The world watches as Israel fights for its survival, now nearly two years into a war thrust upon it by enemies who celebrate the murder of innocents. Critics scrutinize every Israeli military decision while ignoring the deliberate targeting of civilians by its enemies. Yet amid the chaos of modern warfare, few recognize that the Israel Defense Forces operates according to principles established over three millennia ago in the wilderness of Sinai. The Torah’s laws of warfare, detailed in the Torah portions of Shoftim (Deuteronomy 16:18–21:9) and Ki Teitzei (Deuteronomy 21:10–25:19), didn’t merely regulate ancient battles—they established the moral framework that continues to guide the world’s most ethical military.
But we still have to ask: How can a holy people wage war while maintaining their moral character? How does a nation chosen to be “a light unto the nations” reconcile the brutal necessities of survival with the elevated standards demanded by its covenant with God?
The answer lies hidden within the Torah’s revolutionary approach to warfare—establishing unprecedented moral constraints on warfare that continue to influence ethical military conduct.
The Book of Deuteronomy dedicates significant attention to the laws of war, recognizing that Israel’s entry into the Promised Land would require military action. Yet the Torah’s treatment of warfare stands in stark contrast to the practices of ancient civilizations. The battles fought by the Israelites were not typical conquests for power but part of their spiritual mandate to establish a just and moral society in the Promised Land. Where other nations glorified conquest and celebrated the slaughter of enemies, the Torah established unprecedented moral constraints on military conduct.
“When you draw near to a city to wage war against it, then you shall first proclaim peace. If they respond in kind and open the gates for you, then all of the people that are in the city will pay tribute and serve you” (Deuteronomy 20:10-11). This commandment revolutionized warfare by requiring that every conflict begin with an offer of surrender. Even enemies had the right to peaceful resolution before a single sword was drawn.
The Sages understood that this principle extends far beyond ancient siege warfare. The obligation to offer peace first establishes warfare as a last resort, never a first choice. Modern Israel has demonstrated this commitment repeatedly: at Camp David in 2000, Israel offered Arafat almost all of the disputed territories for a Palestinian state, only to see the offer rejected and the Second Intifada launched instead. When Israel withdrew completely from Gaza in 2005, hoping for peace, Hamas seized control and transformed the territory into a launching pad for terror. Even in the current war, Israel has accepted multiple ceasefire proposals mediated by international partners, while Hamas has repeatedly rejected or violated these agreements. The IDF maintains this biblical principle even when enemies exploit peaceful intervals to rearm, reposition, and plan new attacks.
The Torah’s laws distinguish between different types of warfare and different categories of enemies. The biblical commentator Nachmanides explains that even the Canaanite nations—those marked for complete destruction—were offered terms of surrender if they abandoned their abominable practices and accepted the seven Noahide Laws. The war was not against a race or ethnicity but against a moral system that refused to embrace basic civilized behavior.
This distinction helps us understand Israel’s current conflict. The war is not against Palestinians as a people but against terrorist organizations that deliberately target civilians, use human shields, and celebrate the murder of children. Hamas and Hezbollah have chosen to align themselves with the same moral depravity that characterized the ancient Canaanites—rejecting every opportunity for peaceful coexistence while embracing practices that violate the most basic standards of human conduct.
The Torah’s laws also established unprecedented protections for non-combatants. Even in the midst of war, the Torah permits killing only the males, who are considered “the enemy,” but not the women and children (Deuteronomy 20:13-14). This principle, revolutionary in the ancient world, remains central to Israeli military doctrine today.
The Israel Defense Forces maintains the most stringent rules of engagement of any military in history. Israeli pilots abort missions rather than risk civilian casualties. Israeli soldiers risk their own lives to minimize harm to non-combatants, even when those civilians are being used as human shields by terrorists. This moral restraint often comes at tremendous cost—Israeli soldiers have died because they refuse to act with the ruthlessness that would ensure their own safety.
Of course, sometimes in war there are mistakes and casualties that occur despite the most stringent precautions. Even the most moral military in the world cannot achieve perfection in the fog of battle, and tragic errors happen that cost innocent lives. However, what distinguishes Israel is not the absence of all civilian casualties—an impossible standard that no military in history has achieved—but rather the extraordinary measures taken to prevent them and the genuine anguish expressed when they occur. The difference lies in intent: while Hamas, Hezbollah, the Houthis and Iran deliberately target civilians as their primary strategy, Israel’s civilian casualties are the unintended consequence of fighting an enemy that systematically operates from civilian areas. When mistakes happen, Israel investigates, takes responsibility, and implements new safeguards. This moral accountability, rooted in Torah principles, sets the IDF apart from other militaries and demonstrates that even in war’s darkest moments, it remains possible to maintain one’s moral character while defending one’s people.
What emerges from the Torah’s laws of warfare is a framework for maintaining moral character even in the darkest circumstances. The nation that first proclaimed absolute moral standards to the world cannot abandon those standards when facing existential threats.
The world’s double standard reveals itself in the scrutiny applied to Israel’s defensive actions while ignoring the deliberate atrocities of its enemies. But this scrutiny, though often unfair, serves a divine purpose. Israel is held to higher standards because Israel has higher standards. The chosen people must demonstrate that it is possible to fight evil without becoming evil, to defend the innocent without sacrificing moral character.
After nearly two years of war, the Israel Defense Forces continues to operate according to principles established in the Torah’s eternal laws. Every airstrike is preceded by warnings to civilians through text messages, leaflets, and phone calls. Every operation is evaluated not just for military effectiveness but for moral compliance. Every soldier carries the weight of representing not just a modern state but an ancient covenant.
The Torah’s laws of warfare were never meant to make fighting easy—they were meant to preserve the soul of a holy nation even in the crucible of conflict. Israel’s unwavering commitment to these principles, even at great cost, demonstrates how the light of Sinai continues to guide its moral conduct. In the darkest of times, Israel navigates the brutal necessities of survival by adhering to the ethical framework laid out in the Torah, proving that it is possible to defend the innocent while upholding one’s values and remaining a “light unto the nations.”
