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Israels Slippery Moral Slope

By Neve Gordon

Following my last military reserve duty, I was kicked out of my unit, the educational corps of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF). There was a surrealistic dimension to the whole experience. I had driven a few hours to a base located near the Egyptian border after having been asked to lecture about “leadership” to 60 soldiers from the Givati infantry brigade… return to article

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      In the absence of a universal moral approachówhereby there are things that one simply does not doóone is left with a tribal or relativistic worldview. Here the right to human dignity is contingent on national, ethnic or religious affiliation.
      Your quote above: but what can you expect when the Jews Talmud teaches that very thing. Jews are men, Goyim are animals
     

    United States Posted by Cristopher on Feb 2, 2003 at 2:41 AM

    Hi,
    I fully agree with you: moral relativism is immoral as such and cannot ever be used as a moral argument or even as an excuse. You’re indeed a true “man of the book” and I respect and congratulate you for your position! And I am so saddened to see what racism, etnic cleansing and apartheid, all imposed thru force and violence - which are all immoral and more - criminal - can do to your country and to your people. I pray to God that Israelis will wake up and will do what is MORAL!

     

    United States Posted by Florin on Feb 2, 2003 at 2:58 AM

      I’ d like to say that, such behaviour, the conception or relativism of brutal actions, shall be eradicated from the top commanders,  which are actually the ones to determine soldier’s actions. Nevertheless, I approve Gordon’s efforts, because if it’s true that it seems impossible to stop, neither Hamass’s unjustifiable acts, nor Sharon’s use of military violence, you can try to humanise troop commander’s behaviour. Let’s pray for Peace and reconciliation. Anyway instead, of spending three years in the military, and as well thousands of billions in the Army, I would send overseas most Israelis and Palestinians, in order to escape to this violent spiral which allows to maintain fratricidal components in this terrible conflict. 

    Belgium Posted by Peace on the world. on Feb 2, 2003 at 10:51 AM

    Barring bush lobbing bombs while Sharon clears the west bank to “destroy Babylon and reclaim historic Israel,I have a new perspective. (My wife is an Israeli, and I have lived there)
        The west bank will never be handed over completely, because that would leave the water in Palestinian control.  The west bank is not economically viable except as a sweatshop. 

        True peace could come by Palestine getting Northern Israel including Haifa. Then they would have a port, and a shared , control of the water and Jerusalem. Get some camels, and you could have the most popular religious theme park in the world.
        How"s that for a conversation starter.
       
     

    United States Posted by Darrell Denisi on Feb 4, 2003 at 1:54 PM

    I think moral relativism has its place.  The real problem is power.  Leadership can largely be defined in terms of authority, that is leadership without authority (moral values / suasion) and leadership with authority (power driven).  Power corrupts; absolute power corrupts absolutely!!   
     

    Jamaica Posted by D. Trottman on Feb 4, 2003 at 9:14 PM

    Remember members of the German Army offering the same explation after the end of the Second World War. How far towards National Socialism has Israel moved?   
     

    United Kingdom Posted by Frank Amies on Feb 4, 2003 at 10:12 PM

    We must worst of poor yet intelligent sods that can differentiate the right from wrong, yet continue to play in the hands of corrupt politcians and generals. Such characters are found in every hemisphere and country. These corrupt architects of the ‘new world order’ thrive on pitching each of us against every other person. This time they have successfully divided the world between Muslims and non Muslims.
    Is there anything, anything at all, that WE can do to stay united for the sake of our future generations?
     

    Italy Posted by Naushad on Feb 5, 2003 at 9:33 AM

    ‘Founding Father’ and our first president George Washington was absolutely correct in his farewell address to Congress.  The creation of Israel and its subsequent undermining of our American institutions seems to be a realization of his visionary warnings!  (From Palestine to Frankenstein in 2 generations!)

    I hope that you will understand that the legislation which authorizes the continual giveaway of BILLIONS in U.S. federal dollars stolen from U.S. taxpayers, wasted in a gigantic welfare giveaway to “The State Of Israel”, is unconstitutional under the 1st Amendment.  Period.  No ifs ands or buts.

    Here are the first ten words of the first Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.  As far as I know, this law has never been overturned.  I quote it here exactly (in the original English)....
    “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion,”
    This part of the so-called ‘Establishment Clause’ of the Bill of Rights can not be any clearer.  And it is so important that they put it first!

    With good intentions, America moved away from our wise constitution when we tried to deal with the problem left after World War 2 and Hitler’s Germany, by helping out certain European victims of the war.  Now it’s time to stop that perversion of our system.  If Israel were not a “religious state”, then there would be no legal problem with that particular waste of our taxes.  But the federal aid to Israel is illegal, always has been and always will be.  Can anyone maintain that Israel is not the epitome of ‘an establishment of religion’?

    It is wrong to continue to violate our supreme law like this by the unlawful federal support of the increasing Israeli apartheid state and its ethnic cleansing of Palestinians.  Mixing religion and government weakens America as the founding fathers correctly foresaw.  Where is your representative on this important issue?  Are your lawmakers for upholding the law, or for continuing to break it by staying with the situation which they inherited?  Does their religion cloud their judgment?  We need honest, law-abiding American political leaders, not drones of some God-forsaken religious movement.

    United States Posted by heartbone on Feb 10, 2003 at 4:24 PM
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