Daily Roundup - Jan 21, 2016

HuffPost: Shooting to Kill--Ethical and Other Questions - Ron Kronish

"These are questions that are very much on my mind these days in the light of the constant killings of Palestinians who attempt to stab or otherwise harm Israeli soldiers and many innocent civilians. I have noticed that these questions are on the minds of other people in Israel, but not too many and not enough, probably due to a fear of speaking out that has been created by the government and by right-wing propagandists in Israel in recent weeks."

What an anti-semitic way of putting the question. 

A. We have the scene: 

1. Right wing regime - Right of center in defense certainly. Socialist by American terms in all other areas. Where is this "regime" calling comes from. It was democratically elected by fairly large margins (30 mandates!).

2. Fear of Speaking -- really, in Israel? You mean fear of not being heard unless you shout? Who in Israel has ever been afraid of speaking? Not the left, listen to the news, to London and Kirchenbaum read HaAretz, fear of speaking? Give us a Break! Total Nonsense.

B. We have the framing

1. "constant killings of Palestinians who attempt to stab..." So stop stabbing, end of problem!

2. No differentiation between those killed by civilians with weapons and those killed by the Police and Military.

2a. All those killed by civilians need to prove that the civilians did not fear for their lives. We saw one case where a shot woman was trying to stab the feet of people nearby before she was shot again and killed.  These are bystanders, thank God armed, and 30 I believe have already been killed. 

2b. In the case of the army and the police, these are trained personnel and you need to prove that any of them exceeded their training. Again there have been dead on both sides, people who were going about their lives, and terrorists that wished to commit suicide by murder. People whose suicide by murder brings praise as martyrs, and cash to their families.

If there was ever a case where the benefit of the doubt needs to go to the civilian, the police, the army, is when people determined to die, try to kill as many civilians as possible. The example in Tel Aviv shows what happens where there are not weapons and sufficiently trained personnel around to stop such crazed killers. Its aftermath shows how dangerous it is not to kill them on the spot when they hide among their neighbors who try to protect them from the authorities while being very vocal about the authorities not protecting them from the same terrorist. So much for fear of the authorities. (see the Israeli news, unfortunately in Hebrew, there is no dearth of speech).

I too was a student in Berkeley in the 60's and demonstrated against discrimination in the South. But blacks were not murdering whites and getting killed in the process, they were getting killed for being black, just as Jews are being killed in Israel for being Jewish. 

Scissors attack in Jerusalem : Very strange. The 14 year old stabs one person (a 70 year old Arab by mistake) and then tries to stab others who manages to hit her with a chair and throw her to the ground.  Her 16 year old companion raised her scissors at the man she tried to stab and was shot by the her victim who was carrying a gun. A policeman who was near by saw what happened and fired at the two, when he approached the one on the ground lunged at him with her scissors.  The result, the 14 year old died at the scene, and her 16 year old companion was seriously injured and is awaiting trial.

"Is it not time for Jewish leaders in Israel and in the Diaspora to question this "shoot to kill" policy? It is both morally unacceptable and pragmatically ineffective. Rather, it appears more to be acts of vengeance and lashing out, which just lead to more acts of vengeance, feeding the ongoing cycle of violence."

No, its time to demand that the terrorists stop terrorizing civilians.  It is time to punish their families who receive hero status and money from Arab sources.  It is time, with Palestinians, to separate them from Jews by physical barriers so that they cannot lightly attack.  Jerusalem may end up divided as a result, and some Arab and Jewish Israelis may need to move to make this separation possible.

These are the issues we need to discuss. How can we remain ethical while protecting ourselves. How can we live without weapons at the ready and suspicions against all who approach.  The psychological toll of this situation is enormous. It is both a miracle and a blessing that there have not been wide spread attacks on the Arab population by Jews who "have had enough."  Our faith and our ethics are strong, but this problem will not soon go away, nor will the problem of good Jews who cannot see the situation except through ideological eyes.