Does the IDF’s Morality Need to be Recalibrated?

Israel prides itself on its “purity of arms.” Gil Troy suggests here that given the nature of its enemy, the IDF ought to pay more attention to preserving the lives of its soldiers and less to minimizing civilian casualties among that enemy: “Israeli Soldiers Die Because Its Military Is So Moral; How to Fight the Next War,” by Gil Troy, Algemeiner, October 19, 2023:

Predictably, suckered again by Hamas propagandists, the international community blasted Israel for attacking the Al-Ahli hospital in Gaza.

Without waiting for any evidence — Israeli or otherwise — almost every single media outlet chose to parrot the Hamas lie that Israel was responsible for the explosion.

Even when Israel provided intelligence proving that Hamas lied, most outlets reframed the story as disputing claims from equally credible sources.

The evidence implicating Palestinian Islamic Jihad is quite convincing. President Biden confirmed that the US Defense Department corroborated Israel’s claim that Palestinian terrorists bombed the hospital by accident. Israel has released audio and visual proof — and still some media outlets are saying the findings are “preliminary.”

Meanwhile, has anyone found a media outlet that rushed to judge Israel for the bombing, that is now denouncing the true Palestinian culprits?

A handful of those who first accused Israel of the hospital explosion have now admitted that the Jewish state was not responsible, but almost none of those have denounced Hamas for lying, or Palestinian Islamic Jihad for hiding its role in launching the fatal misfiring rocket.

This latest Palestinian crime against their own people should clarify this war’s moral dynamics. Hamas started the war on October 7. It was guilty then — and remains guilty now — until the war ends. Every resulting death, every subsequent injury, trauma, and economic loss, including errant explosions, is Hamas’ fault.

Sweating the ethics of fighting such barbarians feels absurd — 35 percent of Israel’s dead remain unidentified because rampaging Palestinians mutilated the bodies so violently.

Still, Israelis — and Jews worldwide — have enjoyed being praised for Israel having “the world’s most moral army.” As a Zionist, I remain proud of Israel’s “purity of arms” code, which conveys the Zionist desire to perfect the Jewish soul, not just defend Jewish bodies.

As a liberal-democrat, I am honored that many democratic armies study Israel’s moral doctrines and restraint toward civilians. But as an American political historian, I warn Israel — and its supporters — that these niceties have cost Israelis their people’s spilled blood and their enemies’ emboldened bloodlust.

It’s a defining Zionist myth. In January 1948, hundreds of Arab irregulars ambushed 35 Haganah soldiers trying to resupply Gush Etzion. The Arabs mutilated these young men’s corpses so brutally, that only 23 of the 35 bodies could be identified. A legend arose that the “lamed-hay” — the Hebrew letters representing 35 — met an Arab shepherd while convoying out of Jerusalem. They were too ethical to kill him, but he wasn’t too ethical — or grateful — to stay quiet. He sounded the alarm, and they all were butchered. More likely, it was two Arab women….

Exploiting Israel’s attempt at peace with the Oslo Accords, Palestinians turned Jenin into suicide-bombing central. Yet even after warning Palestinian civilians to flee, Israel deemed it immoral to bomb Jenin’s bomb factories, munition depots, and terrorist headquarters from the air. Acting morally, Israel sent troops into the cramped Casbah, where terrorists hatched their crimes, hiding behind 13,500 civilians.

Israel’s restraint surprised the Palestinians, who had been targeting innocent Israelis for months.

Tabbat Mardawi, a Palestinian Islamic Jihad leader guilty of at least 12 attacks, later told CNN: “I’ve been waiting for a moment like that for years.” Instead of the expected bombing raids, it “was like hunting … like being given a prize…. The Israelis knew that any soldier who went into the camp like that was going to get killed.”

Tabbat Mardawi was amazed that the Israelis would send soldiers into the Jenin camp, instead of simply bombing the sites in the camp where the IDF knew or suspected the terrorists were hiding. But the IDF commanders were willing to endanger their soldiers to minimize civilian casualties. And the result was ghastly.

On April 9, Palestinian terrorists ambushed Israeli troops. Thirteen Israelis died in the worst incident — and another 10 fell too, with 75 wounded. During the house-to-house fighting, 55 Palestinians died. Most were found clutching weapons in their hands or with their weapons lying nearby.

23 dead and 75 wounded Israelis, all due to that desire to uphold the “purity of arms” that no other army in the world imposes on itself. Israel wins no plaudits for this policy; the terrorists are delighted to exploit it.

I remember how proud so many American Jews were of Israel’s “morality.” I remember how devastated I felt for dozens of new widows and orphans whose husbands and fathers died so we could feel good.

Instead of calling airstrikes on sites inside the Jenin camp, which would have saved the lives of those 23 Israeli soldiers, the IDF chose to send in ground troops in order to save the lives of Palestinians. Are there not times when the IDF should consider more carefully the lives of its own soldiers, and not be so solicitous of enemy civilians? How many Israelis think the IDF was correct in sending soldiers into the death trap of Jenin camp without first bombing the sites where terrorists were located?

Alas, Israel’s ethical effort didn’t stop Palestinians from accusing Israel of massacring hundreds of civilians.

Characteristically, reporters spread the lie before checking any facts. Suddenly, the world pronounced Jenin “totally destroyed” — as if it had been carpet-bombed — and Israel “morally repugnant.” Eventually, honest investigations debunked this big lie. Still, the BBC’s James Reynolds explained “Those two words” — Jenin and massacre — became linked….

Jenin was not “totally destroyed,” and there was no “massacre” in Jenin. With 55 terrorists and 23 IDF soldiers killed, no one could properly call the Jenin fight a “massacre.”