----- Original Message -----
From: "Jon Marshall" <jmarshal@OL.COM.AU>
To: <CYBERMIND@LISTSERV.AOL.COM>
Sent: Saturday, August 10, 2002 4:26 PM
Subject: [Fwd: The ethics of revenge - by a father who lost his son to
terror]
> In a world were it seems clear that the governments of the US, Britain
> and Australia are itching to bomb people in Iraq for no particular
> reason other than it is there. I found this moving. I've no idea of
> course whether its genuine, but there is some hope perhaps.
>
> jon
>
> shniad@sfu.ca wrote:
> >
> > The ethics of revenge - by a father who lost his son to terror
> >
> > A speech made by Yitzhak Frankenthal, Chairman of the Families Forum, at
a
> > rally in Jerusalem on Saturday, July 27, 2002, outside the Prime
Minister's
> > residence.
> >
> > My beloved son Arik, my own flesh and blood, was murdered by
Palestinians.
> > My tall blue-eyed golden-haired son who was always smiling with the
> > innocence of a child and the understanding of an adult. My son. If to
hit
> > his killers, innocent Palestinian children and other civilians would
have to
> > be killed, I would ask the security forces to wait for another
opportunity.
> > If the security forces were to kill innocent Palestinians as well, I
would
> > tell them they were no better than my son's killers.
> >
> > My beloved son Arik was murdered by a Palestinian. Should the security
> > forces have information of this murderer's whereabouts, and should it
turn
> > out that he was surrounded by innocent children and other Palestinian
> > civilians, then - even if the security forces knew that the killer was
> > planning another murderous attack that was to be launched within hours
and
> > they now had the choice of curbing a terror attack that would kill
innocent
> > Israeli civilians but at the cost of hitting innocent Palestinians, I
would
> > tell the security forces not to seek revenge but to try to avoid and
prevent
> > the death of innocent civilians, be they Israelis or Palestinians.
> >
> > I would rather have the finger that pushes the trigger or the button
that
> > drops the bomb tremble before it kills my son's murderer, than for
innocent
> > civilians to be killed. I would say to the security forces: do not kill
the
> > killer. Rather, bring him before an Israeli court. You are not the
> > judiciary. Your only motivation should not be vengeance, but the
prevention
> > of any injury to innocent civilians.
> >
> > Ethics are not black and white - they are all white. Ethics have to be
free
> > of vengefulness and rashness. Every act must be carefully weighed before
a
> > decision is made to see whether it meets the strict ethical criteria.
Ethics
> > cannot be left to the discretion of anyone who is frivolous or
> > trigger-happy. Our ethics are hanging by a thread, at the mercy of every
> > soldier and politician. I am not at all sure that I am willing to
delegate
> > my ethics to them.
> >
> > It is unethical to kill innocent Israeli or Palestinian women and
children.
> > It is also unethical to control another nation and to lead it to lose
its
> > humaneness. It is patently unethical to drop a bomb that kills innocent
> > Palestinians. It is blatantly unethical to wreak vengeance upon innocent
> > bystanders. It is, on the other hand, supremely ethical to prevent the
death
> > of any human being. But if such prevention causes the futile death of
> > others, the ethical foundation for such prevention is lost.
> >
> > A nation that cannot draw the line is doomed to eventually apply
unethical
> > measures against its own people. The worst in my mind is not what has
> > already happened but what I am sure one day will. And it will - because
> > ethics are now being twisted and the political and military leadership
does
> > not even have the most basic integrity to say: "we are sorry".
> >
> > We lost sight of our ethics long before the suicide bombings. The
breaking
> > point was when we started to control another nation. My son Arik was
born
> > into a democracy with a chance for a decent, settled life. Arik's killer
was
> > born into an appalling occupation, into an ethical chaos. Had my son
been
> > born in his stead, he may have ended up doing the same. Had I myself
been
> > born into the political and ethical chaos that is the Palestinians'
daily
> > reality, I would certainly have tried to kill and hurt the occupier; had
I
> > not, I would have betrayed my essence as a free man. Let all the
> > self-righteous who speak of ruthless Palestinian murderers take a hard
look
> > in the mirror and ask themselves what they would have done had they been
the
> > ones living under occupation. I can say for myself that I, Yitzhak
> > Frankenthal, would have undoubtedly become a freedom fighter and would
have
> > killed as many on the other side as I possibly could. It is this
depraved
> > hypocrisy that pushes the Palestinians to fight us relentlessly. Our
double
> > standard that allows us to boast the highest military ethics, while the
same
> > military slays innocent children. This lack of ethics is bound to
corrupt
> > us.
> >
> > My son Arik was murdered when he was a soldier by Palestinian fighters
who
> > believed in the ethical basis of their struggle against the occupation.
My
> > son Arik was not murdered because he was Jewish but because he is part
of
> > the nation that occupies the territory of another.
> >
> > I know these are concepts that are unpalatable, but I must voice them
loud
> > and clear, because they come from my heart - the heart of a father whose
son
> > did not get to live because his people were blinded with power. As much
as I
> > would like to do so, I cannot say that the Palestinians are to blame for
my
> > son's death. That would be the easy way out, but it is we, Israelis, who
are
> > to blame because of the occupation. Anyone who refuses to heed this
awful
> > truth will eventually lead to our destruction.
> >
> > The Palestinians cannot drive us away - they have long acknowledged our
> > existence. They have been ready to make peace with us; it is we who are
> > unwilling to make peace with them. It is we who insist on maintaining
our
> > control over them; it is we who escalate the situation in the region and
> > feed the cycle of bloodshed. I regret to say it, but the blame is
entirely
> > ours.
> >
> > I do not mean to absolve the Palestinians and by no means justify
attacks
> > against Israeli civilians. No attack against civilians can be condoned.
But
> > as an occupation force it is we who trample over human dignity, it is we
who
> > crush the liberty of Palestinians and it is we who push an entire nation
to
> > crazy acts of despair. Finally, I call on my brothers and sisters in the
> > settlements - see what we have come to.
> >
> > _______________________________________________
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