In 2014, ISIS captured the Sinjar region, the homeland of the Yazidi people (an ethno-religious minority who follow a unique syncretistic faith rooted in ancient Zoroastrian and Abrahamic mythology), and began persecuting the Yazidis on the grounds that they are “infidels” and “devil-worshippers”. Thousands of Yazidi men were killed for refusing to convert to Islam. Young women and girls were abducted and sold into sex slavery, and young boys were forced to become child soldiers. It is estimated that 5000 Yazidi men were killed, thousands of women and children were abducted, and 500,000 Yazidis were displaced. In 2016, the United Nations recognized the event as a genocide.
In this week’s Parsha, God commands Moses to take revenge on the Midianites. Moses tells the Israelites to prepare for war. The Israelite soldiers kill all the Midianite men, take the women and children captive, and take all their property. They bring the captives before Moses, who becomes angry and reprimands them for not also killing all the women. He orders them to kill all the adult women (even if they’re virgins, according to Rashi) and the male children. The female children, they are told, they can “keep alive for themselves”.
Now. Here is a question for your Shabbos table: Fundamentally, what is the difference between the Israelites’ actions against the Midianites as described in the Torah, and ISIS’ actions against the Yazidis? As far as I can tell, the biggest difference is that ISIS was more merciful. Here are some points of contrast:
The Israelites killed all the men. ISIS only killed the men who refused to convert to Islam.
The Israelites killed all the women. ISIS allowed them to live as sex slaves (although some would argue that this is a fate worse than death).
The Israelites killed all the boys. ISIS forced them to become child soldiers.
If we recognize the actions of ISIS as evil, terroristic and genocidal, then should we not also recognize the Torah as evil, terroristic and genocidal?
What kind of merciful god desires the slaughter of civilian men, women, and little boys, and the enslavement of little girls? What is the more parsimonious explanation: that the Almighty Eternal Creator of the Universe’s moral values conveniently coincide with the darkest aspects of human nature as exemplified by a primitive, backward, ancient Near Eastern culture? Or that this insane genocidal fantasy is the product of petty, tribalistic human minds that were burning with hatred for an enemy tribe?
Do you support abortion,Dov Ber?
I wonder why you find it abhorrent. It seems to be your emotions. Maybe its a cognitive bias you can work on at less wrong?
Commiting genocide is a very efficient way to show your enemies you mean business.
(Honestly, unless one accepts some sort of objective morality, arguing about something being wrong makes about as much sense as arguing whether Pepsi is objectively better than coke.)