c. 1996 Religion News Service

(RNS)-On Thursday at least 75 Lebanese refugees were killed when Israeli gunfire hit a U.N. peacekeepers’ base manned by a battalion of soldiers from Fiji. In February and March, more than 60 Israelis died in Palestinian suicide attacks.

Do the actions equally violate accepted moral norms?

Like everything else about the violence-wracked Middle East, the answer depends upon the loyalties of those who are speaking. Even dovish Arab and Jewish supporters of the Israeli-Arab peace process-in the Middle East as well as the United States-differ vehemently with each other once the blood begins to flow.

A prime example: the statements of dovish Arab and Jewish leaders issued Thursday (April 18) in the aftermath of the bloodiest day so far of the current Israeli assault on Hezbollah guerillas.

James Zogby, president of the Arab American Institute in Washington, for example, emotionally condemned President Clinton for not speaking out as forcefully as he did when Israelis were killed in the recent spate of Palestinian suicide attacks.”The moral conscience of the world must speak out,”said Zogby.”Lebanese life is of no less worth than is Israeli life. … Strong words from America mean something.” Israeli Prime Minister Shimon Peres, according to Zogby, has allowed attacks on Lebanese civilians because he is in a tight election campaign with Likud opposition leader Benjamin Netanyahu.”How many Lebanese must die for an Israeli prime minister to win re-election? It’s outrageous … morally outrageous.” His colleague, Abdurahman Alamoudi, executive director of the American Muslim Council, said caustically:”If the (Lebanese) refugee camp had been in Tel Aviv or Jerusalem, the next day (Clinton) would have called for another summit”of international leaders to condemn the incident.

Although Clinton did not blame Israel for the Lebanese deaths-as he blamed Palestinian Hamas terrorists after the 60 Israelis were killed-the president Thursday expressed his”condolences to the government of Lebanon and to the families of those who were killed and wounded in southern Lebanon.” As might be expected, Jewish leaders categorically rejected the sentiments expressed by Zogby and Alamoudi.”There is no question at the depth of pain caused by the loss of civilian life in Lebanon,”said Phil Baum, executive director of the American Jewish Congress.”But it’s simply shocking to me to equate this with a suicide bomber who gets on a bus in Jerusalem or Tel Aviv expressly to kill civilians.”When Israel kills civilians in warfare it is not by design. It’s deplorable, but Israel said it was an error and had warned all civilians to leave south Lebanon. Hezbollah puts its own people in danger by firing at Israel from positions near where civilians are hiding.” Sylvana Foa, a U.N. spokeswoman, said Hezbollah fighters had fired rockets and mortars at Israel from a spot about 300 yards from the U.N. compound 15 minutes before Israeli return fire hit the Lebanese refugee shelter.

Hezbollah, aligned with Iran and Syria, has been fighting to drive Israeli troops out of south Lebanon. Israel has occupied the area in a so-far futile attempt to prevent Hezbollah from firing at civilian targets in Israel.

In Israel-where passions over the bloodletting make those in this nation seem tame in comparison-the Rev. Naim Ateek equated the situation in Lebanon with Israel’s ongoing blockade of the West Bank and Gaza Strip.

Since March, Israel has prevented nearly all Palestinians from the West Bank and Gaza from entering Israel to work. The goal is to head off new suicide attacks.

Ateek, the rector of St. George’s Cathedral, a Palestinian Anglican parish in Jerusalem, said Israel’s show of force in Lebanon was equal to the”collective punishment”it has brought to bear against the blockaded Palestinians.”In its desire to achieve more security, (Israel) engages itself in more immoral acts because it begins to punish a whole people. … It’s not an eye for an eye, it’s a hundred eyes for one eye,”he said.

In the mixed Israeli Arab-Jewish town of Ramle, Yehezkel Landau, a leading religious Jewish peace activist, questioned the morality of his government’s actions in Lebanon.”My fear is that we will deteriorate to the level of (Hezbollah’s) indiscriminate violence. … The means by which this operation is being carried out should be seriously re-evaluated”to prevent a recurrence of Thursday’s large toll of Lebanese civilian casualties, he said.

However, Landau also noted the moral ambiguity that often is part of the Arab-Israeli conflict.”I don’t want to make a blanket statement,”he said.”I think Israel was put in a position where it had no choice but to respond.” But a moment later he admitted that his response could be viewed as”amoral.” Back in the United States, Gail Pressberg, Washington director of Americans for Peace Now, a liberal Jewish group, said neither side in the conflict has a corner on morality.”Frankly, I don’t find measuring each others’ suffering and arguing over who spoke out strongest against violence to be terribly helpful,”she said.”Better we just all keep working for peace.”

MJP END RNS