Does war save man?
peace,
Recently, the claim was brought to me that human nature is war (to fight for values, for money, for territory, and even for peace). Furthermore, it is claimed that if Israel were not engaged in a constant war against the Palestinians, we would reach a situation where there was an Arab majority here and in fact the abolition of the existence of a Jewish state. His proof of this is the situation in Europe where the countries lived in peace (ostensibly) with the environment and now they are drowning in Muslim immigrants who threaten their identity. And the only thing that will save them from all this is war (whether it is through right-wing parties, “discriminatory” laws, etc.). Despite the nature of his claims, I have difficulty accepting the idea that human nature is war – are we doomed to always fight without a desire for peace and quiet?
This is a situation that also seems contrary to Jewish values at a basic level (for example, there is a decree to conquer the land, but the ultimate aspiration is, in my opinion, to reach rest and inheritance).
I would love your opinion on the matter. I have tossed the idea around a lot and I can’t find a way out of the problematic claim.
First, I’m not sure about the principled claim that without wars the situation is necessarily problematic. But even if it is – this is a psychological situation and has nothing to do with values. Obviously, no one would say to go to war just to preserve our unity or prevent immigration, etc. War is done when there is no choice. The analysis that war is necessary, even if it is correct, is an analysis in retrospect (why people make wars and why it is important, good or bad). But it is not an argument for why to go to war in the first place.
For example, suppose that European countries were to receive a message from an authorized prophet that they were about to absorb problematic Muslim immigration like today. Is that enough to justify going to war? Of course not. It is true that in retrospect it can be said that if they had gone to war, it might have saved them from immigration. Therefore, these arguments are not important to me and are not morally relevant.
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