I agree with Colson in that Israel should be allowed to defend itself. But that's where the agreement ends, especially when he threw out just war language.
But Israel’s response was proportionate-good by just war standards. They could have sunk the ships; instead, they boarded them, putting their own troops in peril. The loss of life was tragic, but cannot be laid entirely at Israel’s feet.Let's take a look at the criteria for a just war from two different perspectives: Just War as Christian Discipleship and Just War as Public Policy. This is how I learned the Just War Tradition and the table is inspired from my professor's book/lectures.
| Criteria | Just War as Christian Discipleship | Just War as Public Policy |
|---|---|---|
| Legitimate Authority Who Wages? Who Decides? | God, through the State Princes w/ advisers, soldiers, church | State State w/ international bodies |
| Just Cause | Other Directed Actual Offense Preemptive Strike (Threat is imminent and grave) | Self-Defense |
| Right Intent | End is peace Not for hatred or revenge | End is peace No revenge |
| Last Resort | Good-faith diplomacy | Diplomacy |
| Reasonable Chance of Success | Attainable, limited ends | N/A |
| Discrimination | Responsibility to protect non-combatants | Non-combatant deaths permitted if unintended and worth the cost |
| Proportionality | Directed and measured use of force Minimum force needed | Maximum force necessary |
by Daniel Bell, Jr., 245-246)Under the Public Policy version of Just War, yes, Israels action's were justified. This seems to be how Colson is coming at Israel's use of force on the flotilla. But I'm not interested in Public Policy...I'm interested in Christian Discipleship.
Under Just War as Christian Discipleship, Israel's actions were not justified. Where did they go wrong? In this instance, there was no just cause, the threat to Israel was not actual or for preemptive measures (ie the threat was not imminent and grave). We can debate on weather or not this was Israel's last resort. Israel did fail the test for discrimination and proportionality.
Having failed several of the tests, in my opinion, Israel's attacks on flotillas were not justified.
Additional Resources:
I highly recommend all these books on the topic of Just War.
- Just War as Christian Discipleship: Recentering the Tradition in the Church rather than the State
- Just And Unjust Wars: A Moral Argument With Historical Illustrations
- When War Is Unjust: Being Honest in Just-War Thinking
- War, Peace And God: Rethinking the Just-war Tradition (Lutheran Voices)
Israel and Gaza | The Christian Post