My son recently had his bar mitzvah. That means that in five years he will be eligible to be drafted into the Israeli army. And the simple truth is that I don’t really want him to go.
To be perfectly clear, it’s not a theological issue. I fully support haredim serving in the IDF. I think it’s a wonderful kiddush Hashem to see our land protected by soldiers who put on tefillin each morning before going on patrol. I have met many wonderful religious soldiers who are nothing short of heroes. And I’ve seen the positive effect that army service can have on religious youth.
No, I don’t really want my son to serve for the same reason I don’t want anyone’s sons or daughters to serve. I don’t want to see my son die a senseless and wholly unnecessary death. And I don't mean that the fighting is senseless and unnecessary - it is absolutely existential.
So what do I mean?
Every day when I wake up it’s the same news alert. “Young hero falls in battle.” According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ official number, since the beginning of ground operations in Gaza on October 27, 2023, over 700 soldiers have fallen in combat. Many of these soldiers are all almost children. Young lives were cut short. Many ended before they even had a chance to really live.
Death is, and always will be an invariable part of war. People die in war every day, and not always in a heroic manner. Soldiers can be killed by accidents, human error, or even friendly fire. It’s inevitable that in war, some soldiers will die because mistakes were made. It’s a reality of war and it makes their deaths no less meaningful.
But this isn’t what I’m worried about. I understand that you can do your best and still suffer losses. What I can’t abide by is knowing that since the war began, soldiers have been dying not to serve their country, but to satisfy a warped American sense of morals.
They’re killed going into clearly treacherous buildings that could easily have been bombed instead. They are killed because when they fight, their hands are tied. After all, the world insists on Israel’s one-sided restraint.
It seems that since the war began, Israel has not been allowed to make a single move without the United States’ approval. Every military action must first receive the president’s blessing. As a result, Israel is fighting the war not in a way to end it as quickly as possible, but as dictated by their masters in Washington. Like a child not old enough to make decisions for themselves, Israel is the only country in the world that must ask permission to survive.
All this supposedly to limit “civilian causalities” This assumes of course that most Gazans are actually civilians but it is becoming more and more clear that this is not the case. Even assuming that innocent people will die, how many of our own men and women must we allow to be killed for their sake? And of course, the other side is never required or expected to show Israel the same courtesy. America itself doesn’t even demand that of its citizens.
No, it’s only Israel that America demands sacrifice its children. It’s a story that is all too familiar.
In the Torah it is a negative commandment that “You should not pass any of your children to Molech (Vayikra 18:21).” The warning refers to ancient times when there existed a depraved cult which conducted a sickening ceremony.
In this ritual, parents would pass their child to the cult priests who would in turn pass the child into the fire in front of a statue of their god Molech, offering up the child as a human sacrifice. Worshipers of the cult believed that by sacrificing one child, they would ensure the success and safety of the rest of their family and bring down blessings and goodness from their god. In essence, one child was murdered to protect the many.
Today, Israel finds itself guilty of worshiping America as its modern-day Molech. Like the cultists of old, our leadership sacrifices our children, the young men and women of the IDF, to attempt to placate our gods in Washington. Child after child offered to the flames of terrorists for the promise that this would bring peace. Like the Molech cult of old, we’re told that these deaths will ultimately lead to greater peace. That by offering a few of our children, we are ensuring the success of the rest.
It's nothing new of course. It’s been the standard practice for years. Since Israel pulled out of Gaza in 2005 soldiers have been murdered on a disturbingly regular basis. Most of these deaths could have been easily avoided if the rules of engagement were different or if Israel was allowed to act without constraint. Yet these deaths were all accepted as a normal and inevitable part of living in Israel.
Some places have earthquakes. Some have volcanos. We have terrorists. Instead of acts of G-d we have acts of Washington.
This is to say nothing of the countless civilian citizens whose deaths have gone unanswered. Every year, like a seasonal storm, some new horror is reported by the news. Teenagers kidnapped and murdered while hitchhiking. Fathers and mothers were shot while they were driving. People murdered in a terror attack while waiting for a bus or eating in a restaurant.
And over and over it’s the same response. We mourn. We condemn. We vow that it will never happen again. But then we do almost nothing. Why? Because we are prevented by our American idols. We’re told that we must show restraint. That response will somehow how hurt the fictional “peace process.” And so, we have become a society that accepts as part of its life that every year a certain number of its people will be murdered as an offering to terrorists.
In exchange, we receive America’s blessing. We stay in its good graces and supposedly, we are ensured of its ongoing support. The same offer Molech made its followers.
Today we might laugh at the superstitions and fears that ruled the ancient world. We rightly denounce such practices as primitive and completely against all reason. But how are we any different? Our gods might have changed, but their insatiable hunger for death still remains. We continue to court the support and approval of ideals not our own. We still trade our children for empty promises.
America is not our god. That position has thankfully been filled by a much superior option. We do not need to offer up our children to appease The United States’ misguided version of morality. Despite the need for US weapons, it’s time that we recognize our dependence on America’s approval for exactly what it is, just another in a long line of false gods. And like the false gods that came before it the god of America will prove to be just as unable to save us. Fortunately, we have the real G-d for that.
When the time comes, my son will serve. And I will worry. I can accept the idea of dying “al kiddush Hashem,” to sanctify the name of G-d. But I can’t accept the idea of my son, or anyone’s son or daughter dying to sanctify the idol of Western morality.
Ilan Goodman is a museum collections professional and exhibition curator. He also serves as a rabbi and educator. He made Aliyah to Israel in 2011 and lives with his wife and children in Beit Shemesh.