by Bill Muehlenberg, CultureWatch
Israel and moral equivalence:
I would like to think that most folks would understand that there is no moral equivalency between Israel and those seeking to destroy it. Yet many seem confused on this matter. As an example, I posted a meme the other day on the social media which warned Westerners about the real aims of Hamas and militant Islam. It attracted a number of comments, one of which was the following:
“It’s possible both these things are true:
1. Hamas are monsters
2. Israel should not have carte blanche to do whatever they want to whomever they want for as long as they want on the pretext of #1″
I am not meaning to pick on any one individual here, but it seemed to me that this was not such a helpful remark. As it stands, it appears to be just another case of moral equivalence. It implies this: ‘Yeah, Hamas is evil, but so too is Israel. A pox on both their houses.’
Before proceeding, let me say that if this was not his intention, then he really should have rephrased point 2. He could have said something like: ‘It would be wrong for Israel to think that anything goes in dealing with Hamas.’ But the way he worded things, he did not need to state his conclusion – it was implied. Indeed, we can set it out as a logical syllogism, with two premises and a conclusion: