Thursday, 08 April 2010 08:15
Written by John Hellein
Here's a report from November 2000 that relates the perspective of Rav Lior (Rabbi of Kiryat Arba) on dealing with the enemies of Israel and occupiers of Eretz Israel:
Rabbi Dov Lior, the Rabbi of Kiryat Arba and Hevron, related today to various questions connected with our relationship with the Palestinians. He told Arutz-7's Tuvia Rosenfeld that the government's policy of restraint and 'not hitting innocent civilians' does not "jibe with the Torah's outlook:" "It is true that Nachmanides [13th century Torah giant] rules that the army must not encircle the enemy and must allow it an opening from which to escape, but Maimonides [12th century Torah giant] differs and says that this is merely strategic advice - in that an army with no means of escape will fight more strongly. In war, when one nation attacks another nation, there is no such thing as 'innocent civilians...' Even collective punishment is allowed, according to the decisions of the military leaders. If, for instance, it is decided that the proper military response to the constant shooting at Gilo would be to bomb Beit Jala, or even to bomb large parts of Gaza, then this is what should be done. Of course, it could be that because of various weaknesses, the army does not make these decisions... It is clear to me that we are being too merciful, and in the wrong places - such that it is a 'mercy of cruelty;' as our Rabbis teach us, 'Whoever is merciful to the cruel, will end up being cruel to the merciful.' ... Furthermore, it's not enough to learn Eastern Affairs in universities - we must know our enemy and his characteristics. Maimonides wrote in his Epistle to Yemen, 'Whenever we try to seek their [the Moslems'] welfare, they will respond with curses and war.' This means that if we behave toward them with proper manners and with gentleness, they don't take this as a sign of strength - but rather as weakness, and it will actually invite further attacks upon us."
Rabbi Lior also related to the claim by the left-wing that "conquest corrupts," and that we should therefore rid ourselves of the "conquered territories." He said, "The Torah promises us, as explained by various commentaries to Deut. 13, 18, that when we are engaged in a Torah commandment, we need not worry that it will leave any immoral defects in our character. If we were engaged in military conquest of other lands, this would be against the Torah and basic ethics. But in this case, it is not conquest - it is the liberation of our own land, and the protection of our own people from enemies who threaten our very existence. I have no doubt that whoever is engaged in this act for the purpose of saving the People of Israel will be saved from any character blemishes, as the Torah promises."
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