Right man for the job
Tony Blair’s moral clarity and compassion are just what the Mideast needs
Before I decide which political party or candidate to vote for I always try and compare their policies and positions with the stated views of the Torah. The politician or party which is closest to those ideas earns my vote.
So when Tony Blair left number 10 Downing Street this week for the last time as Prime Minister I felt a sense of sadness. See I always felt that the politics Tony Blair represented matched most closely with Judaic principles. For this reason I voted for him despite the fact that the other candidate for Prime Minister at the time—Michael Howard—was Jewish.
Blair with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas (Photo: AP)
The Torah advocates a balanced approach to most things. For example, despite the fact that Torah sanctions entrepreneurship and making money, charity giving is mandated in the Torah. In the agricultural economy of Biblical times farmers were obligated to leave some of their crop to the poor. Today according to Jewish law a person is obligated to give ten percent of one’s income to charity. Clearly therefore social responsibility is inbuilt into the Jewish religion and when Jews ran their own state this responsibility was institutionalized.
But Judaism balances its social consciousness and compassion together with a stark recognition of reality. Compassion and love for the poor and needy does not blind the Torah from seeing evil for what it really is. Judaism does not have a philosophy which says that one must turn the other cheek. On the contrary Jews are obligated to fiercely defend their own national and personal interests if at all threatened.
The Torah is not afraid of going to war for either self defense or to defeat the immediate threat of evil. Simultaneously however, during a war, a Jewish army may not surround the enemy on all sides. One side must be left open to allow innocent citizens to flee and thus avoid unnecessary deaths.
Closest to Judaic principles
It is this balance that is so much needed in the increasingly polarized world we live in. It seems that in politics today one is either a liberal pacifist or a conservative capitalist. There are few politicians who have been able tread the middle ground where social responsibility is coupled with an absolute comprehension of the threats we face from the enemies of freedom.It seems to me that the genius of Tony Blair was that he was able to tread this middle ground. Although not all he stood for was Judaic he was the closest one could get. This is why he is so fitting for the job of Mideast peace envoy for the quartet (The United Nations, Russia, the USA and Europe) to represent them in promoting peace between Israel and the Palestinians.
There have been enough do-gooders trying to make peace in the Middle East but who do not understand the nature of evil and who have done tremendous damage because of their lack of moral vision. The fact that Hamas has condemned his appointment is the first indication that he is the right man for this job. He is exactly what is needed in the region: Moral Clarity mixed with compassion. Finally some hope for common sense in a troubled region.
Rabbi Levi Brackman is executive director of Judaism in the Foothills and the author of numerous articles on a whole range of topics and issues, many of which can be found on his website
