TWO WRONGS DON’T MAKE A RIGHT May 14, 2026

A column by Nicholas Kristof in Monday’s New York Times hit me where it hurts. 

Kristof reported that “in wrenching interviews, Palestinians have recounted to me a pattern of widespread Israeli sexual violence against men, women and even children — by soldiers, settlers, interrogators in the Shin Bet internal security agency and, above all, prison guards.” 

Could Kristof have been duped? Yes. Was he? Probably not. War and terrorism produce violent defensive responses. Horrifically, Hamas uses rape and other forms of cruelty as offensive weapons.

Unfortunately, the Israeli far right cloaks itself in the laws and principles of Torah while its violence betrays Jewish thinking.

Last October, timesofisrael.com reported, “A recently released hostage has reportedly told his family that he and others he was held with in Gaza were beaten with horse whips until they lost consciousness after their Hamas captors had heard public comments made by far [right] National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir, who has publicly boasted about worsening the conditions of Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails.”

According to Kristoff, B’Tselem, an Israeli human rights organization, issued a January 2026 report, “Living Hell,” that “documented ‘a grave pattern of sexual violence’ toward Palestinians.” 

Do not mistake my intentions in writing this post. I love Israel and fully support its right to exist as a Jewish, democratic state. 

I also insist that Israel respect the rights of the twenty percent of its citizens who are not Jewish. Also, those of Palestinians and others under its control.

Hamas leaders deny that its foot soldiers engage in rape and other ugly behavior. From an organization with a warped sense of self-righteousness and no respect for its own people, that’s to be expected.

But I demand more of Israeli leadership than denials about the misdeeds of some Israelis in a frustratingly endless conflict.

Baseless violence is wrong. Also counterproductive. It reveals a nation’s weakness, not its strength. Rape and other forms of torture are strategically self-defeating. They block meaningful opportunities for real, long-term peace. Granted, peace between Israel and its Iran-backed enemies will be difficult to achieve. Peace would take a giant step forward if only Hamas and Hezbollah acknowledged Israel’s right to statehood.

Difficulty, however, does not preclude Israel, while defending itself, from living up to the lofty standards it professes.

As the biblical book of Numbers begins, the late Rabbi Jonathan Sacks comments on the challenge the Israelites face after leaving Egypt for Canaan: “The journey from is always easier than the journey to. It may take a revolution to depose a tyrant, but it is easier to do that than to create a genuinely free society with the rule of law and respect for human rights” (The Koren Chumash, p958).

In Judaism is About Love, Rabbi Shai Held writes, “Ahavat Yisrael [Love of Israel] is not—cannot be—the religious equivalent of ‘our country, right or wrong.’” Held notes that “to make an exception of one’s people is to walk extremely treacherous ground.” Also, “Judaism’s sacred texts consistently subject the Jewish people to blistering moral critique” (p. 135).  

Israeli elections will be held no later than October. Voters will have to give thought to the future beyond this difficult present.

America’s mid-term take place this November. U.S. voters also will have to do some serious—and morally challenging—thinking.

To understand the background of today’s far-right, authoritarian descent, read my new novel, RIDE THE TYGER. Order from Amazon, barnesandnoble.com, iuniverse.com, or your favorite bookstore.