Rabbi Konigsburg's Blog

When engaging in discourse on Israeli current events, one often hears people talk about a double standard. The idea stipulates that the world holds other countries to a particular standard, and a different one when it comes to Israel; usually a higher moral standard that requires Israel to justify actions that other countries don’t seem to have to justify. Instead, some people would argue that Israel should be held to the same standard as other countries and only under this single standard could judgments of Israel be seen as fair and equal.
 
In Parshat Emor, the Torah makes a similar argument. Right before a half-Israelite is about to be put to death for blaspheming the name of God during a fight with an Israelite, God commands the community that there should be one standard for the stranger and citizen alike (Leviticus 24:10-23). The Torah agrees that the fairest legal system is one with a single standard that can be applied to all humans, regardless of their citizenship or nationality. It makes sense that God has a high moral expectation for his people, the Israelites.  But to hold strangers to those same high standards is a much harder argument. It seems that the Torah believes that if we can identify objective moral truths, then it is most fair to apply them to everyone, and not let others off the hook.
 
When I hear the idea that there is a double standard against Israel, I understand why this is unfair and why we should have the same expectations for all countries. But I sincerely hope that we don’t treat Israel like every other country, but rather that we should treat every other country like we treat Israel. Let us continue to aim for those high moral standards, and let us apply those standards to other countries as well.  
 
Shabbat Shalom.