Tuesday, June 23, 2015

An Eye for an Eye?

 

 

 ‘You have heard that it was said, “An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.” But I say to you, Do not resist an evildoer. But if anyone strikes you on the right cheek, turn the other also; and if anyone wants to sue you and take your coat, give your cloak as well; and if anyone forces you to go one mile, go also the second mile. Give to everyone who begs from you, and do not refuse anyone who wants to borrow from you.
                 Matthew 5:38-42 Concerning Retaliation

  "That old law about 'an eye for an eye' leaves everybody blind. The time is always right to do the right thing.”

                                                Martin Luther King, Jr
 
A United Nations report released yesterday concludes that both Hamas and the IDF, the Israel Defense Force were guilty of war crimes during the 50-day conflict last summer in Gaza. Hamas indiscriminately fired rockets into Israel. Israeli forces used air strikes that killed more than a thousand civilians and destroyed infrastructure and many thousands of homes. Here is a single sentence from the report
 
“The fact that Israel did not revise its practice of airstrikes, even after their dire effects on civilians became apparent, raises questions of whether this was part of a broader policy which was at least tacitly approved at the highest level of government.”
 
This is such a reminder that extreme violence is a form of terror, whoever employs it, and that retaliation is futile. In the end the innocent suffer. Morality is also a casualty in these situations.
 
Jesus had it right.

 Here is a worthwhile opinion piece from the New York Times http://www.nytimes.com/2015/06/23/opinion/war-crimes-and-the-gaza-war.html
 
Thoughts?
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3 comments:

  1. Unknown9:29 AM

    and Emmanuel AME also got it right in their response to their attacker.

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  2. roger1:27 PM

    Here's a start for the Israel-Palestine crisis: get rid of Hamas and put in the Palestinian Authority, and absolutely get rid of the much-despised Netanyahu. The people of Gaza will never have a chance with him at the helm.

    Hamas must stop firing their ridiculous rockets(they have killed less than 100 Israelis in the past 15 years, although that is cold comfort for the families of the victims).

    Today, this is what it means to be a Palestinian: Israel controls your job and whether or not you can travel to your workplace; Israel decides if you can seek medical treatment in another part of the Territories; Israel may bulldoze your house to make way for bypass-roads for settlers.

    There is plenty of blame on both sides.

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  3. Frank1:04 PM

    I recall a line from the movie "Fiddler on the Roof" when the Jewish community was discussing reprisals in response to the violence inflicted on them. When someone suggested the eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth argument, Tevye replied to the effect: That's great! Now we can all become blind and toothless!

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