Violence and Conflict

Nature of Violence and Conflict

  • The Torah provides guidelines about when violence and conflict may be seen as necessary, mainly in the context of defensive warfare.
  • Judaism promotes peace as an ideal state of existence and a goal to strive towards.
  • Traditional Jewish law, or Halakhah, has stringent rules limiting the use of force, even in warfare.

War and Peace in Jewish History

  • The experience of the Holocaust has strongly influenced Jewish perspectives on violence, conflict, intervention, and prevention.
  • Periods of oppressive rule and occasional outbursts of violence have characterised Jewish history, shaping attitudes towards warfare and self-defence.
  • There are examples of both peaceful and violent resistance in Jewish histories, with the former often praised in retrospect.

Ethical Considerations

  • Judaism’s respect for life and human dignity, or Tzelem Elohim, leads to an ethical perspective that questions the morality of warfare and violence.
  • The concept of Pikuach Nefesh, the idea that saving a life supersedes almost all other mitzvot or commandments, also plays into the Jewish approach to conflict.
  • At the same time, self-defense is seen as a moral obligation (a concept known as Haba LeHargecha Hashkem LeHargo).

Religious Teachings and Interpretation

  • Teachings from Jewish texts such as the Talmud emphasise the importance of peace, with famous quotes such as “The whole Torah is for the purpose of promoting peace.”
  • Debate and interpretation play an important role in Jewish ethics concerning violence and conflict. Different views may be held by Orthodox, Reform, and Conservative Jews.
  • The Jewish perspective on the just war theory, or Milchemet Mitzvah, is that war can be justifiable in certain circumstances, such as in self-defense.

Modern Conflicts

  • Contemporary geopolitical contexts, particularly the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, highlight the complexities of the Jewish approach towards violence and conflict.
  • Diverse Jewish viewpoints exist on modern issues of warfare, terrorism, and nuclear weapons, reflecting the diversity within the Jewish community.

Hope for Peace

  • Despite the historic and contemporary realities of conflict, the hope for peace is deeply ingrained in Jewish tradition, captured in the Hebrew word Shalom.
  • The Jewish prayers for peace, such as the “Sim Shalom” or the “Oseh Shalom”, reflect the yearning for a world free of violence and strife.