CUA theology dean: Just war doctrine requires Israel to avoid civilian casualties

 

Moral theology professor Joseph Capizzi speaks with Tracy Sabol on “EWTN News Nightly” Dec. 22, 2023. / Credit: “EWTN News Nightly”

Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Dec 28, 2023 / 10:52 am (CNA).

If it wants to comply with “just war” doctrine, Israel Defense Forces (IDF) must seek to avoid civilian casualties amid its ongoing ground invasion of the Gaza Strip, according to a professor of moral theology and ethics at the Catholic University of America.

The Israeli military “cannot target innocent people, and whenever it targets innocent people in its execution of its political goals, it’s violating not only international humanitarian law — or the laws of war — it’s also violating fundamental morality,” Joseph Capizzi said in a Dec. 22 interview with “EWTN News Nightly.”

Israel launched a ground invasion of the Gaza Strip on Oct. 27 following Hamas’ invasion of Israel at the beginning of the month. Israel’s stated objective to eradicate Hamas following the terrorist group’s Oct. 7 attack “absolutely” complies with just war doctrine, according to Capizzi, though only so long as the military works to avoid civilian deaths.

“It’s clear that Hamas and the state of Israel cannot coexist and Israel’s judgment — that whatever it’s doing now has to have as one of its political goals the eradication of Hamas — is an apt judgment,” said Capizzi, who is also the dean of the university’s School of Theology and Religious Studies. “Hamas is designed and animated by the desire to extinguish the state of Israel.”

The Israeli government has claimed that it does not target civilians. The Israeli offensive has reportedly resulted in more than 20,000 deaths, according to the Hamas-controlled Gaza Ministry of Health. This amounts to nearly 1% of Gaza’s population prior to the invasion.

Capizzi said Israel must “pursue the execution of [its] political aims by military means in a manner that is attentive to … the proportion of innocent people who will die as a consequence of the use of military force.”

“There is a point at which Israel has to be concerned about how many people it’s killing,” Capizzi added.

To comply with just war doctrine, Capizzi said military forces must “follow the normal morality that the rest of us have to follow in our lives,” such as the moral principle “to not kill innocent people … by intention.”

“The most important thing is that war, or the use of force in war, be understood as serving actual political goals, all of which themselves are in the service of peace,” Capizzi continued. “So everything that you do in war has to serve the goal of peace.”

On Oct. 8, the day after Hamas’ initial attack, Pope Francis said the “continuing bloodshed and declarations of war remind us once again of the urgent need to find a lasting and comprehensive solution to the Palestinian-Israeli conflict in this land.”

“Terrorism and war do not bring any solution, but only death and suffering for many innocent people,” the pope said. “War is a failure. Every war is a failure.”

The pontiff condemned the Hamas attack but has also been critical of some of Israel’s military actions over the past two months.

On Christmas, he called on Hamas to release the remaining hostages and decried the Israeli military operations for what he said was “their appalling harvest of innocent victims.”

On Dec. 16, meanwhile, the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem claimed that an Israeli sniper “murdered two Christian women inside the Holy Family Parish in Gaza.” The IDF has denied the allegation.


If you value the news and views Catholic World Report provides, please consider donating to support our efforts. Your contribution will help us continue to make CWR available to all readers worldwide for free, without a subscription. Thank you for your generosity!

Click here for more information on donating to CWR. Click here to sign up for our newsletter.


About Catholic News Agency 11872 Articles
Catholic News Agency (www.catholicnewsagency.com)

2 Comments

  1. “There is a point at which Israel has to be concerned about how many people it’s killing.” Says you. Dear Dean Capizzi, neither side in this conflict gives a rat’s tail about just war principles. That is a very Christian and Western concept, usually honored only in the breach even among supposedly Christian nations. We should not expect Jews and Muslims to even give theoretical assent to it. What we should avoid is taking sides in a war in which neither party has any legitimate claim on our support. Unfortunately, the US government has for many years given what typically amounts to a blank check to only one.

  2. Lets us not forget that the tenant of Islamic Ideology is to convert the world to Sharia Law beginning from the Jordan to the sea (promoting genocide) nor the brutality of the Islamic terrorists recently against Jews Israel, Christians In Nigeria and secularist on 9/11.

    Innocent human shields die in Gaza because they are held, surrounding Hamas assets and personnel: the Palestinian are locked into Gaza because the are not welcome thus excluded from migrating to anywhere in the Arab World given their support for the Moslem Brotherhood. Granted I disapprove of the targeting of innocents though I vehemently reject the murder of innocents used as human shields.

    A good soldier loves those he defends more than those he opposes on the battlefield. Hamas terrorists are filled with hate against those infidels they murder and kill in their pursuit of Islamic martyrdom.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published.

All comments posted at Catholic World Report are moderated. While vigorous debate is welcome and encouraged, please note that in the interest of maintaining a civilized and helpful level of discussion, comments containing obscene language or personal attacks—or those that are deemed by the editors to be needlessly combative or inflammatory—will not be published. Thank you.


*