Was I right to that the Israelis bear responsibility for the civilian casualities they caused in the assassination of terrorist Hamas thug Salah Shehada?
The Talmud says yes!
Diane E. at Letters from Gotham raises the (pretty damned reasonable) question of what traditional Jewish religious law would have to say about the accidental civilian deaths.
And by doing her homework, she answers it, too:
About ‘accidental murders’:
Jewish law is not so quick to absolve the murderer. Although he is spared the death penalty (which is given to intentional murderers), he is punished. He must be exiled from where he lives to one of the designated Arei Miklat (Cities of Refuge), where he must remain until the death of the present Kohen Gadol (High Priest).
The Torah, it appears, requires us to take responsibility for everything we do. Even accidental mishaps are not without blame. He could have been more careful. He could have taken more precautions….
I hasten to add that I am NOT a Talmudic scholar and I may have taken this completely out of context. Perhaps during war totally different rules apply and I’d be interested to hear from someone who knows more. However, it does seem to buttress very solidly NZ Bear’s point, which is that the Israelis and the Israelis alone (and, needless to say, their supporters, of which I am a fervent one) are responsible for those civilian deaths.
Advantage: Bear!
Seriously and more humbly, though, Diane’s analysis is quite thoughtful; give it a read. She doesn’t claim to be 100% Definitively Right on her interpretation, and for the record, neither do I.
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