Q&A: Moral
Moral
Question
Hello Rabbi,
If a terrorist is barricaded in a house with his family or with innocent people, and there is concern that the terrorist will kill Israelis, is it morally permissible to bring down the entire building even if the innocent people will die?
Answer
See my article here: https://mikyab.net/%D7%9B%D7%AA%D7%91%D7%99%D7%9D/%D7%9E%D7%90%D7%9E%D7%A8%D7%99%D7%9D/%D7%94%D7%99%D7%91%D7%98%D7%99%D7%9D-%D7%90%D7%A7%D7%98%D7%95%D7%90%D7%9C%D7%99%D7%99%D7%9D-%D7%9C%D7%91%D7%A2%D7%99%D7%99%D7%AA-%D7%94%D7%A4%D7%A8%D7%98-%D7%95%D7%94%D7%9B%D7%9C%D7%9C-%D7%95%D7%93
Beyond what I wrote there, there may be room to add another consideration: if I shoot at the terrorist, and in the process others are also harmed, perhaps there is room to permit it, because I have the right to defend myself against him. What is forbidden is killing others in order to save oneself, but if the deaths of the others are a side effect of the self-defense, perhaps that is permitted. I am undecided about this (in the article I assumed it is forbidden).