A few months ago, the world witnessed an interesting situation in the Middle East. Jews were expelled from their homes by other Jews; and thank G-d, no violence erupted. Great emotional distress was clearly experienced by both sides - the residents and the soldiers of Israel.
What essentially occurred on that dreaded day was ethnic cleansing. A targeted population was expelled from their homes. This is where the first moral relativism takes place.
Some might argue that what occurred in Gaza for the past four decades was a military occupation and it had to end. Let them stand by this notion. But the Jewish residents of Gaza were simply that. They were residents of an area of the world, just as there are Christians who live in Iran and Muslims who live in Canada. The question still stands, where were the fundamental rights of those families expelled from Gaza and Samaria? Where were the "peace activists" of the world when people, human beings, were being thrown out of their homes, thanks to the pressures of world governments. Why were these people, Jews, not allowed to be citizens of a Palestinian state, just as Arabs were allowed in large numbers to be full-fledged citizens of the State of Israel?
These questions, and the moral relativism resulting from them bothers me. Especially in a society where fundamental values of dignity and respect towards other fellow human beings are supposed to be respected.
The second moral relativism, however, is even more distressing.
As a Canadian university student, I have been constantly lectured by "peace loving" activists regarding the sanctity and respect for the holy places of worship of others around the globe. I have been lectured my whole life, by the liberal society in which I live, regarding the dignity I should show the places of worship of people of other faiths. Tolerance is an important virtue of our society. That is why Christians, Muslims, Jews, Buddhists and people of other faiths get along relatively well in Canada and other parts of the Western world.
Yet, when images of Arab rioters burning and desecrating synagogues that have been the home of worshipers for three decades appear throughout the world media, the world stands quiet. Moreover, the clear signs in both English and Arabic that were placed in front of these holy places did not make any difference in the actions taken by the Arabs. I wonder what would be the reaction of the world if a church or a mosque would ever be desecrated in Israel, or in any other nation.
Moral relativism claims that there is more than one "right way". Were the Gaza expulsion and synagogue desecrations a "right way"?
What essentially occurred on that dreaded day was ethnic cleansing. A targeted population was expelled from their homes. This is where the first moral relativism takes place.
Some might argue that what occurred in Gaza for the past four decades was a military occupation and it had to end. Let them stand by this notion. But the Jewish residents of Gaza were simply that. They were residents of an area of the world, just as there are Christians who live in Iran and Muslims who live in Canada. The question still stands, where were the fundamental rights of those families expelled from Gaza and Samaria? Where were the "peace activists" of the world when people, human beings, were being thrown out of their homes, thanks to the pressures of world governments. Why were these people, Jews, not allowed to be citizens of a Palestinian state, just as Arabs were allowed in large numbers to be full-fledged citizens of the State of Israel?
These questions, and the moral relativism resulting from them bothers me. Especially in a society where fundamental values of dignity and respect towards other fellow human beings are supposed to be respected.
The second moral relativism, however, is even more distressing.
As a Canadian university student, I have been constantly lectured by "peace loving" activists regarding the sanctity and respect for the holy places of worship of others around the globe. I have been lectured my whole life, by the liberal society in which I live, regarding the dignity I should show the places of worship of people of other faiths. Tolerance is an important virtue of our society. That is why Christians, Muslims, Jews, Buddhists and people of other faiths get along relatively well in Canada and other parts of the Western world.
Yet, when images of Arab rioters burning and desecrating synagogues that have been the home of worshipers for three decades appear throughout the world media, the world stands quiet. Moreover, the clear signs in both English and Arabic that were placed in front of these holy places did not make any difference in the actions taken by the Arabs. I wonder what would be the reaction of the world if a church or a mosque would ever be desecrated in Israel, or in any other nation.
Moral relativism claims that there is more than one "right way". Were the Gaza expulsion and synagogue desecrations a "right way"?