Jewish Herald-Voice (Houston, Tex.), Vol. 101, No. 53, Ed. 1 Thursday, March 11, 2010 Page: 3 of 32
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Page 3
Jewish Herald-Voice
March 11, 2010
Up Close
Israeli forces take the moral high road
Commander speaks to audience at UOS
By AARON HOWARD
From the time he sights a possible
target, an Israeli tank commander has
an eight-second window to decide
whether to shoot or not to shoot. Eight
seconds in which to decide who is a
terrorist and who is an innocent. Eight
seconds to make a moral decision: Will
firing cause more collateral damage
than the immediate threat?
Israeli military personnel must deal
daily with complex legal, ethical and
military issues. As a result, the Israel
Defense Forces has developed a code
of conduct that serves as a guideline
for making decisions in the field. This
code of conduct - a combination of
international law, Israeli law and IDF
tradition - is taught to regular and
reserve units. The fact that such an
ethics code is taught and enforced
means the IDF is fighting a morally
ambiguous war with a code of moral
integrity, said IDF Colonel (Res.)
Bentzi Gruber.
In a March 7 lecture given at
United Orthodox Synagogues, Gruber
emphasized that modern military
engagements, like Operation Cast
Lead, mean that Israel is vulnerable
to a number of military, ethical and
public relations consequences. Al-
though Israel succeeded militarily
in Gaza, “Israel is losing the public
relations war,” Gruber said. A
computer engineer in daily life, Gruber
also is vice commander
of an armored division
and a veteran of more
than 20 years serving in
the Israeli reserves.
There are disadvan-
tages in adhering to
a code of conduct
against an enemy that
deliberately seeks to
take advantage of such
a moral code. However,
teaching an ethical code
of conduct “makes our
soldiers good people,”
Gruber said. “When our soldiers are
good people, that is when we have a
strong army and secure country.”
Gruber served in Operation Cast
Lead. In his lecture, he told the
Houston audience that Israel’s code
of ethics emphasized three principles
during the war in Gaza:
1. Distinction: Don’t harm the
innocent.
2. Necessity: Force should be used
solely for the purpose of accomplishing
the mission.
3. Proportionality: Actions that
create collateral damage should be
weighed in proportion to the threat.
In Gaza, Gruber said, Hamas
was well aware of these strategic
constraints. Hamas sought to turn
these constraints to their tactical
advantage.
For example, one of Israel’s
principal goals in Operation Cast
Lead was to destroy the smuggling
tunnels that go between Rafa and
Egypt. Since Israel left
Gaza, smugglers have
brought in some 140,000
tons of explosives per
year through the tunnels
into Gaza, Gruber said.
Forty-eight hours before
bombing the tunnels,
Israel dropped leaflets
over Rafa, warning
civilians in the area of
the impending bombing.
Then, Israel attempted
to warn local residents a
second time, by telephone
and sending text messages.
“What kind of army does this?”
Gruber asked.
Even so, he said, Israel had to
contend with Hamas fighters who
elected to remain at tunnel sites.
When some of these fighters were
wounded, Hamas claimed that Israel
had attacked “innocent civilians.”
Defining who is innocent and who
is the enemy is difficult in the heat
of battle - particularly when the
person shooting at you doesn’t wear a
uniform, Gruber said.
Gruber showed the audience an
aerial video taken of a Hamas rocket
launcher that was firing on Israeli
tanks from inside a mosque. An Israeli
rocket fired from a plane took out
the launcher. Of course, Gruber said,
human rights groups protested the
destruction of the mosque by Israel.
In another video that Gruber
showed, two United Nations
ambulances were used to block Israeli
tanks from entering a street. Halfway
down the block, a Hamas fighter set
up a rocket launcher to attempt to
destroy the Israeli tanks.
Clearly, Gruber said, firing on
ambulances is a violation of military
ethics. But, what do you do when
Hamas personnel deliberately use UN
ambulances for the tactical purpose
of shielding a Hamas rocket launcher?
Even if the IDF was entirely justified
in using force in a case like this,
Gruber said, Palestinians claimed that
Israel was guilty of a war crime by
destroying “innocent civilian targets.”
One of the most pernicious lies
that came out of Operation Cast Lead
was the myth of phosphorus bombs
in Gaza, Gruber said. Palestinians
claimed that Israel used phosphorus
shells; that is, chemical weapons,
during the assault on Gaza.
“Phosphorus bombs would cause
severe burns to the skin,” Gruber
answered. “Where is the evidence of
the hundreds or thousands of people
suffering injuries from phosphorus
shells? This is a real he that came out
of the war.”
Gruber told his audience that they
must learn how ethics govern Israeli
military conduct in the field. “U.S.
Jews must tell the story,” Gruber said.
“Due to misconceptions and outright
lies, Israel is losing the public relations
war.”
* * *
To learn about Bentzi Gruber’s
“Ethics in the Field” initiative, visit
www.bentzigruber.com. □
JHV: AARON HOWARD
Bentzi Gruber
Jewish Federation
OF GREATER HOUSTON
2010 COMMUNITY NEEDS SURVEY
Federation’s Community Needs
Survey goes live March 24
By MICHAEL C. DUKE
Jews from across greater Houston
are reminded to participate in an
online Community Needs Assessment
survey that will be conducted March
24 to April 9.
The Jewish Federation of Greater
Houston has commissioned the survey,
which will be comprehensive and open
to all members of the local Jewish
community, of all affiliation levels.
The aim of the survey is to capture
a snapshot of the local community in
2010; to poll how services are being
used; to determine emerging and future
community needs that the Federation
would fund directly or through its
partner agencies; to ascertain what
gaps in services currently may exist;
and to develop a strategy to move the
community in a positive direction over
the next number of years.
The community needs survey will
be confidential and will not be used
to solicit donations. Its sole purpose
is to collect information to be used
by local leadership to better serve the
community at a time of significant
economic challenges and changing
needs. Success of the survey is
contingent upon participation by
as many community members as
possible.
The survey primarily will be
conducted online; however, special
accommodations will be made for
those without Internet access. No
personal identification information
will be collected. Individuals need only
to answer the survey once.
A link to the survey will be
found at www.houstonjewish.org.
For information, contact Barbara
Bratter, Houston Federation’s director
of Planning & Allocations, at 713-
729-7000, ext. 331, or bbratter@
houstonjewish.org. □
Sharon Brierj
Real Estate Specialist
Everyone Deserves
GREENWOOD KING
a Good Home 'v
713.914.8727
cosmicsher@aol.com www.sharonbrier.com
Please join us for
Seven Acres
ewish Senior Care Services
67th Annual Meeting
as we honor
Outgoing President
LORRAINE HORWITZ
and featuring
“BEHIND THE SCENES”
Learn fascinating facts,
incredible discoveries,
and amazing revelations
about Seven Acres
with Virginia Battelstein Segall
Sunday, March 21, 2010
2:00 pm
Reception Following
6200 North Braeswood
Valet Parkings
Pauline Sterne Wolff Campus
^iWiPThe Medallion Jewish Assisted Living Residenc
Alexander-Greenberg Building
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Samuels, Jeanne F. Jewish Herald-Voice (Houston, Tex.), Vol. 101, No. 53, Ed. 1 Thursday, March 11, 2010, newspaper, March 11, 2010; Houston, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth543950/m1/3/: accessed June 28, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu.; .