Psyche, Science, and Society

Orthodox Rabbis support killing enemy civilians

August 31st, 2006

Who are the fools who claim religion increases morality? If yet another example were needed that religion is associated with evil as often as any other set of beliefs, the Modern Orthodox rabbis have provided an example [Rabbis: Israel Too Worried Over Civilian Deaths ]:

America’s main organization of Modern Orthodox rabbis is calling on the Israeli military to be less concerned with avoiding civilian casualties on the opposing side when carrying out future operations.

Following a solidarity mission to Israel last week, leaders of the Rabbinical Council of America issued a statement prodding the Israeli military to review its policy of taking pains to spare the lives of innocent civilians, in light of Hezbollah’s tactic of hiding its fighters and weaponry among Lebanese civilians. Because Hezbollah “puts Israeli men and women at extraordinary risk of life and limb through unconscionably using their own civilians, hospitals, ambulances, mosques… as human shields, cannon fodder, and weapons of asymmetric warfare,” the rabbinical council said in a statement, “we believe that Judaism would neither require nor permit a Jewish soldier to sacrifice himself in order to save deliberately endangered enemy civilians.”

Don’t tell me all the beneficial effects on morality of religion. In many cases its the opium that dfeadens the moral sense. We all know about those “Islamic terrorists,” but there are plenty of Christian and Jewish killers too. Is there any evidence that religion has a net positive effect in the world? Perhaps the amount of killing would decline if we had more atheists? I can’t see any contrary evidence.

Entry Filed under: Culture, Israel, Lebanon, Middle East, Religion, Terrorism, War and Peace