running them down.

And when I think about it I am glad they did what they did while part of me asks if I ought to celebrate that. But then again the women in my life all know that if they were threatened I would throw the guy in front of a bus if that’s what it took.

One of my earliest memories is my father telling me that I was obligated to take care of my mother and my sisters and it is one of my last.

It is imprinted upon me.

So these reports from the hostages would be upsetting on their own but add my father’s voice to it and there is even more weight.

When I look at the barbarism of Hamas on every level I end up at the same place where if they force it to be us or them then it is going to be us.

Still I am reminded of the midrash about what G-d said when the angels prepared to sing while the Egyptians drowned in the Red Sea after the Israelites had passed through it.

It is said they were shamed into not singing while his creations were drowning. Regardless of whether one is religious or not there is merit in considering such a thing.

Because even though I believe self defense is a question of morality there needs to be some kind of demarcation here about lines we do not cross.

We need to do the best we can to limit the number of civilian casualties understanding there is no way for there to be none.

War is inherently immoral but if you are going to fight you fight to win and you understand that sometimes war is the tool required to bring back diplomacy.

Shades Of Gray

I have had several conversations with my kids about the war, antisemitism and how many shades of gray there are in life.

It is not always easy and there are things we may choose to do that are not going to be considered socially acceptable and sometimes that is ok.

Social acceptance doesn’t always define what is or isn’t moral or ethical. There are things that may go against the grain in some places that might not be problematic with others.

You have to handle and manage them as you go along and sometimes that is not something you can speak about until you are in it.

And that is ok too, can’t be prepared for everything. There are some surprises that come along the way and how you choose to handle or not handle those may be different depending on age, time and place.