No Resolution Needed on the Iraq War

The umbrella organization of Judaism's Reform movement is contemplating the adoption of a resoluton opposing the Iraq war. I'm kind of surprised at myself, but I'm not particularly enthusiastic about issuing such a call as community.

Now, I have been against this monstrous war since the time when it was still merely a gleam in our president’s eye. As the recent Libby trial has shown, as virtually every piece of information that has ever emerged about it has proven and as history will show, this is a war built on deception, exploitation of fear, on a lie. It’s really doesn’t matter whether there are parallels to Vietnam because this war is happening now and not then, but I do believe that the analogy is compelling. We’re stuck in another quagmire and that it was only by government deception that we got there in the first place. Unfortunately, there seems to be no end to human misery and no shortage of fear and loathing available for tyrants big and small to exploit. But that doesn’t mean that the exercise of American imperial power has anything to do with alleviating the misery. More often than not, we seem to be part of the problem rather than the solution. We’ve met the enemy in Iraq alright — and it is us.

Having said all that, however, I really think the resolution is an irrelevancy, or worse. The various textual sources cited in the resolution make a convincing case that under Jewish law we are compelled to be cautious in our resort to violence and its ultimate manifestation, war. So what else is new? I suspect that every religion in existence has a similar principle written down somewhere. Besides, most people are going to determine their positions on an issue of this sort based on the news (or what they’ve been led to believe is the news). Whether they believe the war is discretionary or compelled derives from whatever information they have at their disposal.

This brings me to what I believe the proper role of Jewish tradition should play in evaluating one’s position on this issue and then responding accordingly. If our tradition teaches me anything, it’s the importance of personal accountability and responsibility. For me, being accountable means taking action as often as possible based on my opposition to the war. By virtue of our status as citizens and the tax payers who are footing the bill for it, the government is fighting this war in our name. That makes every one of us responsible for what’s going on. If that’s the case, it’s not enough merely to say you’re opposed. You have to try to do something about it.

What’s even harder for me to live with is the idea that the government is sending other peoples’ children to die in my name. My teenage boys would go to Iraq over my dead body. So what right do I have to sit by and do nothing while other young men and women are going in their stead? Let’s all be honest with ourselves, Park Slope parents. The Iraq war would end next week if the draft were reinstituted (this time, of course, minus the college deferments, probably the clearest manifestation of class bias ever formulated by a modern industrial society, though our current “volunteer” army is running a close second).

To me, a resolution from our movement’s umbrella organization is an invitation to do nothing rather than being accountable. If I’m against the war, I don’t need the URJ to do my bidding for me. I need to get out in the streets where I belong. The time has passed when armchair activism is an acceptable reaction to this war. It’s simply not good enough merely to be smug about the moron in the White House or his evil Rasputin of a Vice President, or to rely on resolutions. The time for action is at hand, and if you think a resolution from an abstraction like the URJ has anything to do with stopping our government from continuing to pursue this evil deed, you’re deluding yourself.

On the merits, I found the resolution kind of mealy-mouthed. Want an anti-war resolution imbued with the wisdom of our sages, here it is: “If you’re against the war, get off your ass.” All the rest is commentary.