Ethics of Life

The Middle East is a hot bed for many of the issues we have been discussing this week around the Ethics of Live. As an area filled with religious countries there is an abundance of cultural issues. Israel is often the center of these issues and conflicts.

On June 10^th 3 Jewish Israeli teenagers were kidnapped and murdered in the West Bank. Netanyahu blamed Hamas for their murder. On July 2^nd,one day after the burial of these teens, a Muslim Palestinian teen, Muhammad Abu Khdeir, was kidnapped and killed in Jerusalem. Far-right, religious Jews have been named suspects in the murder of the Palestinian teen.

These children have been used as pawns of war for these two very distinct cultures living in tight proximity. This conflict is complex and multifaceted. In some ways this conflict would be seen as a Just War because it is against a certain state and its people, but in other ways this is a Jihad conflict because the Jews do not believe in Islam.

Ethically, Jews and Muslims do not have the same background. The Torah says that each life is a whole world. This means that NO ONE should be killed through war or any other means. On the other hand, the Quran says “oppression is worse than killing” (Hashmi). This shows me that in Islam life is not valued the same way as it is in Judaism. This fundamental difference in importance of life may be one of the major problems behind this conflict and that keeps fueling the conflict.

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/07/07/world/middleeast/israel-palestinians-muhammad-abu-khdeir.html?ref=world&_r=0