Monday, November 23, 2015

Tribal Thinking versus the Rule of Law


It is distressing to learn the Government of Israel has ordered the destruction of the homes of three Palestinians charged with the drive-by killing of an Israeli couple. The demolition was approved by the Israeli Supreme Court.

This, over the objections of Israeli human rights groups.  A spokesperson said, "The notion that it's acceptable to punish people for other people's actions is an affront to the law."

The homes are on Israeli-occupied Palestinian land bordering the Jordan River and the Dead Sea commonly known as the West Bank.

Distressing because the demolitions left the perpetrators' families homeless. The sin of one merits the punishment of the innocent many, or so primitive thinking would have it.

To punish someone not involved in wrong-doing evidences a tribal mentality, one not in accord with the Rule of Law to which the  Israeli government claims allegiance.

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