This is a cross post from Marc’s Words
I have decided to stop blogging at the Jerusalem Post.
I debated my reluctance to continue at the Jerusalem Post for a long time, the arguments in favour of freedom of expression are strong and clear but in the end I came to the conclusion that to publicise calls on soldiers to disobey orders as well as well as advocating the harshest measures of communal punishment against Palestinians is beyond the pale.
Last month I wrote in to the editor of the Jerusalem Post blogs to complain about one piece that really seemed to go too far when David Wilder posted about edicts given by Rabbi Dov Lior including calling on soldiers to disobey their orders;
“Refusing orders to destroy communities in Eretz Yisrael: It is obligatory to follow military orders, but if the order contradicts the mitzvot of the Torah, and this includes destruction of a community in Eretz Yisrael, it is forbidden to obey them.”
Israel is a free country, people can believe what they wish to believe but the question is why publicise views that are part of the problem not part of the solution? I can’t agree with publishing such thinly veiled calls on soldiers to disobey their orders, especially not when wrapped up in religious teachings.
“Harming a civilian population during a war for Eretz Yisrael: During a war, a civilian population should not be arbitrarily harmed but it is prohibited to endanger our soldiers in order not to harm civilians, during warfare.”
So what is he saying here? Soldiers are at risk the instant that they enter a war zone, this absolutely does not mean that they have some kind of right to kill civilians. I would say the opposite, that the role of a soldier is specifically to protect civilians and that they should go out of their way, including risking their own lives, to ensure that innocent men, women and children are kept safe.
David Wilder, the author of the blog, is a spokesman for the Hebron Jewish community, I expect him to hold these views and he is welcome to them. It is not with him that I take issue. It is with the Jerusalem Post that the responsibility lies to ensure that what they are publishing is not inflammatory, dangerous and will not lead, ultimately to loss of life.
The Jerusalem Post came back at me saying that Wilder “offers a summary of a book that was recently published on the teachings of Rabbi Dov Lior…While you may not agree with the writings and the book, this is not a case for incitement.”
I let it go at that but it kept nagging at me, it wasn’t the first time that I had read something in his blog that was extreme to the point of being beyond the fold. The calls for collective punishment against Palestinians made here also got me thinking.
The fact is that some people are part of the problem and others are part of the solution. In publishing this kind of material the Jerusalem Post has made itself part of the problem. This should not reflect on the majority of bloggers at the Jerusalem Post who do a great job, usually for free. For me though even one or two individuals posting such hatred is too much.
Therefore I have already begun publishing from my new blog at the recently launchedTimes of Israel I hope to have many happy, healthy debates there with people on all sections of the political divide while avoiding some of the poison that has crept up in the Post.
