One of the many odd things that happen to you when you lose three members of your family in a terror attack in Israel is that people ask your opinion about the ethics of the Israeli army’s response to such attacks. I’m not sure what makes me an expert on military tactics or ethics – I’m just a rabbi and an educator – but I’m always willing to offer an opinion (or two!).
Soon after the elimination of the terrorists who killed my wife and daughters, the IDF entered Jenin and eliminated four other terrorists, allegedly killing some of their wives and children in the attack. I was interviewed by a British journalist who, after asking my feelings about the elimination of the terrorists, said: “I presume you would condemn the IDF’s killing of the women and children?” I paused and then I answered, “Maybe G-d has put karma in the Universe. Maybe the terrorist who killed someone else’s wife and kids in cold blood is receiving Divine retribution when his own wife and children are accidentally killed during the reprisal?”
Hamas recently acknowledged that Israel has successfully eliminated 6,000 terrorists, approximately half the number that Israel is claiming. It is worth bearing in mind that Hamas has been training kids as young as eight years old to attack Jews, so many of their “civilian” statistics are highly questionable. But there’s another issue at play. Most of the Israeli attacks on Gaza have targeted terrorists in their homes. Military experts such as Lt. Col. (R) Peter Lerner have given testimony that the IDF is very careful to coordinate precision attacks on Hamas fighters, and to warn innocent civilians to vacate the area before they bomb known Hamas targets. That suggests that most of the “civilian” casualties are close family members of the terrorists themselves (i.e. those 6,000 men acknowledged by Hamas).
So, perhaps karma (which means fate or luck in Sanskrit) really is at work here, and the vast majority of casualties in Gaza are either terrorists or their wives and children. While they may be non-combatants, perhaps their suffering will make the Palestinian people more aware of the suffering that they have caused us, the survivors of their terror – before, during and since October 7. Perhaps the suffering of their families will be an incentive for Palestinians to end the indiscriminate murder of Israeli civilians – elderly men, women and children. Perhaps karma can explain most of the “non-combatant” casualties in Gaza, and perhaps this will lead to a greater urgency to make peace with Israel, from a people that has got away with promoting violence for way too long.
