Feeling sorry for Gazans is a mistake: A Torah perspective

In a recent Srugim article, Dr. Shmuel Rochberger claimed that an objective observer would not be able to tell the difference between the moral standing of Israelis and Palestinians, urging compassion for Gaza akin to Abraham’s plea for Sodom.

Rabbi Danny Lavie responds, arguing that this view distorts both reality and Torah ethics.

Are there innocents in Gaza? How should we relate to the suffering of its population? Rochberger argued that a neutral observer would not be able discern which side, Israelis or Palestinians, is more moral. He also cited Abraham’s prayer to save Sodom as evidence that we should show compassion for Gaza, just as Abraham sought to save the people of Sodom, whom he described as the “Nazis of the ancient world.”

But this argument is deeply puzzling, as the story of Sodom ends with its total destruction by God. Before that, we must examine exactly what Abraham requested and then properly apply the comparison to Gaza’s residents and our attitude toward them.

Sodom Meets Gaza

In biblical times, many societies were corrupt. Why was Sodom singled out for annihilation and made a symbol of evil? The answer lies in its institutionalized corruption: “The sin of Sodom was that they and their courts agreed not to support the poor and needy” (Akeidat Yitzchak, Gate 20). This principle applies to Gaza’s public systems as well. As Brig. Gen. Yossi Kuperwasser, a former senior intelligence officer, wrote: “The vast majority of Palestinians believe carrying out attacks against Israelis is a noble act. In every classroom, there are posters of suicide bombers, and by their ‘light,’ Palestinian children are educated.”

Palestinian matriculation exams illustrate questions with rocket attacks on Tel Aviv. At the end, where Israeli exams say “Good Luck,” theirs read: “With such education, we will destroy the Jews.”

Covering Up Crimes

A hallmark of a corrupt culture is the cross-generational and cross-sector participation in its atrocities. When Lot was exposed for hosting strangers against Sodom’s laws, it wasn’t just a few individuals who came to harm him, but “the men of the city, the men of Sodom, surrounded the house, from young to old, all the people from every quarter” (Genesis 19:4). Tragically, this mirrors the masses of Gazans who followed Hamas’s Nukhba terrorists on October 7, 2023, participating in murder, rape, and looting, or cheering at the sight of our captives, eager to join in lynchings. A young Gazan boasted that he brought his younger brother to abuse a captive soldier.

As Avida Bachar, a Kibbutz Be’eri resident who lost his wife and son in the massacre and was severely injured himself, described: “I believe there is no future for Gaza because their children burned us, the older ones shot us, and those with wheelchairs and crutches took us captive and looted us to the end. There are four generations here that need to be erased from this universe; they have no right to exist.”

Maj. Gen. (res.) Moti Almoz added: “The terms ‘innocent’ and ‘uninvolved’ must be questioned. Returned hostages report being held by ordinary families. If they could, all two million Gazans would have come to the Gaza border on October 7 to loot. There are cultural differences between us; we cannot assume we face normal people.”

Are there No Righteous People in Gaza?

But what about Gazans who oppose the regime? Every lie contains a kernel of truth, and the deception lies in presenting it as the whole truth. There may be righteous individuals in a corrupt society, but as long as they lack influence, focusing on them while ignoring the broader cultural reality is a lie that leads to blindness in analyzing and addressing the situation.

Jewish thought, however, emphasizes that a person is not an isolated atom and that one of our greatest goals is to create a moral culture and a just society. Thus, not only is an individual judged as righteous or wicked based on their majority actions, but “a nation whose sins are numerous is immediately destroyed, as it is said, ‘The outcry of Sodom and Gomorrah is great’” (Maimonides, Laws of Repentance 3:2).

This explains why Abraham, the epitome of kindness, stopped pleading for Sodom at ten righteous people. Why couldn’t nine suffice? The number ten represents a community: a group with the potential to act as an active opposition that could, over time, lead and transform society for the better.

Individual righteous people, fearing for their lives, may deserve to be saved, but they cannot redeem an entirely corrupt society. When Lot dared to mitigate Sodom’s evil, he was threatened; a woman who helped the poor in Sodom was brutally murdered.

This is also Gaza’s story:anyone who dares voice dissent faces torture and death. Thus, no viable alternative exists, necessitating a decisive end to this culture’s existence.

This does not mean everyone must be killed. Salvation is possible, as Lot was saved, but it requires a willingness to leave and disconnect from this depraved culture without looking back or identifying with it.

How Can You Compare?

Thus, the writer’s shameful attempt to claim an outside observer would see no difference between Israeli and Palestinian societies is horrific and shocking.

Dr. Einat Wilf, a former Labor Party MK who identifies as a leftist and atheist, has studied Palestinian society and the conflict’s roots for years. She stated in an interview that Israeli society, in all its diversity, is pragmatic and peace-seeking, focused on building and productive endeavors.

In contrast, Palestinian culture is the opposite: “Hamas represents Palestinian identity… It’s an ideology with no constructive element, one that has brought only destruction for over 100 years, and that ideology must die.”

To say an observer would see no difference between these cultures is a gross distortion of reality. The foundation of Jewish education is love for humanity, created in God’s image, and our desire to bring blessing to the world. We do not grow up hating the stranger but fight only those who rise to destroy us. As Golda Meir famously said: “If the Arabs lay down their weapons, there will be no more war. If Israel lays down hers, there will be no Israel.”

Rectified Compassion

Gaza’s situation is indeed tragic, as Rochberger claims, but he errs gravely in his conclusion.

Certainly, the Jewish people, who seek to benefit the world, would prefer that all evildoers repent, and we mourn the many children raised in wickedness (see Malbim on 1 Samuel 15). But precisely because Gaza’s culture is so fundamentally rotten, feelings of compassion and the desire to bring good to the world must lead to the clear moral conclusion: to end the war with a decisive victory and the complete dismantling of this corrupt culture.

Indeed, those who seek the population’s welfare should support Trump’s plan for voluntary emigration to other countries or advocate for occupation and re-education, as the Allies did with Nazi Germany and Japan after World War II.

Indeed, we are the children and disciples of Abraham. Just as Abraham accepted Sodom’s destruction upon realizing it lacked any influential positive opposition, so must we approach Gaza.

Repairing the world always rests on two pillars: bringing good and blessing to nations, and the ability to fight entrenched evil. Gaza’s fate, like that of Sodom and Nazi Germany, lies in dismantling its corrupt culture, paving the way for a better world.