A JEW SPEAKS OPENLY
No Place for Morals
By YEHEZKEL DROR There is little disagreement that every Jewish leader, organization, community and individual has a duty to help ensure the continuity of the Jewish people. But in a world where the long-term existence of the Jewish state is far from certain, the imperative to exist inevitably gives rise to difficult questions, foremost among them this: When the survival of the Jewish people conflicts with the morals of the Jewish people, is existence worthwhile, or even possible?
Physical existence, I would argue, must come first. No matter how
moral a society aspires to be, physical existence must take precedent.
Clear external and internal dangers threaten the very existence of
Israel as a Jewish state. It is very likely that the collapse of Israel or the
loss of its Jewish nature would undermine the existence of the Jewish
people as a whole. And even given the existence of a Jewish state, less
clear but no less fateful dangers threaten the long-term sustainable
existence of the Diaspora.
Harsh choices unavoidable
When the requirements of existence conflict with other values,
therefore, realpolitik should be given priority. From the threat of a
disastrous conflict with Islamist actors such as Iran, to the necessity of
maintaining distinctions between “us” and “others” in order to limit
assimilation, this imperative ought to guide policymakers.
Regrettably, human history refutes the idealistic claim that in order
to exist for long, a state, society or people has to be moral. Given the
foreseeable realities of the 21st century and beyond, harsh choices are
unavoidable, with requirements of existence often contradicting other
important values.
Some might argue that putting existence first may be counter-
productive in terms of existence itself, because what may be regarded
as immoral action can undermine external and internal support
essential for existence. However, the calculus of realpolitik gives
primacy to existence, leaving limited room for ethical considerations.
The unfortunate reality is that the Jewish people may be faced with
tragic choices in which important values have to be sacrificed for even
more important ones.
Sacrifice ‘political correctness’
Responsible decisions in such difficult situations require clear
recognition of the involved moral issues, careful pondering of all
relevant values and acceptance of responsibility for one’s autonomous
judgment. They also demand an effort to reduce to a minimum the
violation of moral values.
Nonetheless, when faced with such choices, the Jewish people ought
not be captivated by political correctness and other thinking-repressing
fashions. When it comes to China, for example, efforts to strengthen
the rising superpower’s ties to the Jewish people should trump moral-
minded campaigns to alter Beijing’s domestic policies and handling
of Tibet. The same goes for Turkey: Given its crucial peacemaking role
in the Middle East, discussion of whether the Ottomans committed
genocide against the Armenians ought to be left to historians, preferably
non-Jewish ones.
That is not necessarily to condone China’s policies, or to deny Armenian
history. Rather, it is to recognize that however just such moral stances
may or may not be, the Jewish people must give primacy to existence.
Jewish existence supersedes all other values
What is required is a priori pondering of values, so as to have guidelines
ready for judgment in specific contexts and under crisis conditions.
The overall issue is whether the imperative for the Jewish people to exist
is a categorical one overriding nearly all other values, or one among
many imperatives of similar standing. Given both the history and
current situation of the Jewish people, I would argue that the imperative
to assure existence is of overriding moral weight.
Let us leave aside reliance on transcendental arguments, biblical
commands and sayings of the sages, all of which are open to various
interpretations. The justification for giving priority to the needs of
existence is four-fold.
First, the Jewish people has an inherent right to exist, just as any other
people or civilization.
Entitled to kill others
Second, a people that has been regularly persecuted for 2,000 years
is entitled morally, in terms of distributive justice, to be very tough in
taking care of its existence, including the moral right and even duty to
kill and be killed if this is essential for assuring existence — even at the
cost of other values and to other people. This argument is all the more
compelling in light of the unprecedented killing only a few decades
ago of a third of the Jewish people — mass murder that was supported
directly and indirectly, or at least not prevented when possible, by
large parts of the civilized world.
Third, given the history of Judaism and the Jewish people, there is
a good chance that we will continue to make much-needed ethical
contributions to humanity. However, in order to do so we require
a stable existence.
Fourth, the State of Israel is the only democratic country whose very
existence is endangered by deeply hostile actors, again, without the
world taking decisive countermeasures. This justifies — indeed,
requires — measures that would be not only unnecessary but also
potentially immoral in other circumstances.
Existence of the Jewish state a top priority
The Jewish people should give much more weight to the imperative
to assure existence than to other values. There are, of course, limits;
nothing can justify initiating genocide. But with the few exceptions
where being killed and destroyed is better than transgressing against
absolute and total norms, assuring the existence of the Jewish people,
including a Jewish State of Israel, should be valued as a top priority.
Thus, if the security of Israel is significantly strengthened by good
relations with Turkey and China, but in some views Turkey is guilty
of genocide in the past against the Armenians and China of now
repressing Tibetans and domestic opposition, Jewish leaders and
organizations should support Turkey and China, or at least remain
neutral when it comes to their affairs. At a minimum, Jewish leaders
should not join the chorus of liberal and humanitarian actors
condemning Turkey and China.
Use of weapons of mass destruction justified
Similarly, Jewish leaders should support harsh measures against
terrorists who potentially endanger Jews, even at the cost of human
rights and humanitarian law. And if the threat is sufficiently grave,
the use of weapons of mass destruction by Israel would be justified
if likely to be necessary for assuring the state’s survival, the bitter price
of large number of killed innocent civilians notwithstanding.
To be sure, there is much room for debate on what is really required
for existence. Giving priority to the imperative to exist does not imply
supporting each and every policy of Israel. Indeed, the opposite is true:
Diaspora leaders, organizations and individuals have a duty to criticize
Israeli policies that in their view endanger the Jewish state and the
Jewish people’s existence, along with an obligation to propose
alternative existence-assuring policies.
‘Violating the rights of others should be accepted’
But at the end of the day there is no way around the tough and painful
practical implications of prioritizing existence as an overriding moral
norm over being moral in other respects. When important for existence,
violating the rights of others should be accepted, with regret but with
determination. Support or condemnation of various countries and
their policies should be decided upon primarily in light of probable
consequences for the existence of the Jewish people.
In short, the imperatives of existence should be given priority over
other concerns — however important they may be — including
liberal and humanitarian values, support for human rights and
democratization.
This tragic but compelling conclusion is not easy to swallow, but it is
essential for the future of the Jewish people. Once our existence is
assured, including basic security for Israel, much can and should be
sacrificed for tikkun olam.* But given present and foreseeable realities,
assuring existence must come first.
May 24, 2008
The Jewish Daily Forward
* “Fixing the world”
——————————————————————————–
Yehezkel Dror, the founding president of the Jewish People Policy Planning
Institute, is a professor emeritus of political science at the Hebrew University
of Jerusalem. A recipient of the Israel Prize, he served as a member of the
Winograd commission of inquiry into Israel’s war with Hezbollah in 2006.
——————————————————————————–
http://www.forward.com/articles/13388/
——————————————————————————–
Continuing the fight for a better world —
NEW ORDER
Dept E
PO Box 270486
Milwaukee WI 53227
http://www.theneworder.org
NOWebcom
0 Responses to “No Place for Morals”
Leave a Reply