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Last update - 14:42 06/02/2009
The philosopher who gave the IDF moral justification in Gaza
By Amos Harel
Tags: Hamas, Gaza, IDF, Asa Kasher

When senior Israel Defense Forces officers are asked about the killing of hundreds of Palestinian civilians during the fighting in the Gaza Strip, they almost all give the same answer: The use of massive force was designed to protect the lives of the soldiers, and when faced with a choice between protecting the lives of Israeli soldiers and those of enemy civilians under whose protection the Hamas terrorists are operating, the soldiers take precedence.

The IDF's response to criticism does not sound improvised or argumentative. The army entered Gaza with the capacity to gauge with relatively high certainty the impact of fighting against terror in such a densely populated area. And it operated there not only with the backing of the legal opinion of the office of the Military Advocate General, but also on the basis of ethical theory, developed several years ago, that justifes its actions.

Prof. Asa Kasher of Tel Aviv University, an Israel Prize laureate in philosophy, is the philosopher who told the IDF that it was possible. In a recent interview with Haaretz Kasher said the army operated in accordance with a code of conduct developed about five years ago for fighting terrorism.
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"The norms followed by the commanders in Gaza were generally appropriate," Kasher said. In Kasher's opinion there is no justification for endangering the lives of soldiers to avoid the killing of civilians who live in the vicinity of terrorists. According to Kasher, IDF Chief of Staff Gabi Ashkenazi "has been very familiar with our principles from the time the first document was drafted in 2003 to the present."

Kasher's argument is that in an area such as the Gaza Strip in which the IDF does not have effective control the overriding principle guiding the commanders is achieving their military objectives. Next in priority is protecting soldiers' lives, followed by avoiding injury to enemy civilians. In areas where Israel does have effective control, such as East Jerusalem, there is no justification for targeted killings in which civilians are also hit because Israel has the option of using routine policing procedures, such as arrests, that do not endanger innocent people.

Prof. Kasher has strong, long-standing ties with the army. He drafted the IDF ethical code of conduct in the mid-1990's. In 2003 he and Maj. Gen Amos Yadlin, now the head of Military Intelligence, published an article entitled "The Ethical Fight Against Terror." It justified the targeted assassination of terrorists, even at the price of hitting nearby Palestinian civilians. Subsequently Kasher, Yadlin, and a team that included IDF legal experts wrote a more comprehensive document on military ethics in fighting terror. Lt. Gen. Moshe Ya'alon, who was the IDF Chief of Staff at the time, did not make the document binding but Kasher says the ideas in the document were adopted in principle by Ya'alon and his successors. Kasher has presented them to IDF and Shin Bet security service personnel dozens of times.

"The article was translated into English and published in a military ethics journal and is still being debated around the world," Kasher said. "The feedback is generally positive, although the message is difficult to digest. In the end, everyone acknowledges that they conduct themselves this way. There is no army in the world that will endanger its soldiers in order to avoid hitting the neighbors of an enemy or terrorist. The media don't understand the nature of international law. It's not like tough traffic laws. Much of it is customary law. The decisive question is how enlightened countries conduct themselves. We in Israel are in a key position in the development of law in this field because we are on the front lines in the fight against terrorism. This is gradually being recognized both in the Israeli legal system and abroad. After the debate before the High Court of Justice on the issue of targeted killings there was no need to revise the document that Yadlin and I drafted even by one comma. What we are doing is becoming the law. These are concepts that are not purely legal, but also contain strong ethical elements.

"The Geneva Conventions are based on hundreds of years of tradition of the fair rules of combat. They were appropriate for classic warfare, where one army fought another. But in our time the whole business of rules of fair combat has been pushed aside. There are international efforts underway to revise the rules to accommodate the war against terrorism. According to the new provisions, there is still a distinction between who can and cannot be hit, but not in the blatant approach which existed in the past. The concept of proportionality has also changed. There is no logic in comparing the number of civilians and armed fighters killed on the Palestinian side, or comparing the number of Israelis killed by Qassam rockets to the number of Palestinians killed in Gaza."

When asked whether the IDF should be guided in its operations in Gaza by the concept that there should be zero tolerance for endangering the lives of soldiers, Kasher responds, "The soldiers' lives are endangered by virtue of their very presence in Gaza, by virtue of the fact that we send them to an area where there are enemy snipers and explosives set to go off in areas where the IDF is present. Sending a soldier there to fight terrorists is justified, but why should I force him to endanger himself much more than that so that the terrorist's neighbor isn't killed? I don't have an answer for that. From the standpoint of the state of Israel, the neighbor is much less important. I owe the soldier more. If it's between the soldier and the terrorist's neighbor, the priority is the soldier. Any country would do the same."

The decision regarding the magnitude of force used to protect the lives of the soldiers is up to the commander in the field. "The commander must be skilled in gauging the appropriate use of force," Kasher said.

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      1.   Exactly correct 05:20  |  judith 06/02/09
      2.   Asa is a racist fashist 05:38  |  alan 06/02/09
      3.   Israeli apologia is as boring as it is trivial and ineffective 05:40  |  Natallie Durson 06/02/09
      4.   Common sense 05:45  |  Shalom Freedman 06/02/09
      5.   Philosopher my A**... 05:54  |  Philosopher 06/02/09
      6.   A grotesque perversion of morality 06:20  |  peacelover 06/02/09
      7.   Who gave the order to the IDF to warn Gaza residents before... 06:20  |  Maureen Ann 06/02/09
      8.   no logic? 07:33  |  adam 06/02/09
      9.   re: #2 Asa is a racist fashist (sic) 08:24  |  hmpierson 06/02/09
      10.   re: "media reports" 08:29  |  hmpierson 06/02/09
      11.   comparison 08:45  |  arik 06/02/09
      12.   This is a licence to arm every civilian 08:46  |  sh 06/02/09
      13.   What about the others?? 09:00  |  Dr. Jack 06/02/09
      14.   What MORAL? 09:05  |  P.H.D 06/02/09
      15.   #7 Maureen Ann 09:07  |  Ariel 06/02/09
      16.   #8 Adam 09:22  |  Ariel 06/02/09
      17.   No Logic? 09:25  |  lee 06/02/09
      18.   nutullie and moaning ann take care to be impartial ? 09:25  |  vhardman 06/02/09
      19.   Read Bergson`s: "Ethics and Morality" 14:55  |  Abecassis 06/02/09
      20.   Better an israeli concript than one civilian 16:48  |  Jens 06/02/09
      21.   philosopher defends killing civilians 17:11  |  Victor 06/02/09
      22.   the Geneva convention should definitely be revised - 18:45  |  ivo 06/02/09
      23.   kol hakavod le zahal 18:56  |  Charles 06/02/09
      24.   and, there will be a definite long term agreement with Hamas 18:58  |  Charles 06/02/09
      25.   Any job comes first? Surprise! 18:59  |  fritz t. 06/02/09
      26.   Jens, Danmark 20:45  |  Charles 06/02/09
      27.   This logic works both ways 20:46  |  vadim 06/02/09
      28.   Israeli politicians buy it, but international law experts do not 20:50  |  Naftali Lavie 06/02/09
      29.   salute to Denmark part 1 20:55  |  Sceptic 06/02/09
      30.   salute to Denmark part 2 20:57  |  Sceptic 06/02/09
      31.   moral justifiation ? 23:07  |  jim the mechanic 06/02/09
      32.   Ok fine, but.... 23:13  |  Shalit 06/02/09
      33.   #28 naftalie which experts are they ? 23:31  |  v hardman 06/02/09
      34.   21 Victor - Terrorists did not `capture` Gaza` - they were voted 23:35  |  An Israeli 06/02/09
      35.   "enemy civilians"? 23:41  |  Thought Police 06/02/09
      36.   morality or immorality? 23:50  |  pacifist 06/02/09
      37.   Iran only country viewed more negatively than Israel 00:22  |  observer 07/02/09
      38.   To # 32 - Pacifist 00:50  |  Johann 07/02/09
      39.   to # 32- pacifist 00:54  |  Mario 07/02/09
      40.   Can A Pals Philosopher Then Say That 01:09  |  Roger 07/02/09
      41.   Thought Police # 31 "Enemy Civilians" 01:25  |  Jeff Northridge 07/02/09
      42.   This guy is a philosopher? 01:39  |  Lexo 07/02/09
      43.   Naftalie Lavie # 28 Which International Law Experts? 01:54  |  Jeff Northridge 07/02/09
      44.   In other words: 02:07  |  GD 07/02/09
      45.   #34. Exactly! 02:14  |  GD 07/02/09
      46.   obviously civilians have been the targeted groups in 3 wars 02:15  |  so then 07/02/09
      47.   ivo-#22 Geneva 02:28  |  Roo 07/02/09
      48.   #10, you forgot! 03:10  |  Ben Graham 07/02/09
      49.   Israel never needed any philosopher to justify any attack ! 03:43  |  Johann 07/02/09
      50.   try role reversal 04:04  |  Truth 07/02/09
      51.   Philospher, Philosopher: you have made Philisophy Bankrupt! 04:26  |  LoyalFriend 07/02/09
      52.   #37 is missing the obvious 04:28  |  Frank Benjamin 07/02/09
      53.   #3 05:50  |  Moshe 07/02/09
      54.   Angry Arab 06:52  |  As`ad 07/02/09
      55.   Stolen property 07:06  |  LM 07/02/09
      56.   Poor Decisions Made A Long Time Ago... 07:25  |  Yosemite 07/02/09
      57.   roger 34 07:55  |  Franklin 07/02/09
      58.   The philosopher has Prize Israel 08:18  |  dani.a 07/02/09
      59.   moral justification 08:21  |  rm 07/02/09
      60.   Prize-winning philosophy: "The ends justify the means". 08:45  |  Ivar 07/02/09
      61.   The blood thirsty pholispher 09:04  |  john stephens 07/02/09
      62.   51 LM North Carolina and entire USA was stolen from natives 09:24  |  Rob AA 07/02/09
      63.   #22, ivo 10:17  |  Cipora Julianna Kohn 07/02/09
      64.   # 22 ivo, are you sure that this is such a good idea..... 10:47  |  Swiss (Dino) 07/02/09
      65.   philosophy students in israel just wasting their time 12:05  |  alex 07/02/09
      66.   Eating human flesh - the next question 12:11  |  alex 07/02/09
      67.   Fair Reasoning Flawed Premise 12:24  |  Sean 07/02/09
      68.   changing rules in conflict 12:34  |  Jean Davis 07/02/09
      69.   HE`S ABSOLUTELY CORRECT. 12:35  |  Petra 07/02/09
      70.   Ariel # 15 TOUCHE` BRAVO!!!! 12:38  |  Petra 07/02/09
      71.   Morality 12:42  |  Angel 07/02/09
      72.   zionists doctor death is back again 14:08  |  khaled 07/02/09
      73.   Cipora, Dino: the Geneva issue - 14:14  |  ivo 07/02/09
      74.   Roo #47: non-state actors do abuse the law as much as states do - 14:47  |  ivo 07/02/09
      75.   A big shoe in the face, for this `philosopher`... 15:54  |  Pete 07/02/09
      76.   Lee #17 15:55  |  joan 07/02/09
      77.   Nothing short of revolting 16:54  |  Peter 07/02/09
      78.   Israels right to kill terrorists. Part 1 of 2. 17:28  |  Anders Branderud 07/02/09
      79.   Part 2 of 3 17:29  |  Anders Branderud 07/02/09
      80.   The more I read about hamas it reminds me of the . . . 18:52  |  Zev Davis 07/02/09
      81.   Israel must understand 19:14  |  Kamal Siddiqui 07/02/09
      82.   Not a philosopher 20:15  |  Woodlawn 07/02/09
      83.   To: Peter of Dublin 21:33  |  Angel 07/02/09
      84.   A question 21:56  |  Janice 07/02/09
      85.   Janice 22:36  |  Charles 07/02/09
      86.   WE ARE WALKING STEADILY INTO THE PATH OF FASCISM, WE MUST STOP IT 22:38  |  YEHUDA 07/02/09
      87.   Moral imperitive of any nation is to PROTECT it`s people. 22:54  |  Claudia 07/02/09
      88.   Occupation and a PALESTINIAN State 22:56  |  Sceptic 07/02/09
      89.   Charles 22:57  |  Janice 07/02/09
      90.   ivo But non-state atrocities pale in comparison 23:12  |  Roo 07/02/09
      91.   Occupation and a PALESTINIAN State 23:43  |  Sceptic 07/02/09
      92.   The better way is to sacrifice Hamas conscripts 00:18  |  Israeli conscript 08/02/09
      93.   Angel you behave like an ill mannered child 00:22  |  Pronsias+ 08/02/09
      94.   Angel you behave like an ill mannered child 00:22  |  Pronsias+ 08/02/09
      95.   Angel #82 00:24  |  joan 08/02/09
      96.   Answer to what is rightfully the Palestinians 00:32  |  Realtor 08/02/09
      97.   ivo. non-state atrocities pale in comparison 01:21  |  Roo 08/02/09
      98.   SUPPORT 01:37  |  indian 08/02/09
      99.   ivo. non-state atrocities pale in comparison 01:49  |  Roo 08/02/09
      100.   Dino 02:58  |  John Spear 08/02/09
      101.   The world is wrong, but Israel always is right 03:05  |  ruiz 08/02/09
      102.   One correction 03:12  |  Gregor 08/02/09
      103.   What twisted thinking... 03:23  |  Dutch 08/02/09
      104.   Israeli philosopher 03:46  |  John Spear 08/02/09
      105.   Janice - the pals don`t want justice they want land 03:54  |  Gregor 08/02/09
      106.   Roo you forgot about the thousands of Jewish 04:07  |  Gregor 08/02/09
      107.   Moral view of Gaza operation 04:17  |  Hadas 08/02/09
      108.   Think hard, World 04:28  |  Jasper 08/02/09
      109.   "a license to kill" given to those who relish the act! 05:52  |  eric 08/02/09
      110.   RobAA North Carolina and entire USA was stolen from natives 07:17  |  LM 08/02/09
      111.   101~ erics logic has its own mystery ! 08:02  |  Akram Zekaria 08/02/09
      112.   #103, Eric 09:05  |  Cipora Julianna Kohn 08/02/09
      113.   Smart enough to face Russia? #53Pronsias 09:27  |  Sceptic 08/02/09
      114.   # 109 to akram re: prof. "asa kashar" 09:48  |  eric 08/02/09
      115.   Flowed theory 10:01  |  GalileeHero 08/02/09
      116.   # 110 to cipora re: hamas and the idf 10:27  |  eric 08/02/09
      117.   eric re IDF 12:51  |  Roo 08/02/09
      118.   Gregor 13:03  |  Roo 08/02/09
      119.   To: Pronsias 13:36  |  Angel 08/02/09
      120.   To: Joan 13:45  |  Angel 08/02/09
      121.   114~ eric. I owe you not a very serious apology 17:00  |  Akram Zekaria 08/02/09
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