Presenter: RDML Harold Robinson

Since 7 October we have heard a cacophony of pronouncements and accusations around war crimes and  the laws of war.

In Western thought there are two related but distinct subject, jus in bello, “Justice in war,” and jus ad bellum, “Just war.” “Just war” deals with the causes, goals, and context of war—that is, whether or not the causes for going to war were just. “Justice in war”  speaks to the conduct of war: which weapons were used, how noncombatants and prison­ers were treated, and whether the war was fought according to “the rules” (commonly understood as the Geneva Conventions).

These two presentations will focus on “Justice in War,” not on “Just War,” even as we acknowledge the dis­tinction is somewhat artificial. After all, it begs the ques­tion: Can the actions of warriors be just and ethical if the war itself is unjust? And if the cause is just, is it ethical to risk defeat by adhering to theoretical or perhaps aspirational “laws” of war, or is “all fair in love and war”?

The quest to better understand “Justice in War”  is often led by warriors in partnership with moral philosophers. The conversation is enriched by scholars, such as Professor Michael Walzer of the Institute for Advanced Studies at Princeton (I highly recommend his book Just and Unjust Wars, which is still relevant forty years after publication) and Professor Asa Kasher of Tel Aviv University.   We will reference Torah, rabbinic literature, the Israel Defense Force’s (IDF) Code of Ethics and Mission, Purity of Arms, the U.S. Department of Defense Law of War Manual and my article in Inscribed, "Encounters with the Ten Commandments."

Class Topics Will Include

• Just and unjust wars 
• Justice in the means of waging war
• Asymmetry in status of combatants (Nation state vs insurgents)
• Collateral damage and proportionality
• Permissible sieges 
• Combatants, Noncombatants, civilians , and prisoners (personal status)
• Military occupation, civil order,  food and medical supplies  
• Co-location of civilians and military objectives

Rabbi Harold Robinson, D.D., D.Hum. served at the Cape Cod Synagogue for 21 years and as a Naval Reserve Chaplain for 36 years, of which 26 were with the Marine Corps.  After several command and high level staff assignments he was selected for Flag rank in 2003, and was assigned as Deputy Chief of Navy Chaplains and Chaplain Marine Force Reserve.  He was also President of the Navy Policy Board, the only chaplain ever so assigned. His overseas assignments included Italy, Guam, Japan, Haiti, Qatar, Bahrain, Afghanistan, the Persian Gulf, Djibouti and Iraq. He retired from the US Navy at the rank of Rear Admiral, having received the Distinguished Service Medal, The Legion of Honor, the Meritorious Service Medal and the Navy Commendation Medal. 

In civilian life he served on numerous boards and commissions, including the Commission on Social Action of Reform Judaism, the Resolutions Committee of Reform Judaism and the Commission on Religious Living of Reform Judaism, Massachusetts Commission Against Discrimination, Cape and Islands Advisory Council. He served 10 years as the  Director of The Jewish Welfare Board.  He lives with his wife, Miriam, in Centerville.  They are the proud parents of Rabbi Yair Robinson, married to Marisa and father of Elishai of Wilmington, DE,  and of Ms. Dori Robinson of Lowell, MA.