I was upset when I saw Brant Rosen, a Reconstructionist-ordained anti-Zionist rabbi, suggest that Jews should say Psalms for Israeli war crimes in Gaza.
Sickeningly, this was retweeted by the Reconstructionist Rabbinical Association.
I responded:
I challenge you to show me a SINGLE war crime under international law that Israel has committed in Gaza since Monday, @rabbibrant.
Israel's allowed to attack military targets. Israel's allowed to kill terrorists while minimizing civilian deaths. So what are the crimes? https://t.co/YQYD742YNz
A day later I tweeted out two articles (Distinction and Proportionality) I wrote in 2014 about Gaza and international law, pointing out that people who claim Israel is guilty of war crimes simply do not know a thing about international law. I tagged Rosen.
He responded, instead of answering my question, by trying to ask me a "gotcha" question:
Prove to me that the Israeli military tries to “minimize casualties.”
Leaflets? Phone calls? Comparison with civilian/militant ratio in any similar conflicts in history in urban areas? Reading Israel's MAG reports? Testimony of hundreds of IDF soldiers?
Are you that completely clueless? Or is it on purpose that you don't educate yourself?
I didn't even mention roof knocking, or that US military brass come to Israel to learn how to minimize casualties, or the reports from major military figures worldwide that assert that no one does more than Israel to minimize civilian casualties.
People like Brant Rosen use Electronic Intifada as their Torah and Philip Weiss as their prophet. For someone to call himself a rabbi and yet revel in his ignorance about a conflict that he spends so much time opining on is mind blowing.
The mentality of Jewish haters of Israel could fill a psychology textbook.
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