Is Genocide always bad?

Question

As we know the genocide of G-d's chosen people in the Holocuast was the worst crime in human history an event of unique unparalleled horror

Yet it is a mitzvoh (commandmant) for us Jews to commit Genocide

A List of the 613 Mitzvot (Commandments)

600 Not to keep alive any individual of the seven Canaanite nations (Deut. 20:16) (negative).
601 To exterminate the seven Canaanite nations from the land of Israel (Deut. 20:17) (affirmative).
613 To destroy the seed of Amalek (Deut. 25:19) (CCA77).

http://www.jewfaq.org/613.htm

So isnt it wrong and anti-semitic to say that Genocide is ALWAYS wrong?

Answer 1

1. It is not wrong to say that genocide is always wrong, because genocide is, in fact, always wrong. It is hypocrisy to say that "it's OK when we commit genocide on others, yet it's not OK when anyone commits genocide against us"--that's called a double standard.

I am a Jew, yet even I can admit that committing genocide on the Canaanites was in no way a good, or even an acceptable, thing, for the exact same reason that I condemn Hitler for his genocide. Murder is not good just because God, or any other authority, tells you to do it. What you are essentially arguing is that the Holocaust wasn't bad because Hitler killed people, but because he killed the wrong people--if he'd killed Canaanites instead of Jews, that would have been A-OK.

Also, defOf, above, is demonstrating a profound ignorance of Levantine history. The Canaanites never worshiped any sort of bull-headed god, and never worshiped any god like "Moloch". There is no evidence of any such deity except in the Jewish folklore which was propagated after-the-fact (much like Jews themselves were vilified as baby-killing devil-worshipers by Christians; such propaganda is commonplace in religious history), and there is no evidence of child sacrifice ever having occurred in Canaan, much less of it being universal or widespread. The evidence indicates that Canaanite religion sacrificed animals and crops, not children; they were extremely similar to other Mesopotamian religions.

The legends about child-sacrifice and devil-worship on the part of the Canaanites seems to simply have been slander to help justify the Jewish conquests, akin to Hitler's slander of the Jews to justify his own genocide. The solution is not to find the "right people" to commit genocide on; the solution, rather, is to stop the murder and slaughter altogether! Can we not even agree on that much?

2. It is not anti-Semitic to criticize an aspect of the Old Testament. The Old Testament is not a Jew. It's a book. Criticizing a book based on its faults is in no way being prejudiced against the Jewish people. In the same way, criticizing something a Jew says is not being "anti-Semitic"; that's as absurd as saying that if you disagree with anything a black person says, you're a racist; or if you disagree with anything a gay person says, you're a homophobe. Being prejudiced and intolerant of an entire people is bigotry. Simply criticizing a certain view, based on the merits of the view itself (rather than on the ethnic or racial background of its speaker), is not. Using anti-Semitism as a kind of "trump card" to avoid having any of your opinions criticized is demeaning, and risks conflating all non-Jews with true anti-Semites.

In the exact same way that my pride in being an American doesn't prevent me from condemning atrocities like slavery as evil, the fact that I am proud of my Jewish heritage in no way prevents me from condemning atrocities like the merciless slaughter of thousands of Canaanite men, women, and children as evil.

Answer 2

"Good" and "Evil" are philosophically subjective terms used by politicians before an event and by historians afterwards. The most objective way to look at the ethical value of any event is to determine the amount of abuse it generates versus the amount of benefit it creates.

Genocide, by its very nature, creates a lot of abuse. However, the individual or the organization that commits the crime (or any crime for that matter) will see some benefit from it. In the case of genocide, the benefit is usually seen from a political standpoint.

This does not justify the action. This merely explains that there is no such thing as absolute, objective evil.

Answer 3

There were reasons quoted for what you call genocide we know nothing about. Was it genocide or a collective judgement on Amalek ? For one Amalek made child sacrifices to Molech. Basically they condemned the child, the parent and the high priest of Molech. The Israelis were also following these child sacrifices and worshipping Molech from having the Amalek in their midst and marrying their child-sacrificing women. Molech aka Satan appeared to have a "taste" for HUMAN sacrifices and HUMAN degradation and it had to be stamped out. The child would still be saved even if he died than cursed by his own degraded parents through Molech. Genocide is never justified but this was liking wiping out cannibals and human sacrificers. What would society do to Hannibal Lecter if he was sacrificing humans or his own children on an altar ? Don't we have a death penalty ?
I suspect this old issue isn't going away soon and could be used against the Jews again by the next anti-Christ to justify real genocide. I don't see Jews sacrificing humans like the Amalek did. However we did see Hitler perpetuate this as a New Age Aryan priest of the Madame Blavatsky/Alice Bailey kind not less than 70 years ago.

Answer 4

Genocide is always bad. Jews of all people should know this by now. I don't care what your book or God says. To kill everyone of a race is despicable. After all the people who have tried to exterminate the Jews haven't you learned the pain and suffering caused by genocide? PUT DOWN THE BOOK AND STOP KILLING PEOPLE!

Answer 5

You would have to include the JCM God as the prime doer of Genocide. What bothers me is the children. Killing the children of Egypt. It's one of my prime hopes that someday a law will be passed that no child may be "taught" a religion until they are old enough to realize that all they are told is just the opinion of adults who were told to believe as children. The rote rot within religions nowadays makes it impossible for any actual message from the Gods or God to be heard as the JCMs are too busy listening to themselves.

Answer 6

In about a hundred more years everyone will be wishing genocide was a law, because as the world becomes more crowded all of you will change your opinions about genocide, there are already to many people on this planet, and when you have no place to lay your head down, we will see what you think then, and you can bet they wont be good thoughts towards your fellow man.

Answer 7

I'm really having trouble believing you are a Jew. I've looked back at your other questions and I have to say I have never known anyone who was Jewish that said the things you do. If you really are Jewish, then you make me cringe and I want to tell everyone that most Jews are not like this...

Answer 8

Yes. Genocide is a crime against humanity.

Thus, God is a genocidal murderer. Thus not worthy of worship.

Answer 9

What the hell kind of question is that??

Any "god" who would order a genocide is not worthy of worship. He is, in fact, a dictator and a tyrant who deserves to be stripped of his godhood and imprisoned for life.

Answer 10

Genocide is ALWAYS bad.

If your little book tells you that God says to exterminate a people, then your book is bad. (There. I said it.) It is no more anti-Semitic to condemn biblical genocide than it is anti-Serb to condemn the atrocities in Bosnia.