tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8030144.post6039713084222685705..comments2023-10-29T11:50:25.742+02:00Comments on My Obiter Dicta: Fisking Bronner on Religious SoldiersJeffrey R. Woolfhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11315625918870195028noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8030144.post-90972988056518575542009-03-30T18:13:00.000+03:002009-03-30T18:13:00.000+03:00It is interesting to note that the supposedly non...It is interesting to note that the supposedly non-Haredi Orthodox anti-Zionist blogger "Jerry Haber-The MagnesZionist" blasts Halberthal for being a hypocrite....he says the IDF has always had many instances of over-use of fire power leading to unnecessary civian casualties in addition to outright atrocities yet when the Left was controlling the IDF, religious Leftists like Halberthal kept quiet. Only when "right-wing" religious influence in the IDF appears does Halberthal suddently get all morally outraged.<BR/><BR/>If you really want to know about the history of the IDF's behavior with civilian populations, I highly recomment Benny Morris' book about the War of Independence called "1948". He points out that there were many Arab civilians killed by IDF troops in that war (don't forget this was right after the Second World War when killing civilians wasn't considered such a big deal in the world like it is today). The IDF have very few religious officers, instead the officer corps was filled with Marxist socialists and outright Communists, none of whom were motivated by any "religious commands" and who all claimed to be advanced, modern progressive humanists. I am sure religious soldiers today would have much more hesitation about killing civilians needlessly than that group of officers, some of whom who looked upon Stalin as a father figure and figure to emulate (e.g. Moshe Sneh).Y. Ben-Davidnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8030144.post-14751200278093528682009-03-26T12:13:00.000+02:002009-03-26T12:13:00.000+02:00While I think that Rav Ronski was a great motivat...While I think that Rav Ronski was a great motivator prior and uring the action on Gaza, I think that Halbertal is correct (and I'm saying this from the right - not the left). Rav Ronski's position of dispbeying orders and his insistence that ALL orders be obeyed is fascist and his hypernationalism is a distortion of Rav Kook's teachings. The fact that almost no religious rabbis questioned the morality of any military actions by the corrupt Olmert government - and left any questioning to people like Feiglin and others - is mind-boggling. <BR/>The fact that Rav Ronski has nothing to say about unethical medical experiments for Anthrax inocculations performed on "volunteer" soldiers is shocking. The fact that IDF pyschologists also knowingly violated all norms of their professions leading up to the expulsion and Rav Ronski has nothing to say about this is no less problematic.<BR/><BR/>Your overall thrust is correct, but we have to do our own bedek habayit and recognize fascist tendencies and hypernationalism when it rears its head. It's pretty clear that the ideology of the "Har Hamor" crowd is fascist.Ben Bayithttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10540723595738423002noreply@blogger.com