War & Peace

What Judaism teaches about firearms, hunting and more.

Jewish tradition takes it for granted that war is an inevitable part of human existence.

Along with truth and justice, peace is among the most hallowed Jewish values.

Jewish Law and Nuclear Warfare

Judaism prohibits military action that will result in a colossal number of casualties.

The existential threat of Amalek.

"A democracy must often fight with one hand tied behind its back."

Jewish law on the proper treatment of prisoners of war

War in the name of God must be examined in our own tradition as well.

When a revered value becomes all-important, it can become like an idol.

According to at least one scholar, Jewish tradition does not recognize the right of personal conscientious objection.

Extending a biblical exemption from military service to Israeli refuseniks.

Establishing a new program of Jewish resistance.

Have Israeli and U.S. attacks been ethically justifiable?

Few traditional sources discuss the ethics of fighting noncombatants, but some Jewish laws of war do display a moral genesis.

Deuteronomy 20 permits wars of aggression, but the talmudic rabbis made it difficult to declare one.