This is not to say that Jews should abandon ethics. On the contrary. But when one distorts “trying to be good” into a narcissistic pathology, one is in fact no longer being ethical.
There are truths here but this essay is way overwrought. I dislike your inclusion of Anne Frank as an example. This was a 15 year old girl dealing with an ordeal few of us can imagine. Your saying she has a "form of madness" is inappropriate and unfair. Additionally much of what you describe as Jewish over reliance on "ethics" is in fact moral relativism that is endemic to modern left wing thought. While it is true that most American Jews are left of center, this mindset is not "Jewish". It is leftist. It is the leftists who look at the Palestinians as righteous victims. Some of those leftists are Jews. And finally your examples of Israel being fooled by the Palestinians is unfair. It has now been a quarter century since the Israeli left which held this view has had political power. Israelis have learned their lesson. You are right to criticize this general mindset but wrong to refer to it as Jewish. And incidentally, Hillel did not say "Love your neighbor as yourself." He said "Do not do to your neighbor that which is hateful to you." A very different thing.
I disagree. It was Russian Jewish immigrants who started the labor union movement in America in the late 19th century, which was born of communism/leftism. And it is Jews who lead and have led many leftist groups here (See Randi Weingarten of the teacher’s union). And even when their fellow leftists turn on them like they did after Oct. 7th, they remain leftist- protesting ICE (like Gov. Pritzker, among others), hating Trump, voting Democrat (including for Mamdani) despite that party’s pandering to and being Israel/Jew-hating Islamists. And no, I don’t think the leftists in Israel have learned their lesson even now. The same leftist Netanyahu haters who blocked major roads before Oct. 7th over the judicial reform issue also held major protests over the 10/7 hostages. Their insistence that they be returned at any cost was destructive, tying the hands of Israel’s leaders and mortgaging the future of the entire nation. It’s been hard to watch.
No…the author is absolutely right. He has hit on something major.
. First of all you cannot compare the 30's and 40's to now. Not at all. An entirely different time. More imprtantly you are making my point. The author claims it is aspects of Judaism that causes Jews to act foolishly against their own safety and interests. I made the point that it is leftism that acts against safety and interest and many of the Jews he is referring to follow leftism not Judaism. Regarding Israel, as I stated, the left doesn't exist politically. Plenty of people hate Netanyahu and they aren't on the left and have their reasons which as an American, I do not feel I can condemn. The protesters in Israel are noisy but minor. A full consensus of the Israeli public will never agree to a Palestinian State at this point. Leftists never learn their lesson. But few in Israel are actually leftists.
Judaism --> makes you want to be good --> (sometimes) makes you want to be TOO good --> pathology of vulnerability.
Yes, the pathology can take the form of progressive leftism, in the modern world.
But there was no progressive leftism in the ancient world, when the Jews believed the lies of Antiochus Epiphanes after he had already murdered many Jews.
The pathology is not ethical, and it is inconsistent with the conclusions of the greatest rabbis. So, the orientation produced by Judaism, because it makes us want to be good, can, if we are not careful, led us into unethical abasement. But Judaism as such--the greatest arguments and conclusions of the greatest rabbis--does not applaud this. To the contrary.
Every kid on the block knows if you can't defend yourself or even put up a good fight, you will be picked on by everyone every day. Jews, law abiding, model citizens must learn to defend themselves. NOW!
Reform does the value signalling of "ethics" and hypocrisy of ethics the best. Today there was a concert by a rabbi in my city who also is an entertainer, and sang a Hannukah song which he and the audience were suitably shocked by. In the third verse, by a well known Reform song writer who has since passed, starts on how awful homelessness is, and lists all the other ills of the world. Bizarrely, she ends the song with another happy stanza for Hannukah. The Tikkun Olam social activist sect illustrates perfectly the narcissistic pathology that brainwashed their youth for years, and after Oct. 7 discovered their kids who grew up hearing the demonization of Israel now were Hamas atrocity lovers, keffiyeh wearers and the thugs who went on Jew hunts for Jewish students and academics who were not like minded like these Hamas wannabes. robots. This demonization by Reform was mostly due to the refusal by Israel to have women mix with men in the main area of the Kotel and women to read from the Torah, since feminism evidently is the most important value in Judaism according to Reform it appears. When Progressive Jews have been screaming that Israel should not be killing in Gaza and should lay down their arms and thus allow Israelis to be butchered and Israel destroyed because it is not ethical to kill civilians by accident when Hamas deliberately hides among them, that is narcissistic pathology. Would they themselves, living in a bubble wrapped paradise of the US allow themselves to be killed including their children because ethically they believe one must not kill even if enemies are trying to kill them?
The Torah specifically tells us to defend Am Yisrael, no matter what.
I do not usually last all the way through such a long essay, but this one captured what I now, since October 7, consider to be truth. Only your final sentence perplexes me. After the preceding paragraph, it seems to float off into a positive direction, but without a sense of a complete thought. I love how you made your concepts understandable to the rest of us. Bravo!
Yes, my final sentence perplexes you because my essay was edited without my permission.
The original essay ended as follows:
"It is unethical to let your enemy kill you. Unconditional blind trust is therefore unethical, for it gives too great an advantage to your enemy. And a narcissistic belief in the transformative power of your own goodness makes you maximally vulnerable—hence, it is maximally unethical.
So…
Khesed (goodness), yes. Innocence, no. And narcissism, even less.
For the good of the Jews—and for all of us in the West."
My ending makes sense. The edited ending does not. That is why you are perplexed.
You may read my original essay, without editing, here:
Excellent post, although a couple of the comments here illustrate your point too well. Even in the Modern Orthodox world, to which I belong, probably the most Zionist diaspora demographic, there are people who insist on saying in every discussion how much they empathise with "innocent Palestinians" and to argue that Israel should do things not required by either international law or Jewish law because of "Jewish ethics" and human beings being made in God's image, which (according to them) seems to mean that Israel can't defend itself if even one "innocent Palestinian" might be inadvertently killed, even indirectly. This is total nonsense, but they defend it.
Yes, that observation is on point. I agree with you that what you are pointing out is further evidence of the pathology.
OF COURSE it is ethical to try to avoid casualties, whenever possible, among the Arab Palestinian population. But if Hamas uses them as cannon fodder and human shields, when they die it is the fault OF HAMAS, not of Israel. It is Hamas who killed them. And Israel cannot be held responsible. Neither should Israel cease to defend itself, because the primary obligation of the Jewish State is to protect the Israelis, not the enemy population.
ETHICS is an ordered system. You must first comply with your primary obligation. And your primary obligation is always, first, to yourself, your family, and your people.
Such serendipity you were talking about self defense and ran across this New York Post story about how a quick thinking Jewish man saved his life through martial arts training. It can be effective when there is a knife maybe not so much a gun or assault rifle. World wide martial arts classes for Jewish people. So glad that you wrote this. It is good to have self defense. And if you are morally good better to have martial arts training backup. Martial arts in its purest form is sufficient self-defense never offensive aggressive combat.
Sure, and if twenty are there trying to kill you, how will that help? The point is Jews need to forget the "shush, shush, don't make waves, or they will hate us" that our unelected leaders keep warning us. They already hate us, so give back exactly the same as what they are doing to us. Be aggressive to leaders, the media, and every organization that is Jew hating. Sue the pants off every individual who attacks a Jew and every entity that allows open Jew hatred and violence. Set up trained Jewish security people in Jewish neighbourhoods, and do not at all count on the police as in most of the Diaspora they act as the bodyguards of the jihadists, and not Jews and use their police intelligence to aid the thugs who go after us. Jews must learn to be like Israelis and not rely on others to save us because they won't.
Totally agree. Twenty people on one, you're right. But there have to be lookouts. If anyone sees twenty, muster up thirty or forty. But this Brooklyn Jewish guy saved himself. And I think he agrees with you in terms of fight no flight and total self-sufficiency. I think all the antisemitic cells of killer destroyers have to be infiltrated and shut down. Also appropriate their communication systems and destroy their computer networks. Do like the Israelis do. Total resistance will shut down all but the toughest of the most theologically woke, far left, antisemitic brainwashed.
What Israel needs to do is destroy the people who wish to commit genocide against the Israeli Jews. There is no specific number. Only what is necessary--and ETHICAL--to protect the Jews.
Hamas, Hezbollah, etc. have zero right to exist. Just like the Nazis had zero right to exist. Those who wish to exterminate another people have zero right to exist. There is no right to exterminate another people. Such monsters must be destroyed. This is ethical.
If such monsters are not destroyed, a life of peace and brotherhood becomes impossible. To tolerate them is to ally with them.
This is not an argument for killing people, or for killing a specific number of people. It is an argument for defending the Jews. When others wish to kill the Jews, the Jews MUST defend themselves. If this requires violence, so be it. Nobody has a right to kill Jews. If they come for the Jews, they should get what's coming to them.
Yes, it's a serious question. The view that Israel is too moral is a minority view around the world based on the number of civilians it has killed in Gaza. Most people think it is not moral enough. You take the opposite view that it is too moral, that is to say it has not killed enough. You cannot appeal here to common sense, since yours is a minority opinion, nor to psycho-analysis of Jews, since most gentiles disagree with you. You therefore have to explicitly articulate your definitions if they mean anything. So how many dead people in Gaza would be enough where you would say Israel is exactly as moral as it should be?
Or to put it more simply, I perfectly well understand that in principle a country might be too reticent to cause harm to others. I am asking how to apply this principle in practice. When will we know that Israel is sufficiently willing to cause harm?
It is not a question of being "sufficiently willing to cause harm". In my view you are not conceptualizing this in the right way.
It is a question of understanding what it means to defend yourself. If you can defend yourself without causing harm, fine.
But if a group is trying to exterminate you, then you have to destroy it. Especially if that group is on your border or, worse, WITHIN your borders.
Israel can stop defending itself with violence when it has achieved the result that the Israeli Jews are secure.
So what would that be?
It would be this: the TOTAL destruction of the people running Hamas, Hezbollah, PLO/Fatah, ISIS, and Iran. It would mean the liberation of Lebanon, Syria, the Sinai, and Iran, to give Israel secure borders. And it would mean achieving vast military superiority over any actors still entertaining any thoughts about attacking Israel.
So long as there is a real danger that the Israeli Jews could be exterminated, Israel must not stop.
This should be obvious to anyone who believes that the Jews, who in general wish nothing but good things for others, should be preserved, whereas those who wish to exterminate the Jews have zero right to exist.
Have you considered that the reason your position that Israel is insufficiently belligerent is not shared by 95% of the world's population is because it is detached from reality?
Your point begs the question: Do you wish to see more Israelis killed in this multi-front war? You must realize that but for the defenses built by Israel over many years of war, the thousands of missiles fired upon Israel by Iran, Yemen, hezbollah, and hamas, would have killed hundreds of thousands of Israelis but for Israel's defensive actions. It isn't for lack of trying that hundreds of thousands of Israelis are not dead. Is that what it would take to justify the death of Gazans? Is it a numbers game? If so, you must realize Israel has the might to kills hundreds of thousands of Gazans in a short period of time. Why this hasn't occurred is a testament to Israel's restraint in this war, destroy buildings, but make efforts to move people from buildings and active war zones to minimize casualties. Every Gazan death is the fault of hamas.
I think we agree. But you seem to think otherwise.
Israel has indeed shown restraint, as you say. That is precisely the subject of my essay: Israel has given the enemy that wishes to exterminate the Jewish people all sorts of advantages. And nothing could possibly be more unethical.
I submit the following general principle, which I consider true by inspection:
* Any advantage given to monsters who wish to exterminate people A is unethical.
And the corollary:
* If such advantage comes from members of people A it is especially unethical.
These intuitions, when turned into law, give rise to punishments for "treason," a transgression considered so severe that it commonly carries the death penalty.
If Jews, because they try too hard to be good, end up giving advantages to the enemy that wishes to exterminate them, then they are being most unethical.
The argument should not be difficult. And it isn't, logically. The problem is that many Jews have apparently integrated into their identity that they are good ONLY IF they give advantages to their enemy. Identity-based processes of self-redemption invariably become obstacles to a scientific appraisal of the Universe, and to logical reasoning.
The world is always what it is, not what you need it to be in order to find redemption.
Excellent response! Having taught deadly force and use of force policy to police and law enforcement for many years, the notion to stop a deadly attack is not "shoot to kill," it is "shoot to stop the threat." You stop the threat by incapacitating the attacker with shots to the head or torso, which holds major organs and is the largest target and easiest to hit. Once the attacker is down, incapacitated in such a way they no longer pose a threat, you stop shooting. It may take a few seconds to realize the threat is gone, thus a few extra bullets fired until the brain comes to realization the threat has ended. The justification is not an argument for killing people, it is an argument for ending the threat posed by your attacker. Sometimes this results in their death, a justifiable result caused by their own actions.
Two atom bombs dropped in Japan. Hundreds of thousands of citizens dead with just those incidents (there were plenty of other examples, like Dresden). No one even gave a second thought to trying to protect civilians. You can debate the morality of all that, but the actions ended the war and thus saved possibly millions more lives if the war had continued. So you ask how many Gazans deaths are moral? I would say whatever it takes to stop their genocidal intent of killing every Jew in Israel (and beyond). And whatever it takes beyond Gaza to stop the Islamist intent of slaughtering all "infidels" in the world (the terrorists have slaughtered hundred of thousands of Christians already in Africa and it is still ongoing. Over a hundred thousand Hindus in Pakistan/India and that is still ongoing. Not to mention the slaughter of MILLIONS of other Muslims the Muslim terrorists have murdered the past few decades simply because those Muslims did not believe in the Islamist ideology; Iran has killed a million of their own citizens. Syria--half a million. And on and on...).
Excellent article, thank you. I completely agree. I want to discuss the self defense issue. Martial arts & self defense are more than rudimentary self defense. They train you mentally and hopefully emotionally as well as physically. They teach you concepts somewhat rare in today’s world: tenacity, respect, self esteem, self confidence, mental strength, a new way of looking at walking on the street, how to get over hitting someone, etc. And, maybe most importantly, are awareness and street smarts. There are also strategies about multiple attackers. Are they as good as a gun? Of course not. But one should not at all put down how incredibly valuable SD and MA are. Every Jew should take SD. Every one. Even older people and disabled people can learn helpful things. We MUST be able to take care of ourselves. So please don’t disrespect these by dismissing them with the 20-people-attacking-you argument.
I also wanted to mention this thesis fits in perfectly with the Mamdani situation (mentioned above but I can’t resist doubling down on it). The fact that people buy his “Jews will be fine” BS, astounds me.
Outstanding article, and thank you so much for your contribution. One question, meant in all sincerity. You refer to the low homicide rate of Jews in Israel. What you have to say about the behaviors of the Jewish settlers in Judea and Samaria? Thank you for your answer!
Thank you. To give you an answer, you need to be more specific. What behaviors of the Jews living in Judea and Samaria--in their own land, because they are not "settlers" there--are you referring to?
Violent behaviors by Jews living in Judea and Samaria against Palestinian Arabs living there. Often innocent civilians working their land, women and children. They are not engaging in terrorist activity.
There are truths here but this essay is way overwrought. I dislike your inclusion of Anne Frank as an example. This was a 15 year old girl dealing with an ordeal few of us can imagine. Your saying she has a "form of madness" is inappropriate and unfair. Additionally much of what you describe as Jewish over reliance on "ethics" is in fact moral relativism that is endemic to modern left wing thought. While it is true that most American Jews are left of center, this mindset is not "Jewish". It is leftist. It is the leftists who look at the Palestinians as righteous victims. Some of those leftists are Jews. And finally your examples of Israel being fooled by the Palestinians is unfair. It has now been a quarter century since the Israeli left which held this view has had political power. Israelis have learned their lesson. You are right to criticize this general mindset but wrong to refer to it as Jewish. And incidentally, Hillel did not say "Love your neighbor as yourself." He said "Do not do to your neighbor that which is hateful to you." A very different thing.
I disagree. It was Russian Jewish immigrants who started the labor union movement in America in the late 19th century, which was born of communism/leftism. And it is Jews who lead and have led many leftist groups here (See Randi Weingarten of the teacher’s union). And even when their fellow leftists turn on them like they did after Oct. 7th, they remain leftist- protesting ICE (like Gov. Pritzker, among others), hating Trump, voting Democrat (including for Mamdani) despite that party’s pandering to and being Israel/Jew-hating Islamists. And no, I don’t think the leftists in Israel have learned their lesson even now. The same leftist Netanyahu haters who blocked major roads before Oct. 7th over the judicial reform issue also held major protests over the 10/7 hostages. Their insistence that they be returned at any cost was destructive, tying the hands of Israel’s leaders and mortgaging the future of the entire nation. It’s been hard to watch.
No…the author is absolutely right. He has hit on something major.
. First of all you cannot compare the 30's and 40's to now. Not at all. An entirely different time. More imprtantly you are making my point. The author claims it is aspects of Judaism that causes Jews to act foolishly against their own safety and interests. I made the point that it is leftism that acts against safety and interest and many of the Jews he is referring to follow leftism not Judaism. Regarding Israel, as I stated, the left doesn't exist politically. Plenty of people hate Netanyahu and they aren't on the left and have their reasons which as an American, I do not feel I can condemn. The protesters in Israel are noisy but minor. A full consensus of the Israeli public will never agree to a Palestinian State at this point. Leftists never learn their lesson. But few in Israel are actually leftists.
The causal arrow I defend is like this:
Judaism --> makes you want to be good --> (sometimes) makes you want to be TOO good --> pathology of vulnerability.
Yes, the pathology can take the form of progressive leftism, in the modern world.
But there was no progressive leftism in the ancient world, when the Jews believed the lies of Antiochus Epiphanes after he had already murdered many Jews.
The pathology is not ethical, and it is inconsistent with the conclusions of the greatest rabbis. So, the orientation produced by Judaism, because it makes us want to be good, can, if we are not careful, led us into unethical abasement. But Judaism as such--the greatest arguments and conclusions of the greatest rabbis--does not applaud this. To the contrary.
Every kid on the block knows if you can't defend yourself or even put up a good fight, you will be picked on by everyone every day. Jews, law abiding, model citizens must learn to defend themselves. NOW!
Natan Shiransky "Kill your enemy."
Reform does the value signalling of "ethics" and hypocrisy of ethics the best. Today there was a concert by a rabbi in my city who also is an entertainer, and sang a Hannukah song which he and the audience were suitably shocked by. In the third verse, by a well known Reform song writer who has since passed, starts on how awful homelessness is, and lists all the other ills of the world. Bizarrely, she ends the song with another happy stanza for Hannukah. The Tikkun Olam social activist sect illustrates perfectly the narcissistic pathology that brainwashed their youth for years, and after Oct. 7 discovered their kids who grew up hearing the demonization of Israel now were Hamas atrocity lovers, keffiyeh wearers and the thugs who went on Jew hunts for Jewish students and academics who were not like minded like these Hamas wannabes. robots. This demonization by Reform was mostly due to the refusal by Israel to have women mix with men in the main area of the Kotel and women to read from the Torah, since feminism evidently is the most important value in Judaism according to Reform it appears. When Progressive Jews have been screaming that Israel should not be killing in Gaza and should lay down their arms and thus allow Israelis to be butchered and Israel destroyed because it is not ethical to kill civilians by accident when Hamas deliberately hides among them, that is narcissistic pathology. Would they themselves, living in a bubble wrapped paradise of the US allow themselves to be killed including their children because ethically they believe one must not kill even if enemies are trying to kill them?
The Torah specifically tells us to defend Am Yisrael, no matter what.
important excellent essay
I’ve been posting it everywhere and urging people (esp jews) to read it
Thank you
I do not usually last all the way through such a long essay, but this one captured what I now, since October 7, consider to be truth. Only your final sentence perplexes me. After the preceding paragraph, it seems to float off into a positive direction, but without a sense of a complete thought. I love how you made your concepts understandable to the rest of us. Bravo!
Yes, my final sentence perplexes you because my essay was edited without my permission.
The original essay ended as follows:
"It is unethical to let your enemy kill you. Unconditional blind trust is therefore unethical, for it gives too great an advantage to your enemy. And a narcissistic belief in the transformative power of your own goodness makes you maximally vulnerable—hence, it is maximally unethical.
So…
Khesed (goodness), yes. Innocence, no. And narcissism, even less.
For the good of the Jews—and for all of us in the West."
My ending makes sense. The edited ending does not. That is why you are perplexed.
You may read my original essay, without editing, here:
https://franciscogilwhite.substack.com/p/does-jewish-goodness-or-khesed-sabotage-jewish-self-defense
Excellent article
Is Trump falling into a similar trap. He believes he can convert evil into good by doing business deals.
I don't believe Trump is falling into any traps. I think he is the enemy. I have been explaining that here:
https://franciscogilwhite.substack.com/p/part-1-is-trump-for-real-or-is-this-kayfabe-management-of-reality
I really wish someone with more sense than him knocked the words "deal" and "peace" out of Trump's head. Gorka, perhaps?
Excellent post, although a couple of the comments here illustrate your point too well. Even in the Modern Orthodox world, to which I belong, probably the most Zionist diaspora demographic, there are people who insist on saying in every discussion how much they empathise with "innocent Palestinians" and to argue that Israel should do things not required by either international law or Jewish law because of "Jewish ethics" and human beings being made in God's image, which (according to them) seems to mean that Israel can't defend itself if even one "innocent Palestinian" might be inadvertently killed, even indirectly. This is total nonsense, but they defend it.
Yes, that observation is on point. I agree with you that what you are pointing out is further evidence of the pathology.
OF COURSE it is ethical to try to avoid casualties, whenever possible, among the Arab Palestinian population. But if Hamas uses them as cannon fodder and human shields, when they die it is the fault OF HAMAS, not of Israel. It is Hamas who killed them. And Israel cannot be held responsible. Neither should Israel cease to defend itself, because the primary obligation of the Jewish State is to protect the Israelis, not the enemy population.
ETHICS is an ordered system. You must first comply with your primary obligation. And your primary obligation is always, first, to yourself, your family, and your people.
Such serendipity you were talking about self defense and ran across this New York Post story about how a quick thinking Jewish man saved his life through martial arts training. It can be effective when there is a knife maybe not so much a gun or assault rifle. World wide martial arts classes for Jewish people. So glad that you wrote this. It is good to have self defense. And if you are morally good better to have martial arts training backup. Martial arts in its purest form is sufficient self-defense never offensive aggressive combat.
https://nypost.com/2025/12/17/us-news/jewish-new-yorker-stabbed-just-centimeters-from-his-heart-in-antisemitic-attack/
Sure, and if twenty are there trying to kill you, how will that help? The point is Jews need to forget the "shush, shush, don't make waves, or they will hate us" that our unelected leaders keep warning us. They already hate us, so give back exactly the same as what they are doing to us. Be aggressive to leaders, the media, and every organization that is Jew hating. Sue the pants off every individual who attacks a Jew and every entity that allows open Jew hatred and violence. Set up trained Jewish security people in Jewish neighbourhoods, and do not at all count on the police as in most of the Diaspora they act as the bodyguards of the jihadists, and not Jews and use their police intelligence to aid the thugs who go after us. Jews must learn to be like Israelis and not rely on others to save us because they won't.
Totally agree. Twenty people on one, you're right. But there have to be lookouts. If anyone sees twenty, muster up thirty or forty. But this Brooklyn Jewish guy saved himself. And I think he agrees with you in terms of fight no flight and total self-sufficiency. I think all the antisemitic cells of killer destroyers have to be infiltrated and shut down. Also appropriate their communication systems and destroy their computer networks. Do like the Israelis do. Total resistance will shut down all but the toughest of the most theologically woke, far left, antisemitic brainwashed.
Can you please state in advance a number of people in Gaza that Israel could kill at which point Jews would be no longer be too moral?
Is this a serious question?
What Israel needs to do is destroy the people who wish to commit genocide against the Israeli Jews. There is no specific number. Only what is necessary--and ETHICAL--to protect the Jews.
Hamas, Hezbollah, etc. have zero right to exist. Just like the Nazis had zero right to exist. Those who wish to exterminate another people have zero right to exist. There is no right to exterminate another people. Such monsters must be destroyed. This is ethical.
If such monsters are not destroyed, a life of peace and brotherhood becomes impossible. To tolerate them is to ally with them.
This is not an argument for killing people, or for killing a specific number of people. It is an argument for defending the Jews. When others wish to kill the Jews, the Jews MUST defend themselves. If this requires violence, so be it. Nobody has a right to kill Jews. If they come for the Jews, they should get what's coming to them.
Yes, it's a serious question. The view that Israel is too moral is a minority view around the world based on the number of civilians it has killed in Gaza. Most people think it is not moral enough. You take the opposite view that it is too moral, that is to say it has not killed enough. You cannot appeal here to common sense, since yours is a minority opinion, nor to psycho-analysis of Jews, since most gentiles disagree with you. You therefore have to explicitly articulate your definitions if they mean anything. So how many dead people in Gaza would be enough where you would say Israel is exactly as moral as it should be?
Or to put it more simply, I perfectly well understand that in principle a country might be too reticent to cause harm to others. I am asking how to apply this principle in practice. When will we know that Israel is sufficiently willing to cause harm?
It is not a question of being "sufficiently willing to cause harm". In my view you are not conceptualizing this in the right way.
It is a question of understanding what it means to defend yourself. If you can defend yourself without causing harm, fine.
But if a group is trying to exterminate you, then you have to destroy it. Especially if that group is on your border or, worse, WITHIN your borders.
Israel can stop defending itself with violence when it has achieved the result that the Israeli Jews are secure.
So what would that be?
It would be this: the TOTAL destruction of the people running Hamas, Hezbollah, PLO/Fatah, ISIS, and Iran. It would mean the liberation of Lebanon, Syria, the Sinai, and Iran, to give Israel secure borders. And it would mean achieving vast military superiority over any actors still entertaining any thoughts about attacking Israel.
So long as there is a real danger that the Israeli Jews could be exterminated, Israel must not stop.
This should be obvious to anyone who believes that the Jews, who in general wish nothing but good things for others, should be preserved, whereas those who wish to exterminate the Jews have zero right to exist.
And that is my position.
Have you considered that the reason your position that Israel is insufficiently belligerent is not shared by 95% of the world's population is because it is detached from reality?
I consider that 95% of the world's population is detached from reality.
Their reality is being managed (by antisemites).
That's why my communication effort, which I invite you to check out, is called:
THE MANAGEMENT OF REALITY.
;)
https://franciscogilwhite.substack.com/
When you SAY IT IN CAPITAL LETTERS it makes it more convincing and definitely not schizoid.
Your point begs the question: Do you wish to see more Israelis killed in this multi-front war? You must realize that but for the defenses built by Israel over many years of war, the thousands of missiles fired upon Israel by Iran, Yemen, hezbollah, and hamas, would have killed hundreds of thousands of Israelis but for Israel's defensive actions. It isn't for lack of trying that hundreds of thousands of Israelis are not dead. Is that what it would take to justify the death of Gazans? Is it a numbers game? If so, you must realize Israel has the might to kills hundreds of thousands of Gazans in a short period of time. Why this hasn't occurred is a testament to Israel's restraint in this war, destroy buildings, but make efforts to move people from buildings and active war zones to minimize casualties. Every Gazan death is the fault of hamas.
I think we agree. But you seem to think otherwise.
Israel has indeed shown restraint, as you say. That is precisely the subject of my essay: Israel has given the enemy that wishes to exterminate the Jewish people all sorts of advantages. And nothing could possibly be more unethical.
I submit the following general principle, which I consider true by inspection:
* Any advantage given to monsters who wish to exterminate people A is unethical.
And the corollary:
* If such advantage comes from members of people A it is especially unethical.
These intuitions, when turned into law, give rise to punishments for "treason," a transgression considered so severe that it commonly carries the death penalty.
If Jews, because they try too hard to be good, end up giving advantages to the enemy that wishes to exterminate them, then they are being most unethical.
The argument should not be difficult. And it isn't, logically. The problem is that many Jews have apparently integrated into their identity that they are good ONLY IF they give advantages to their enemy. Identity-based processes of self-redemption invariably become obstacles to a scientific appraisal of the Universe, and to logical reasoning.
The world is always what it is, not what you need it to be in order to find redemption.
Excellent response! Having taught deadly force and use of force policy to police and law enforcement for many years, the notion to stop a deadly attack is not "shoot to kill," it is "shoot to stop the threat." You stop the threat by incapacitating the attacker with shots to the head or torso, which holds major organs and is the largest target and easiest to hit. Once the attacker is down, incapacitated in such a way they no longer pose a threat, you stop shooting. It may take a few seconds to realize the threat is gone, thus a few extra bullets fired until the brain comes to realization the threat has ended. The justification is not an argument for killing people, it is an argument for ending the threat posed by your attacker. Sometimes this results in their death, a justifiable result caused by their own actions.
Two atom bombs dropped in Japan. Hundreds of thousands of citizens dead with just those incidents (there were plenty of other examples, like Dresden). No one even gave a second thought to trying to protect civilians. You can debate the morality of all that, but the actions ended the war and thus saved possibly millions more lives if the war had continued. So you ask how many Gazans deaths are moral? I would say whatever it takes to stop their genocidal intent of killing every Jew in Israel (and beyond). And whatever it takes beyond Gaza to stop the Islamist intent of slaughtering all "infidels" in the world (the terrorists have slaughtered hundred of thousands of Christians already in Africa and it is still ongoing. Over a hundred thousand Hindus in Pakistan/India and that is still ongoing. Not to mention the slaughter of MILLIONS of other Muslims the Muslim terrorists have murdered the past few decades simply because those Muslims did not believe in the Islamist ideology; Iran has killed a million of their own citizens. Syria--half a million. And on and on...).
Excellent article, thank you. I completely agree. I want to discuss the self defense issue. Martial arts & self defense are more than rudimentary self defense. They train you mentally and hopefully emotionally as well as physically. They teach you concepts somewhat rare in today’s world: tenacity, respect, self esteem, self confidence, mental strength, a new way of looking at walking on the street, how to get over hitting someone, etc. And, maybe most importantly, are awareness and street smarts. There are also strategies about multiple attackers. Are they as good as a gun? Of course not. But one should not at all put down how incredibly valuable SD and MA are. Every Jew should take SD. Every one. Even older people and disabled people can learn helpful things. We MUST be able to take care of ourselves. So please don’t disrespect these by dismissing them with the 20-people-attacking-you argument.
I also wanted to mention this thesis fits in perfectly with the Mamdani situation (mentioned above but I can’t resist doubling down on it). The fact that people buy his “Jews will be fine” BS, astounds me.
Outstanding article, and thank you so much for your contribution. One question, meant in all sincerity. You refer to the low homicide rate of Jews in Israel. What you have to say about the behaviors of the Jewish settlers in Judea and Samaria? Thank you for your answer!
Thank you. To give you an answer, you need to be more specific. What behaviors of the Jews living in Judea and Samaria--in their own land, because they are not "settlers" there--are you referring to?
Violent behaviors by Jews living in Judea and Samaria against Palestinian Arabs living there. Often innocent civilians working their land, women and children. They are not engaging in terrorist activity.
Jewish desire to be liked. But they are liked when they are dead.