IMMORAL MORAL EQUIVALENCE

The obvious attempt of the worldwide media to apply moral equivalency to the current conflict in Israel and Gaza is deeply flawed. Syndicated columnist Joel Mowbrey states: "The coverage of the [recent] 'violence'... has largely read like the equivalent of a chess match. Hamas refuses to halt suicide bombs. Israel targets a top Hamas leader. Suicide bombing in Jerusalem kills 16. Israel 'retaliates' with a strike in Gaza. What's at work is probably not anti-Semitism, but a misguided attempt at objectivity. But reporting 'facts' in a moral vacuum is not objectivity; it is, in fact, just the opposite. Absent proper context, the situation can seem as if it is two equally justifiable sides making moves and countermoves, nothing more."

Perhaps he is right that the style of media coverage is not blatant anti-Semitism on the part of the reporters or media outlets, but the constant drumbeat of “this side did this and this side did that” plays into the worst nature of those who ARE anti-Semitic.

Never has a nation been treated with such insolence as has Israel. They are constantly threatened and attacked. While the Israeli government and people are not without flaws, there is no moral equivalence between a rocket fired toward a town with the intent to terrorize innocent people and a retaliatory, precision airstrike of a rocket launcher in Gaza that has purposely and continually been fired toward homes, schools and synagogues.

Claiming the moral high-ground and claiming moral superiority is as human as breathing. We each do it in relationships of all sorts. Only with God’s help can we come to grips with our own failures. Pointing them out in others without the humility of self-evaluation only leads to all-consuming hatred.

While both Israelis and Palestinians must ultimately “examine the man in the mirror”, assess their own positions and find a way to live near one another in peace, the attempt to frame terrorism and military retaliation in defense of one’s nation as morally equivalent must stop.

Innocent lives are being lost, both Israeli and Palestinian. A ground war in Gaza seems imminent. I call upon the worldwide media to halt its efforts to make this a “tit for tat” dispute, making the worst-case scenarios seem more likely.

Pray for the peace of Jerusalem.