Purity of arms

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The code of purity of arms (Hebrew: טוהר הנשק, Tohar HaNeshek) is one of the values stated in the Israel Defense Force's official doctrine of ethics, The Spirit of the IDF.

1 Text of "Purity of Arms"
2 Tactical and ethical dilemmas
3 Jewish and universal moral sources of the doctrine
- 3.1 Rabbinic opinion
4 Sources
5 See also
6 External links

[edit] Text of "Purity of Arms"

“	"Purity of Arms" (Morality in Warfare) - The soldier shall make use of his weaponry and power only for the fulfillment of the mission and solely to the extent required; he will maintain his humanity even in combat. The soldier shall not employ his weaponry and power in order to harm non-combatants or prisoners of war, and shall do all he can to avoid harming their lives, body, honor and property.	”
—IDF Spirit ^[1]

[edit] Tactical and ethical dilemmas

Critics sometimes cite the story of the Convoy of 35. In this incident, a group of Jewish fighters reputedly^[who?] chose not to kill an elderly Arab shepherd who subsequently informed his fellow villagers, which led to the killing of the Jewish fighters. This illustrates the dilemmas that can arise in combat and other confrontation situations, in which several of the values within the Spirit of the IDF code are concomitantly evoked, such as:

Human Life - "The IDF servicemen and women will act in a judicious and safe manner in all they do, out of recognition of the supreme value of human life. During combat they will endanger themselves and their comrades only to the extent required to carry out their mission." ^[1]
Comradeship - "The IDF servicemen and women will act out of fraternity and devotion to their comrades, and will always go to their assistance when they need their help or depend on them, despite any danger or difficulty, even to the point of risking their lives." ^[2]

Dealing with such dilemmas requires a coherent response on the part of officer and soldier alike.

[edit] Jewish and universal moral sources of the doctrine

The "Spirit of the IDF," a text within the IDF's main doctrine, requires "honoring the values of the State of Israel as a Jewish...state," while two of its four sources are "the tradition of the Jewish People throughout their history" and "universal moral values based on the value and dignity of human life." ^[2] It can be understood from this that Jewish religious law does not determine IDF policy per se.

[edit] Rabbinic opinion

Some rabbis oppose the stipulation of avoiding harm to non-combatants, arguing that Jewish law specifically rejects this requirement during wartime. Some instances:

Rabbis associated with the Israeli settlement movement in the West Bank and Gaza demanded in 2004 that terrorism must be fought without regard for the safety of the enemy civilian population. ^[3]
In the 2006 Lebanon War, the main organization of Modern Orthodox rabbis in the United States called on the Israeli military to be less concerned with avoiding civilian casualties on the opposing side. ^[4]. They argue that because the Hezbollah hides among the civilian population, it would be immoral not to attack Hezbollah -- as Hezbollah poses an extreme threat to the Israeli civilian population. Thus, it would be unreasonable to not attack Hezbollah, which will result in allowing Hezbollah to kill Israelis, all based on the premise of avoiding Lebanese casulties.