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Yossi Sarid, Israel's Minister of Education, has suggested that the Kfar
Kassem massacre of 1956, when 47 Israeli Arabs including 15 women and 11
children were shot dead by Israel soldiers, be discussed in Israel
classrooms. The lessons from this tragic event provide us with an
opportunity to convey several important messages to our students and
provide some important discussion topics.
On October 29, 1956 as Israel was preparing for the Sinai Campaign an order
was issued to all Arabs living within Israel to remain under curfew in
their villages. Apparently unaware that this order had been given, the
Arabs from the village of Kfar Kassem were returning home from work as
normal. Israeli forces from Mishmar Gvul (Israel's Border Police) came upon
them but rather than detain them, the commanding officer gave orders to
shoot. 47 Villagers were killed. A commission of inquiry was set up to
determine the responsibility of the soldiers and set compensation for the
families of the victims. The commission recommended that 11 soldiers be
court-martialed. The soldiers gave the defense that "they were just
following orders". Ben Gurion said the act, "struck at the holiest
principles of human morality". Eight soldiers were convicted of murder on
the grounds that it is immoral to fire on unarmed civilians - no possible
"order" could justify that act.
Several possible lessons / avenues of discussion:
1.. The Nuremberg Trials took place in 1946, where twenty-one Nazis were
tried for crimes against humanity committed by Germany during the Shoah.
The overwhelming defense given by these leaders of Nazi Germany was that
"they were just following orders". Contrast these two examples. Perhaps
this is why Ben Gurion and Israel felt so strongly that this reasoning was
unacceptable and could not be tolerated.
2.. In 1954, Dr. Stanley Milgram conducted an experiment on the topic of
"just following orders" at Yale University. A video of this experiment
should be available at a local BJE. The experiment consists of one person
administering an educational / learning test to another person who is
seated behind a partition. The person administering the test has the
controls to a device that can emit electric shocks to the person behind the
partition who is (seemingly) hooked up to the device. The tester asks a
series of questions. Each time an incorrect response is given, the tester
is instructed to press a button administering an electric charge to the
testee. Dr. Milgram was standing on hand to ensure the tester continued to
give the shocks. As the experiment progressed, the person behind the screen
can be heard to complain and cry out in pain. The tester is told he must
continue and in almost every case, with only mild urging from Milgram, does
so. This video is a powerful way to show Man's susceptibility to fall
3.. Eliezer Berkovits' view that Man is charged with the challenge of
bechirah chofshit (Free Will). Mankind failed this challenge through the
Nazi's claim that they were just following orders.
4.. Contrast with Jewish perspective on `just following orders'/ ein
shaliach l'dvar averah, a point raised by Joseph Telushkin in his excellent
book and resource "Jewish Literacy", pages 539-540.
5.. The concept of Taharat HaNeshek, Purity of Arms, part of the IDF's
military doctrine. Despite the fact that this was a terrible tragedy, this
type of behavior is the exception rather than the rule.
Eric Weisberg</HTML>
