A Twisted Sense of Ethics has Denied the West the Victory Option

The IDF is fighting in Gaza and the world wants to set impossible ethical limits. Rabbi Pruzansky speaks about the twisted sense of ethics that prevents victory and becomes a tool for the terrorists to use.

Rabbi Steven Pruzansky, a senior fellow in the Jerusalem Center for Applied Policy, participated in the series of Zoom interviews  by the Sovereignty Movement. The topic discussed was ethics.

Even in the beginning of his remarks, Rabbi Pruzansky makes clear that the source of the ethics behind our war with the enemies of Israel in general and with Gaza in particular is rooted in the concept of “the Glory of Israel will not lie nor change; for He is not a man, that He should change (Samuel I 15:29), that is, it is rooted in the divine Source that does not change His position and His opinion, and is not subject to variations with time, in contrast to human ethics, which changes according to different eras, situations, concepts and population groups.

The Western concept, says Rabbi Pruzansky, draws some principles from Jewish ethics, but without the most significant one, which is that it is concluded from the ultimate and unchangeable Source. But since Western ethics change from time to time, in his opinion, this is not objective ethics.

In relating to the Western demand for Israel to be held to certain ethical standards during war, Rabbi Pruzansky mentions the lack of ethical consideration that allowed the West to bombing and shell Dresden, Hiroshima, Nagasaki, etc.

Moreover, he notes the significant difference in the very fact that the powers demanded ethical conduct from themselves only after the war and not during, but from Israel they demand to be ethical in the midst of a war. “You don’t go to war with lawyers who tell you where to shoot, here or there. This is not ethical”, states Rabbi Pruzansky, noting Churchill’s response when he was asked about those uninvolved, innocent Germans who were harmed by the Allies’ bombing, “There are no innocents in Germany, period”, he stated, and this is even more correct when it comes to Gaza.

Rabbi Pruzansky notes that the population in Gaza chose Hamas as their leader in elections, an organization that dedicates itself to genocide.

Moreover, we must remember that the citizens of Gaza took part in the slaughter of Simhat Torah morning and many others celebrated the slaughter and its results. “We do not hear even one word of opposition to what happened in the south of the country from anyone, from any guiltless citizen in Gaza. “Not even one person opposed the slaughter of Jews”.

Rabbi Pruzansky also mentions that for about the past 15 years, there was not even one attempt at rebellion by the citizens of Gaza, despite the heavy price that they pay for this regime, which does not represent any purpose or strategy beyond fighting against Jews and being part of the Iranian axis of evil.

As for babies and children, the rabbi adds that this is not the first time in history that minors have suffered for the sins of the adults.

In the commandment to eliminate Amalek, notes Rabbi Pruzansky, there is no concept of innocents. “How is it possible to deny that the Hamas and Fatah ideology is also absorbed by these children?

In Operation Protective Edge, they asked how it is possible to bomb these children, but these children, who were minors in 2008 in Gaza, are the same ones who slaughtered and murdered and raped people on Shemini Atzeret in 2023”.

Regarding international covenants and international laws, according to which the Hague Tribunal conducts itself, Rabbi Pruzansky reminds us that it is people who are responsible for them, people who meant well but the result was illogical and does not allow for victory over the enemy. “It is clear that war is not ethical. War is chaos. War includes ethical license, including license to murder”, and to this he adds that the absurdity of international covenants is highlighted when there is no mutual limitation of the two sides, both considering themselves to be subject to common ethical principles.

In such a situation, the rules and laws only strengthen the brutal enemy. “This is the reason that since determining that protocol, the Western countries, including the U.S., have not won a single war, not in Korea, not in Vietnam, not in the Middle East. It is impossible to win while wasting power on exaggerated care for the situation of citizens when the brutal enemy is using these ethics as ammunition against the forces of good.”

“Our brutal enemy, as well as the Fatah terrorists in Judea and Samaria, do not obey any law of the Hague or Geneva convention. According to this convention, it is forbidden to fight without a uniform but the terrorists always fight without uniforms.

According to the convention, it is forbidden to fight in a populated area but we see that this is what they do.

It is clear that it is forbidden to murder, to slaughter, to rape and take citizens captive, it is forbidden to leave citizens in captivity without a visit from the Red Cross.

So, to adhere to these rules without the mutual adherence of the other side causes an impasse or, Heaven forbid, defeat.”

In Rabbi Pruzansky’s opinion, the objective that the government presented at the start of the war is just, “First of all, the collapse of Hamas – they should not have any control or any military power to harm Jews, along with the return of the captives. These two objectives are somewhat contradictory to each other, unless there are miracles from Heaven, whether hidden or open.”

About this, Rabbi Pruzansky mentions the murder of the female soldier that was taken into Hamas’ captivity, as an example of how making conditions harder for Hamas might endanger the lives of the captives.

“After these two objectives are met, it is impossible that a foreign power will be sovereign in Gaza. Not only for the Palestinian Authority, as Biden and Blinken say, which is a delusional idea, it would be terrible for us to lose even one soldier just to hand over Gaza to Abu Mazen on a silver platter. We have already seen this horror film in 2005. We must rule and cause the villages in the Gaza envelope to flourish and build villages in Gush Katif, even if it is clear that it is not necessary to announce it today”, says Rav Pruzansky.

Regarding the Arab citizens of Gaza, Rav Pruzansky says that besides the fact that the Gaza Strip is not fit for habitation, it does not have the necessary infrastructure, housing units, etc. and as a result of this, for the good of the Arabs of Gaza themselves, it will be appropriate and worthwhile for them to emigrate to other countries in the West. “If there is no population in Gaza, it will be good for us, but also for them and for the world.”