Slaughter Them While They're Young?
"The real issue is the distinction halacha draws between Jews and non-Jews. This is grossly at odds with political correctness, which outlaws any reference to differences of ethnic origin or faith. This is also what causes the panic in the secular, left-wing sector and the political echelon. It’s the fear that the Western, non-Jewish world might take offense at this lack of 'equality' and 'enlightenment' as reflected in a book on religious law and warfare."
As you read the article posted below, realize that the authors of Torat HaMelech wrote that it is permissible to intentionally kill infants as a first case action who will, in the estimation of the murderers, grow up to be enemies of Israel. They also wrote that it is permissible as a first case action to intentionally target and murder the infants of enemy rulers if killing the children will lessen the enemy ruler's taste for war.
These are the same rationalizations used by Arab terrorists to justify bus bombings and other terror attacks against Jews.
Also realize that the vast majority of rabbis, whether haredi, Orthodox Zionist or Modern Orthodox, reject these views and find Torat HaMelech to be a repulsive work.
Now read the view of a convert to Judaism who lives in the most right wing radical settlement in the West Bank, home to many followers of the late Rabbi Meir Kahane.
Note that she appears to be oblivious to the majority of rabbis who oppose Torat HaMelech, just as she is clearly oblivious to any of the moral and ethical arguments against Torat HaMelech:
‘The King’s Torah’ – a clash of values
Any non-Jew can become a Jew through conversion. Many, including myself, have.
By TZIPORA PINNER • Jerusalem Post
Just as the demonstrations and TV interviews about Rabbi Dov Lior’s arrest were petering out, another suspect, Rabbi Ya’acov Yosef, got arrested and released after questioning.
The feeling on the Left, in the political echelon and in wide parts of the mainstream media is that those recalcitrant rabbis and their unruly supporters have to be subdued.
After all, nobody is above the law. Not even renowned rabbis who think they can get away with writing an endorsement for a book like Torat Hamelech (The King’s Torah), which explores such politically irresponsible topics as the Torah’s approach to warfare and the treatment of enemy populations. After all, for this we have the Geneva Convention.
Who needs more? But can it really be dismissed as a fringe phenomenon of the extreme Right? As people who hate non-Jews for racist reasons and seek to bend Jewish law in order to eke out permission to kill them? A closer look reveals that we are not facing a book on hashkafa – outlook or ideology – which is often in the eye of the beholder. Rather, it is an exploration of the vast resources of Jewish law, from the Gemara through the Rambam’s Hilchot Melachim, the Shulhan Aruch and a gamut of other sources.
To give a general overview of the contents: The first chapter, as if in defiance of all those who cry out that the book condones the killing of non-Jews, deals with situations in which it is forbidden to kill a non-Jew. The second chapter examines the role of the Seven Noahide Laws, which pertain to all human beings.
The third chapter relates to whether the obligation to die rather than be forced to kill another person also applies to non-Jews. The fourth chapter deals with situations in which there is a conflict between saving the life of a Jew versus saving the life of a non-Jew. In the fifth chapter, we find explanations of laws pertaining to times of war, and the sixth and last chapter tackles harm to innocent people. It becomes clear that the religious laws examined mostly pertain to extraordinary circumstances of conflict involving danger to life.
The critics who accuse the authors of condoning the killing of non-Jews would be well advised to remember that in every war, situations of life and death arise, of weighing the lives of one’s own soldiers and civilians against those of the enemy’s fighters and civilians.
Just to give an example, during Operation Cast Lead in Gaza in early 2009, according to some sources, up to 1,400 Arabs were killed – a majority of them combatants, but, as in any war, also non-combatants.
This was complicated by the use of Arab civilians as human shields. Would the outcome have changed if a halachic approach, such as the one laid down in Torat Hamelech, had been employed in the decision- making processes? We will never know.
But the real controversy is not about the ethics of warfare.
Israel’s modern history has been marked by wars, generally not wars of choice.
The conflict is ongoing, with terror attacks against our civilian population being part of the enemy’s strategy, and the ever-pending threat of a new, all-out regional war. It is certainly redundant to point out that the ethics of warfare differ from those of peaceful times.
The real issue is the distinction Halacha draws between Jews and non-Jews. This is grossly at odds with political correctness, which outlaws any reference to differences of ethnic origin or faith. This is also what causes the panic in the secular, left-wing sector and the political echelon. It’s the fear that the Western, non- Jewish world might take offense at this lack of “equality” and “enlightenment” as reflected in a book on religious law and warfare.
In Jewish religious law, the concept of race doesn’t exist.
Any non-Jew can become a Jew through conversion. Many, including myself, have.
Halacha does, however, draw a sharp distinction between the obligations of Jews and those of non-Jews. The most basic distinction is that Jews are subject to 613 mitzvot, whereas non-Jews, as bnei noah, are obligated only by the Seven Noahide Laws and their various applications. This has implications when it comes to priorities and obligations in life-threatening situations.
This article is not the place to go into detail, but to give just one example: In examining the circumstances in which a Jew may kill a non-Jew in order to save his own life or that of other Jews,Torat Hamelech starts out from situations in which, under religious law, a non-Jew may kill another non- Jew in order to save his own life. Under such circumstances, a Jew may also kill a non-Jew for the same reason.
The policy imposed on the Israeli army, called “purity of arms” – essentially leading to the concept of endangering one’s own soldiers and civilians to spare the enemy’s fighters or civilians and save the lives of “human shields” – is alien to Halacha. It is not assumed that anyone, Jew or non-Jew, would spare the other side at the cost of his own in any conflict.
Ironically, for the terror groups that attack Israel, there is no question whether it is permitted to kill Jewish civilians; it is an integral part of their strategy. On our side, even a book investigating halachic sources regarding the treatment of enemy fighters and civilians triggers hysteria.
Maybe the almost two decades of “peace process,” which have transformed an implacable enemy into a “peace partner” while the armed conflict carries on, have contributed to such absurdities.
Relating to the enemy as just that, an enemy who has to be killed to stop him from killing, has become unspeakable, because its very mention would testify to the failure of diplomacy.
However, the charge that a halachic approach that examines the priorities in saving human lives is “racist” because it is based on the halachic distinction between Jews and non-Jews (which is, in our case, identical to the distinction between our side and the enemy) is absurd.
In the end, the discourse is about the clash of values between Halacha on the one hand and Western secular concepts on the other. It is a clash between two systems and the two cultures they reflect. It is a struggle about the future of Israel, and indeed, of Judaism itself, which has been smoldering ever since modern Israel was founded. As my own perspective is from the religious side, I appreciate the erupting public discussion around Torat Hamelech, which shows that finally Halacha as an alternative to Western law is being taken seriously. The frantic arrests of rabbis testify to this, and have provided the spark to ignite...
the Jewish spring? The writer is a doctor who made aliya in 2008, served as a medical officer in the IDF and lives in Kfar Tapuah in Samaria.
This article was first published on www.israelnationalnews.com
We often look at Nazis leaders as bufoons. There was the corpulent, drug addicted Goering who loved to hund on his estate. There was the ultr-loyal Goebbels who was obsessed with public relations, etc.
Really though the Nazis utilized the best attorneys, technicians, scientistzs, doctors, to advance their horrors.
"Rational arguments" were made for the Nuremberg laws. Theorists theorized. Philosophers philsophized. Politicians politicized. And Jews and other "undesirables" were led away to their deaths.
Once a forum is given to these ravings then we slide down the slippery slope. I say jail them, extirpate their evil, chastise them, harm them financially. Give them no quarter. Advocacy of genocide is anathema.
Posted by: mordecai | July 05, 2011 at 07:33 PM
Sigh. So horrifying to know that this horrific attitude and literature is perpetuated by those who purport to be close to God. I'm ashamed to have the same heritage as THM supporters.
Notice how, in the author's "rational" argument, they mentioned that a Jew and a non-Jew may both kill a non-Jew in self-defense - but remains silent about whether a non-Jew may kill a Jew in self-defense as well. I suspect that's because the author knows that anyone who might somehow be convinced this bullshit had a shred of validity would be knocked back into reality if they heard what the author believed about the opposite situation.
Sigh. I know a friend who is a brilliant woman (convert) and seems very kind, and yet talked to me about the length of your skirt determining the length of your commitment to God. Another friend (bala'at teshuvah) who recently sent me this nonsense story about a bomb being kept from detonating in a terrorist attack because some non-religious girls decided to burn their clothing and buy tzniut wear.
Posted by: MamzerHaKodesh | July 05, 2011 at 07:48 PM
Mordecai @ 7:33 is entirely correct as a substantive matter. When we speak of this, we speak of Jewish Nazis.
But, he is wrong to characterize this horrible article - and others like it - as "ravings". This, they are not. They are carefully considered and "rational". That is why they are so horrible.
Posted by: MarkfromShortHills | July 05, 2011 at 08:54 PM
there are so many illogical assertions in her essay.
However, the charge that a halachic approach that examines the priorities in saving human lives is “racist” because it is based on the halachic distinction between Jews and non-Jews (which is, in our case, identical to the distinction between our side and the enemy) is absurd.
ummm...yes....a halachic approach based on the halachic distinction between jews and non-jews which clearly places the value of jewish life over non-jewish life is of course racist.
to then call all non-jews 'our enemy' is to imply that either there are no arabs who just want to be left alone to live peacefully, OR that all arabs are collectively responsible for the actions of other arabs. either way, its a racist supposition.
endangering one’s own soldiers and civilians to spare the enemy’s fighters or civilians and save the lives of “human shields” – is alien to Halacha. It is not assumed that anyone, Jew or non-Jew, would spare the other side at the cost of his own in any conflict.
as shmarya said, this argument works on both sides equally well. what she has done, in effect, is to permit any arab to claim he is in a holy war, and that civilians are fair game since theres no way for the palestinians to engage the israeli army without risking their fighters lives. and muslim lives are more valuable than jews.
to further highlight her lack of understanding of what terrorism is, she says,
Ironically, for the terror groups that attack Israel, there is no question whether it is permitted to kill Jewish civilians; it is an integral part of their strategy
that is what makes it terrorism!!! there is nothing ironic about it. terrorists have made a moral choice that its okay to kill people not directly involved in the conflict simply for being "on the israeli side". and the author is advocating that israel use the same moral logic. she would like israel to become a state that employs terrorism and collective punishment with no distinction between those holding the weapons and forcing civilians to be human shields, and those who have been dragged into the field of combat against their wills.
and when this argument is used to justify even killing young children based on what she assumes they will become later in life, her racism, and that of the books author are beautifully crystallized.
Posted by: ah-pee-chorus | July 05, 2011 at 08:57 PM
>>>>>>"Any non-Jew can become a Jew through conversion. Many, including myself, have.
By TZIPORA PINNER"<<<<<<
so she used to be a enemy of the Jews and a Jew could have rightfully killed her, or his parents or her siblings, but now they cant?
what a wacko
Posted by: netflix | July 05, 2011 at 09:17 PM
of course it is racist
the reason is simply halacha is based on a racist document/book called the Torah.
Most people understand that it was written by people men and woman at a different time different values and different circumstances. Circumstances change, values change and therefore to say how warfare should be fought in lunacy.
The problem is once one believes the Torah was written by god all logic all
arguments fall by the wayside.
Remember in the Torah there where many holy wars and the people where commanded to kill every man woman child baby and animal of its enemy. How could that be unjust, not moral is god commanded you to do it
How could one argue that gods value are wrong. To the believer the only conclusion is our values today are simply wrong. and yes god has said Jews are much more worthy then goyin then that is correct and moral.
They would simply say we have been contaminated by goyim and western thinking.
Of course most religion say the same thing just who is on top and bottom just changes.
this is why religion or any absolute believe is very dangerous. As we can see by this book. If we follow his thinking we the Jews will be committing atrocities to others that we cry about all the time that others did to us. They want to create a cycle of hate killing mass murderer that never ends
Posted by: seymour | July 05, 2011 at 09:17 PM
Posted by: mordecai | July 05, 2011 at 07:33 PM
yep
they where not buffoons many of the leaders of the killing squads had double majors from universities.
The profession with the highest rate of Nazi membership before they came to power
doctors
Posted by: seymour | July 05, 2011 at 09:21 PM
From their point of view, the Palestinians who killed Baby Hadas and her young siblings could apply Shapira's reasoning to justify their murders. After all, there was a good chance that these children would have served in the IDF when they reached adulthood and thus become the enemies and potential killers of Palestinians. Were we outraged by the murders of these children in their beds? You bet we were and rightfully so. If this book which argues that under circumstances of war (however defined) it is permissible to kill the infants of our enemies is not absolutely repudiated, you can be sure its contents will be used by our enemies to justify to the world the killing of our infants. Whatever tiny shred of moral high ground we still retain in the face of highly effective Palestinian propaganda (and the need for Arab oil) will be utterly washed away if Shapira's book receives overt or tacit approval by prominent Israeli rabbis and politicians.
Posted by: MM | July 05, 2011 at 09:27 PM
It is crucial for various leaders to have their frame of reference and worldview right. Incorrect views of the nature of the universe can lead to a toxic trickledown effect. If the basic foundations are wrong the whole structure will fall. All the great empires of the past, i.e. Rome, Persia, Greek, Babylonian, Egyptian, Napoleonic, and Nazi etc. were based on incorrect views of the nature of reality and the true nature of man. The spiritual battlefield right now is in the minds of the people. If the Jews are going to be a light unto the nations they better make damn sure their leaders have got their bulbs screwed in properly. If a community pays people to lead them who are not up to the job then they get the government they deserve.
It looks like some Rabbis are actually accelerating the Redemption not by their wisdom but by their folly. To their horror, some of their "enemies" are actually going to receive divine assistance and blessing. The schechina is going to rest on the most unexpected of places. Where is the fear lying now ? As Napoleon said "When the fear shifts from you to the enemy you have won the battle." In the spiritual war going on right now there are many foot soldiers and officers. Many people are putting their heads down at night enveloped by fears for the days, weeks and months ahead.
They should take note of the fact that G-d does have a divinely mandated plan in mind for the Temple Mount, Jerusalem and the Holy Land. They will derive some comfort if they understand what this plan is. If they can't work out what the vision is and what their role should be find someone who can explain it to them.
All the pieces of the jigsaw puzzle are falling into place. The momentum now is unstoppable. The next 69 days are going to be very interesting. Some people are going to have some rapid shifts in consciousness and Eureka moments. Some things are just going to "click" into place.
Confusion often precedes understanding.
Another issue is pertinent here. People will accept government and leadership, but they can see through false ideologies. A meritocracy is far preferable to a charmocracy. I think many of the sects have used fear and manipulation as tools of control. The Walls of Jericho are falling to the divine tools of truth and love. I know which ideology is destined to rule the land.
What incredible times we are living in !
Posted by: Adam Neira | July 05, 2011 at 10:02 PM
shmarya since u r obviously both a torah scholar and a millitary genius tell us according to torah and international war laws how to fight hamas
Posted by: charlie runkel | July 05, 2011 at 10:58 PM
many of your commentators have a twisted understanding of the Torah. They have been unduly influenced by the insane leftist ideology and political correctness (which was devised to attack the principles of the Torah and Jews). The Arabs LIVE by killing,they EMBRACE DEATH, but a halachic Jew LIVES by saving lives, UNLESS in a War situation, and then there are halachic standards that apply. Remember, our hospitals are full of Arabs of all ages receiving life giving treatments, often without paying. it's a travesty to witness Jewish minds wasting away on narishkeit.
Posted by: Neshama | July 05, 2011 at 11:41 PM
To Neshama,
Your statement that Arabs live by killing and embrace death is patently false. The prophecies are crystal clear that Jacob will not always hate Esau. Get four 3 y.o. children in a room together from Israel, Egypt, Norway and China. They will check each other out and test the boundaries. Slowly though they will attempt trust and end up playing with each other. Sure there will be some spats and power dynamics, one kid may be better at finger-painting than the other but with the right supervision they will end up becoming friends.
The problem is that we have a bunch of calcified adults running things. One of the most prized qualities in a good leader is empathy. On this count many politicians, rabbis/imams/priests, scholars and academics score an "F". Intellectual intelligence is prized whilst emotional nous is given short shrift.
Some people like you will say that all Muslims are evil. I spent eleven months travelling all throughout the archipelago of Indonesia with my girlfriend and met hundreds of Muslims. By lumping all people of a group into the same basket you end up prejudging them based on your bias. Thus certain mindsets of enmity become reinforced.
Also did you know that the Temple Mount/Noble Sanctuary is prophesied to be a House for All Nations ?
Posted by: Adam Neira | July 06, 2011 at 12:00 AM
בשר חזיר כשר למהדרין ......
ההובלה של בשר מהדרין בהשגחת כדתיא מובל מבית השחיטה לחניות הבשר באותו משאית המובילה בשר .... חזיר ....
יש לציין שלפי ההלכה אין שום בעיה , בגלל שהבשר עדיין לא הומלך וממלא אפשר לשטוף הטיב , ולעשות מליח' כדין ( הבשר של כדתיא לא מוכשר בבית השחיטה אלא בחניות הבשר ע"י משגיח כדתיא תוך 24-72 שעות מזמן השחיטה )
אבל !!! מה אם ההרגש ?!? בשר שאנו אוכלים בשב"ק מובל , ונוגע בלא פחות חזיר?!?
Posted by: shocked | July 06, 2011 at 12:58 AM
http://www.bhol.co.il/forums/topic.asp?whichpage=1&topic_id=2902510&forum_id=771
Posted by: shocked | July 06, 2011 at 01:00 AM
They have been unduly influenced by the insane leftist ideology and political correctness (which was devised to attack the principles of the Torah and Jews).
And you've been brainwashed by the reactionary theology of your gedoylim whose sole motivation is the perpetuation of their own authority.
Anything else?
Posted by: Jeff | July 06, 2011 at 05:20 AM
Posted by: charlie runkel | July 05, 2011 at 10:58 PM
Charlie, the latest post on your blog is entitled "Just shut up".
I think you ought to heed your own advice.
Posted by: Jeff | July 06, 2011 at 05:22 AM
Oh come on, it says nothing about important stuff, such as how to treat goyim mith buclear headed ICBM's, how to treat goyish friends and allies.
Posted by: Teddy | July 06, 2011 at 06:53 AM
Here is an under-stated (there are no examples of the violent anti-Semitic drawings etc. that are circulated) examination of left-wing pronouncements and writings:
http://www.acpr.org.il/pp/pp022-stavE.pdf
And that guy "Yigal Tumarkin", accoridng to wikipedia, was born "Peter Martin Gregor Heinrich Hellberg in Dresden, Germany in 1933" and in 2004 was awarded the "Israel Prize". The latter is "s an award handed out by the State of Israel and is largely regarded as the state's highest honor ... presented annually, on Israeli Independence Day, in a state ceremony in Jerusalem, in the presence of the President, the Prime Minister, the Knesset (Israel's legislature) chairperson, and the Supreme Court president. "
Posted by: george | July 06, 2011 at 09:06 AM
I presume that most people who have commented here have not served in the higher grades of military service and have not read Sun Tzu, required study. So most of you do not know what you are talking about. War is nasty, and the Torah outlines how to live through it. Not like the left-wing led, one arm tied behind your back wussy leaders in the "God Bless" The I.D.F. I have pity for the fighters and their mamby-pamby gov. rules they have to go by.
Posted by: Raphael Ben David | July 06, 2011 at 11:17 AM
Anyone know the link to the original article on the "MySay" Hebrew site?
http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/145451
Posted by: george | July 06, 2011 at 12:41 PM
The Arabs LIVE by killing,they EMBRACE DEATH
Well, yes. And the International Jew lives to subjugate all the goyim through the Israel Lobby's control of the banks and Hollywood.
Posted by: anuran | July 06, 2011 at 11:28 PM
Anyone who demonizes entire ethnic groups is a brute and a fool.
Posted by: anuran | July 06, 2011 at 11:29 PM
To Raphael Ben David,
War is the ultimate pathology of a civilization. If you haven't seen Terence Malick's "The Thin Red Line" I suggest you do. It is a philosophical tour de force. It is the greatest antiwar war movie ever made. The State of Israel could call for an International Peace Conference right now and contribute $50 million of the estimated cost of $700 million. This would be a fraction of the total annual expenditure on security. Isaiah's prophecy will not get a look in if the will is not there. It really is about focus and intent now. If people expect the Holy Land to be a place of violence and conflict it will be. I.e. Beware of self fulfilling prophecies.
If as much time and money was spent on the study of the modalities of peace versus the techniques of war the world would be a much better place. This is one of the reasons this book is a negative.
Posted by: Adam Neira | July 06, 2011 at 11:43 PM
To Adam Neira
This book might seem to be a negative, but the truth is, since the fall of man, ie, Adam Rishon, war and killing is a SAD FACT. History proves that the only way, in this galut, to have peace, especialy with the arabs, is behind the barrel of a gun. "Those who do not study history are bound to repeat it". The holy Land is a place of conflict, read your newspapers and your blogsites. Also, I know because I live here, in the middle of it. Have you, ever had a arab blow up an autobus,that you ride, with a bomb??? The modalities of peace, IS the techniques of war! Read the Torah, the nave'im, only after mosiach ben Yosef, and mosiach ben David will there be any aspect of Peace.
Sorry to take off your sun glasses Adam, But baruch Hashem, Yiheh Tov.
Posted by: Raphael Ben David | July 07, 2011 at 02:17 PM