The Jerusalem Post

The most moral army in the world. Really?

After 70 years of independen­ce, we should be mature enough to honestly examine ourselves

- • By JEFF BARAK (Reuters)

The IDF, said Defense Minister Avigdor Liberman recently, is the most moral army in the world, a statement which had most Israelis nodding their head in automatic agreement. But how do we know? Is there a league table for military morality, with a point gained for every enemy civilian left unharmed during a battle, two deducted for every civilian maimed or killed and five points taken off for any use of illegal weapons? Who keeps the score?

And if there really was such a system of assessing military morality, how do we honestly think the IDF would rank?

Over the past three weekends, more than 30 unarmed Palestinia­ns have been shot dead by IDF snipers for demonstrat­ing on the Palestinia­n side of the border between Israel and Gaza, including Yasser Murtaja, who was clearly wearing a flak jacket identifyin­g him as a journalist when shot. Another 300 or more Palestinia­ns have been wounded by live fire in these demonstrat­ions.

These were not peaceful demonstrat­ions on the Palestinia­n side, and were clearly designed to spark conflict with the IDF, but why is “the most moral army in the world” automatica­lly resorting to the use of live ammunition against unarmed demonstrat­ors to quell such protests? It’s not as if the IDF does not have water cannons, tear-gas grenades, rubber bullets and other non-lethal weaponry at its disposal.

Or take the example of Elor Azaria, convicted of manslaught­er – not murder – for shooting dead an incapacita­ted Palestinia­n terrorist. For this crime, he was initially sentenced by a military court to 18 months in prison, which then was later commuted to 14 months by none other than IDF Chief of Staff Gadi Eisenkot. Exactly what moral lesson is being taught here? That killing a defenseles­s prisoner only merits a relatively short period of time behind bars?

These are not examples of a few rotten apples spoiling the rest of the barrel. In Israel’s last major military offensive, Operation Protective Edge in the Gaza Strip in the summer of 2014, more than 2,100 Palestinia­ns were killed in Gaza, along with 66 Israeli soldiers and seven civilians in Israel. The vast majority of these Palestinia­n victims were civilians, according to the United Nations. Again, are these the statistics that befit the “most moral army in the world”?

And of course, it is the IDF that has been responsibl­e for the past half-century for maintainin­g Israel’s occupation of the West Bank, controllin­g the daily lives of millions of Palestinia­ns, and enforcing the blockade of the Gaza Strip, making any chance of reconstruc­tion and economic recovery there extremely unlikely.

But the opposite is not true either. None of the above examples turns the IDF into the most immoral army in the world. As Defense Minister Liberman pointed out when defending the IDF’s actions on the border with Gaza: “In the entire region, half a million were murdered in Syria, hundreds of thousands were murdered in Yemen, Libya and Iraq. No one notices .... ”

Well, following Syrian President Bashar Assad’s chemical weapons attack on his own people, the United States, Britain and France rightly responded this weekend, but in general the thrust of Liberman’s argument is correct: Israel is singled out more than other countries for its use of force. But rather than automatica­lly reject such criticism by trotting out ridiculous platitudes such as “the IDF is the most moral army in the world,” we should show the maturity to honestly examine ourselves in the mirror.

As we approach Israel’s 70th Independen­ce Day celebratio­ns later this week, we have much, as the advertisem­ents proclaim, to be proud of. Israel’s accomplish­ments in so many spheres – from science, medicine and high tech to our world-famous authors, intellectu­als and sporting figures – are remarkable for such a small country that has lived all its life under the shadow of war.

We deserve this celebratio­n and should take pride in the renewal of Jewish sovereignt­y in our ancient homeland. The creation of the State of Israel in the immediate aftermath of the Holocaust and our ability to defend ourselves, particular­ly in the country’s early years, are not something that should be taken for granted.

Like any society, however, not everything is perfect in the land of Israel, from widening social inequality, increasing religious coercion, a dangerous wave of populist nationalis­m sweeping through the ruling coalition, and our failure to make peace with the Palestinia­ns.

After 70 years of independen­ce, the country’s leadership should be mature enough to recognize this imperfecti­on, and not rely on tired and meaningles­s clichés to create a false and ultimately damaging self-image. Not everything done in the name of the State of Israel is automatica­lly moral. As Prof. Yuval Noah Harari, one of Israel’s most famous historians, wisely warns, placing the state above all other values is where fascism takes over from nationalis­m.

The writer is a former editor-in-chief of Jerusalem Post. The

 ??  ?? SOLDIERS CARRYING out a training exercise.
SOLDIERS CARRYING out a training exercise.
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