Israeli Forces Taking the Moral High Road

Back

From the time he sights a possible target, an Israeli tank commander has an eight second window to decide whether to shoot or not to shoot. Eight seconds in which to decide who is a terrorist and who is an innocent. Eight seconds to make a moral decision: will firing cause more collateral damage than the immediate threat?

Israeli military personnel must deal daily with complex legal, ethical and military issues. As a result, the IDF has developed a code of conduct that serves as a guideline for making decisions in the field. This code of conduct--a combination of international law, Israeli law and IDF tradition--is taught to regular and reserve units. The fact that such an ethics code is taught and enforced means the IDF is fighting a morally ambiguous war with a code of moral integrity said IDF Colonel (res.) Bentzi Gruber.

In a March 7 lecture given at United Orthodox Synagogues, Gruber emphasized that modern military engagements like Operation Cast Lead means Israel is vulnerable to a number of military, ethical and public relations consequences. Although Israel succeeded militarily in Gaza, “Israel is losing the public relations war,” said Gruber. A computer engineer in daily life, Gruber is also Vice-Commander of an armored division and a veteran of more than 20 years serving in the Israeli reserves.

There are disadvantages adhering to a code of conduct against an enemy that deliberately seeks to take advantage of such a moral code. However, teaching an ethical code of conduct “makes our soldiers good people,” said Gruber. “When our soldiers are good people, that is when we have a strong army and secure country.”

Gruber served in Operation Cast Lead. In his lecture, he told the Houston audience that Israel’s code of ethics emphasized three principles during the war in Gaza:

1. Distinction-don’t harm the innocent
2. Necessity-force should be used solely for the purpose of accomplishing the mission
3. Proportionality-actions that create collateral damage should be weighed in proportion to the threat

In Gaza, said Gruber, Hamas was well aware of these strategic constraints. Hamas sought to turn these constraints to their tactical advantage.

For example, one of Israel’s principle goals in Operation Cast Lead was to destroy the smuggling tunnels that go between Rafa and Egypt. Since Israel left Gaza, smugglers have brought in some 140,000 tons of explosives per year through the tunnels into Gaza said Gruber. Forty-eight hours before bombing the tunnels, Israel dropped leaflets over Rafa warning civilians in the area of the impending bombing. Then Israel attempted to warn local residents a second time by using telephone and sending text messages.

“What kind of army does this?” asked Gruber.

Even so, he said, Israel had to contend with Hamas fighters who elected to remain at tunnel sites. When some of these fighters were wounded, Hamas claimed that Israel had attacked “innocent civilians”. Defining who is innocent and who is the enemy is difficult in the heat of battle—particularly when the person shooting at you doesn’t wear a uniform said Gruber.

Gruber showed the audience an aerial video taken of a Hamas rocket launcher that was firing on Israeli tanks from inside a mosque. An Israeli rocket fired from a plane took out the launcher. Of course, said Gruber, human rights groups protested the destruction of the mosque by Israel.

In another video that Gruber showed, two United Nations ambulances were used to block Israeli tanks from entering a street. Halfway down the block, a Hamas fighter set up a rocket launcher to attempt to destroy the Israeli tanks. Clearly, said Gruber, firing on ambulances in a violation of military ethics. But what do you do when Hamas personnel deliberately used U.N. ambulances for the tactical purpose of shielding a Hamas rocket launcher? Even if the IDF was entirely justified in using force in a case like this, said Gruber, Palestinians claimed that Israel was guilty of a war crime by destroying “innocent civilian targets”.

One of the most pernicious lies that came out of Operation Cast Lead was the myth of phosphorus bombs in Gaza said Gruber. Palestinians claimed that Israel used phosphorus shells--that is, chemical weapons—during the assault on Gaza.

“Phosphorus bombs would cause severe burns to the skin,” answered Gruber. “Where is the evidence of the hundreds or thousands of people suffering injuries from phosphorus shells? This is a real lie that came out of the war.”

Gruber told his audience that they must learn how ethics govern Israeli military conduct in the field. “U.S. Jews must tell the story,” said Gruber. “Due to misconceptions and outright lies, Israel is losing the public relations war.”
**
To learn more about Bentzi Gruber’s “Ethics In the Field” initiative, visit www.bentzigruber.com

Politics