Israel and Palestine: Let Us Choose Words Wisely

I have been really struck by some of the rhetoric I have read surrounding the Israeli air strikes of Gaza. The words have been harsh, careless, and cold. Lee thoughtfully comments on this conflict, and on the editorializing that occurs every time the tensions flare up. He also invokes the idea of Just War Theory and its insistence on a notion of proportionality of action. While I think proportionality is of utmost importance in discussing this – and all – military actions. I clearly do not think this is a proportional  response. However, I would like to mention one thing Lee did not in his post, which is the issue of non-combatants.  For Christian Just War Theory, especially as proposed by St. Thomas Aquinas, a major issue to be dealt with was casualties of non-combatants.
Thomas went to great lengths to defend the lives of those who were not directly involved in military conflict. Thomas was clear that even accidental deaths were completely unacceptable, as noncombatants do not share in the culpability of aggressors, even if aggressors are the leaders of the noncombatants.

So I wonder what St. Thomas would say about these images:

The little boy above is about the same size as my youngest son. What must it be like as a parent to hold your child in the midst of the mortar attack? What must it be like to be unable to protect them?

It amazes me that we want to talk politics while mothers are having to bury their toddlers.

So please, if you must comment, don’t say anything that you wouldn’t say in front of the parents of a wounded or dead child from this conflict.

Family has Organic Co-Op Raided by Officers

John and Jacqueline Stowers run a small family food co-op for their friends called Manna Storehouse. Folks in the co-op pool their resources and buy organic goods from  local farmers, as well as trade their own goods with one another. In the past we would have thought of this as a community bonding together to provide healthy food to one another. Now, apparently, it is illegal and requires police to use military inspired SWAT tactics to hold a peace loving family at gun point while their personal goods were confiscated.

Read about the event here.

See an interview with the victims here.