I accuse!

Today marks the 62nd anniversary of the noting of the last entry by Anne Frank in her famous diary. For those who don't know who is Anne Frank, well, this article should be informative enough. What is so remarkable about a diary entry, you ask? 

Only because this diary serves as the human face of the Holocaust, of the mirror that reflects back the horror, the terror, and yet the humanity with which the victims of the Nazi scourge lived their last days on Earth. Ms. Frank's diary, in the words of the Dutch journalist and historian, Jan Romein, stammered out in a child's voice, embodies all the hideousness of fascism, more so than all the evidence at Nuremberg put together. She has, for decades, represented or rather symbolised the millions systematically massacred by the Third Reich, and to this day, her diary remains one of the most haunting and impressive accounts of the lives of the persecuted masses. 

 So why the sudden focus on a diary? Because Ms. Frank died not because of her political views, but because she happened to be an adherent to the Jewish faith. The state of Israel came into being, and with renewed urgency, so as to preempt any such systemic annihilation of their race in the future. One would expect that such a State would then be sensitive to the value of innocence. 

But sadly, Israel chooses not to, and justifies its jaundiced vision with Augustinian logic. The writings of Saint Augustine of Hippo, pre-eminent Doctor of the Church, have often been used to put forth the tradition of the just war. Israel contends that its war on the Hizbollah is justified, in keeping with the criteria of jus ad bellum. 

Jus ad bellum justifies a war should it be for a just cause, such as to defend against an external attack or to recapture something taken illegally. In Israel's case, it contends that the capture of its soldiers by the Hizb fits within the criteria. Again, although Israel has never denied that the Hizb and in particular the people of the Golan Heights have suffered as a result of its conflict, the injustice that it has suffered or could suffer should it remain silent significantly outweighs that suffered by the Lebanese people now. 

 Again, Augustine justifies war should it have been waged for a right intention, as to correct a suffered wrong. Israel contends that it has suffered a grevious wrong, and that the Lebanese State, by tolerating the Hizb, has indirectly acknowledged its own responsibility in this whole matter. Israel also believes that the overall destruction that may happen in the course of its campaign will be significantly outweighed by the good achieved should the Hizb's machinery be destroyed therein. 

And last but not the least, Israel submits that since the Hizb has rejected all attempts to arrive at a peaceful solution, there remains no other option before the Israelis, save that of war. 

 Ok, so jus ad bellum is vindicated, in this case. One point to Israel. 

Now moving to point two: Jus in bello, or how to conduct a just war. The tradition of St. Augustine strictly forbids the bombing of civilian residential areas, which do not include any military targets, on the grounds that the war must be strictly directed against those who have perpetrated the wrong. 

Again, the force used must be proportional to the wrong endured. Meaning, if you start having too many civilian casualties, your claim to justness becomes even more hollow. Also, a just war must use minimum force, to limit unnecessary death and destruction. This tradition is retained in the Geneva Conventions as well, to which Israel is a signatory. So far, Israel is failing on all points. 

Israel has bombed civilian areas indiscriminately, and has killed hundreds in the two weeks since the escalation of the struggle. True, the Hizb's machinery is also taking a hit, but couldn't there have been a more practical alternative? Also, the Israeli armed forces have had a continuously horrendous accuracy as far its targets have been. Israeli airstrikes have hit clearly marked Red Cross ambulances, UN posts and convoys, grain silos, medical and relief trucks, fuel containers and service stations, the Jiyeh power plant (which incidentally caused the worst environmental disaster for the Mediterranean region) and Lebanon's largest dairy farm. Wonder what Mr. Peretz was thinking? 

The worst charge however is yet to come. The Israeli Defense Force is reportedly using depleted uranium warheads against the Hizb. True, desperate times calls for desperate measures, but this desperate? 

The Holocaust took the lives of nearly 6 million Jews, and in total of nearly 9 to 11 million people. The world stood watching as this happened. Innocence died once then. I accuse Israel of killing it once again.