Dissident Veteran For Peace: Israeli Rabbis Rule On Second Qana Massacre: No Such Thing as Innocent Enemy Civilians

Dissident Veteran For Peace

"I know of no country in which there is so little independence of mind and real freedom of discussion as in America." —Alexis de Tocquevile. Democracy in America, Book I, Chapter XV.

With a nod to the Most Rev. Dom Helder Camara: When I support Palestinians some call me an 'anti-Semite', when I try to explain why I stand in solidarity with Palestinians they call me a Nazi.

"WAR is a racket. It always has been. It is possibly the oldest, easily the most profitable, surely the most vicious. It is the only one international in scope. It is the only one in which the profits are reckoned in dollars and the losses in lives." —Major General Smedley Butler, USMC (ret.)

"... no one ever seizes power with the intention of relinquishing it. Power is not a means; it is an end." —character of O'Brien in 1984, part 3, ch. 3 by George Orwell.

"Every prophet has realized that nobody loves you for being the enemy of their illusions. Every prophet has realized that most of us want peace at any price as long as the peace is ours and somebody else pays the price. That is why the prophet Jeremiah said, ' "Peace, peace," they say, when there is no peace,' ..." —The Rev. William Sloane Coffin. "Not to Bring Peace, But a Sword."

Wednesday, August 02, 2006

Israeli Rabbis Rule On Second Qana Massacre: No Such Thing as Innocent Enemy Civilians

In response to the international outrage by Israel's second massacre at Qana, Lebanon, some of Israel's spiritual leaders have weighed-in. Below is the text of a July 30th article from the English language, online version of Israel's largest daily circulation newspaper, the Yediot Ahronot:

Yesha Rabbinical Council: During time of war, enemy has no innocents

The Yesha Rabbinical Council announced in response to an IDF attack in Kfar Qanna that "according to Jewish law, during a time of battle and war, there is no such term as 'innocents' of the enemy."

All of the discussions on Christian morality are weakening the spirit of the army and the nation and are costing us in the blood of our soldiers and civilians," the statement said. (Efrat Weiss)

This follows on the heels of a statement reported on July 12th:

(IsraelNN.com) The Yesha Rabbinical Council said Wednesday morning’s attack by Hizbullah on the northern border was a "direct continuation of relinquishing [territory] and weakness," and called on the IDF to ignore Christian morals in the fight to end the terror from the north.

Labels: Israel, Judaism, Lebanon