Shoftim 5785 - Rules of war: Are Jewish lives more valuable than others' lives?

"Starvation of civilians as a method of combat is prohibited. It is therefore prohibited to attack, destroy, remove or render useless, for that purpose, objects indispensable to the survival of the civilian population, such as foodstuffs, agricultural areas for the production of foodstuffs, crops, livestock, drinking water installations and supplies and irrigation works." The Protocol Additional to the Geneva Conventions of 12 August 1949, and Relating to the Protection of Victims of Non-International Armed Conflicts. Part IV: CIVILIAN POPULATION - Article 14 - Protection of objects indispensable to the survival of the civilian population
https://www.ohchr.org/en/instruments-mechanisms/instruments/protocol-additional-geneva-conventions-12-august-1949-and-0

Engaging with the Book of Deuteronomy as we come to the end of 5785, and now as we are entering Elul, is challenging and also offers powerful opportunities for clear-eyed exploration and painful soul-searching.

In this final book of the Torah, if we are honest readers who intend to wrestle forthrightly with the text, we encounter clear and troubling contradictions that can challenge our ideas about ethics, about the ethics that arise from the Torah.

For example: the valuing of life, pikuach nefesh, which is often said to be one of the most fundamental of Jewish values.... in Parashat Shoftim, as elsewhere in Deuteronomy, we are faced with verses that tell us that the lives of humans who are not Jewish are to be destroyed, and thus we infer that these lives are not equivalent to Jewish lives.

Kill all the men, take / kidnap all the women, children, livestock, and "everything in the town". "You shall not let a soul remain alive." Clearly, these souls, these lives, are not worthy of being preserved.

The closing section of this parsha clearly brings forward the notion that Jewish lives hold an entirely different value than the lives of others. This is the interlude that's referred to as the "eglah arufah" - decapitated calf. It is a brief section, Deuteronomy 21:1-9, only nine verses. We read the rules for dealing with the discovery of a [presumably Jewish corpse] in open land, between two cities; the cause of death is presumed to be murder, and the murderer is unknown and (presumably) undiscoverable.

These verses tell us that it is obligatory for the "people Israel" to be absolved of bloodguilt for one Jewish person who has died, presumably by murder - in other words, an innocent person. As I write this today, I notice with sorrow and concern that here again we have a mitzvah that reinforces the idea that Jewish lives are more valuable than others' lives.

As many commentators have pointed out, this fairly brief interlude is placed between two sets of rules for "when you go out to war" (here in Parashat Shoftim and immediately following these verses, at the start of Parashat Ki Teitzei).

Here is a typical reading of this section (eglah arufah) from the website of the OU Torah.org; I include this lengthy passage for purposes of comparison, to illustrate the "traditional" attitude toward Jewish life that can arise from certain readings of the Torah:

"IntroductionThe final section of our parsha discusses the mitzvah of eglah arufah – the decapitated calf. As the verses describe, if a person should be found slain and the identity of his killer is unknown, the elders of the city closest to where the victim was found bring a calf down to a valley and decapitate it there. They then declare that they had no part in the death of this victim and ask for atonement for the people of Israel. However we understand the procedure and details of this mitzvah, the underlying message is that a tragedy of this sort cannot be allowed to pass without response from those nearby – even if it was in no way of their doing. Although the identity of the killer is unknown, and that of the victim perhaps equally so, a fellow Jew’s life has been cut short and that loss needs to be felt and addressed.

Between the Wars – Location of the MitzvahIt is most interesting to consider, in this regard, the place where the Torah chooses to discuss this mitzvah. As we know, immediately following this section is the parsha of Ki Seitzei, which begins, “When you shall go out to war against your enemy.”What is equally important to note, however, is that the section that precedes eglah arufah begins in exactly the same way – “when you shall go out to war against your enemies”! It turns out that the mitzvah of eglah arufah is sandwiched “between the wars.” We may ask: Why not put all the laws relevant to war together? Why interject with a private matter? Apparently, the Torah seeks to highlight the gravity and significance of a single life under all circumstances. As we know, in times of war, people’s sensitivities toward an individual’s plight can unfortunately become somewhat jaded in the face of broader danger and tragedy. To this end, the Torah places this discussion of an individual tragedy in the midst of its discussion of war, as if to say, the one can never be allowed to be eclipsed by the other."
https://outorah.org/p/88815/

"Apparently, the Torah seeks to highlight the gravity and significance of a single life under all circumstances." Yes, a single life... clearly, to this commentator (whose webpage is called "A Universe of Chesed"), this is true only if the life is a Jewish life. Many Jews today seem hold this idea, explicitly or implicitly. As we enter Elul, this is the perfect time to ask ourselves how we understand the value of life.

Through the ritual of the eglah arufah, atonement is made for the loss of life. Here is the last verse in this week's parsha:

We understand that it is right in the sight of God to attempt to repair the loss of innocent life. Implicitly or explicitly: the tree of the field is [hu]man's life. Do not destroy... a tree of the field... a human life. This is right in the sight of God.

As we enter Elul 5785, as we have very recently received the formal declaration from the United Nations that there is a famine in Gaza, as the lives of dozens if not hundreds of Palestinians are ended every day by Israeli actions in Gaza and the West Bank, it is more than urgent for us to interrogate the idea that Jewish lives somehow have more value than others' lives.

Contemporary "rules of war", more formally known as "International Humanitarian Law" (IHL), were set out in the Geneva Conventions of 1949, to which 196 countries are signatories (including the United States and Israel). These rules intend to lessen the suffering and destruction caused by armed conflict, and to delineate protections for civilians and armed combatants alike. Serious violations of international humanitarian law are considered war crimes.

From The Protocol Additional to the Geneva Conventions of 12 August 1949, and Relating to the Protection of Victims of Non-International Armed Conflicts.Part IV: CIVILIAN POPULATION
Article 13 - Protection of the civilian population
1. The civilian population and individual civilians shall enjoy general protection against the dangers arising from military operations. To give effect to this protection, the following rules shall be observed in all circumstances.
2. The civilian population as such, as well as individual civilians, shall not be the object of attack. Acts or threats of violence the primary purpose of which is to spread terror among the civilian population are prohibited.
3. Civilians shall enjoy the protection afforded by this Part, unless and for such time as they take a direct part in hostilities.
https://www.ohchr.org/en/instruments-mechanisms/instruments/protocol-additional-geneva-conventions-12-august-1949-and-0

What about elements of life that are indispensable to survival?

The Protocol Additional to the Geneva Conventions of 12 August 1949, and Relating to the Protection of Victims of Non-International Armed Conflicts. Part IV: CIVILIAN POPULATIONArticle 14 - Protection of objects indispensable to the survival of the civilian population
Starvation of civilians as a method of combat is prohibited. It is therefore prohibited to attack, destroy, remove or render useless, for that purpose, objects indispensable to the survival of the civilian population, such as foodstuffs, agricultural areas for the production of foodstuffs, crops, livestock, drinking water installations and supplies and irrigation works. https://www.ohchr.org/en/instruments-mechanisms/instruments/protocol-additional-geneva-conventions-12-august-1949-and-0

In today's world, there is a formal international collective intention to preserve life. The United States and Israel, along with 194 other countries, are signatories to the Geneva Convention.

Please see also my commentary on Parashat Shoftim from last year, "Shoftim 5784: The Narrow Place of a Siege" for more considerations about sieges and starvation:
Shoftim 5784 - The Narrow Place of a Siege | Sefaria

Importantly for my question about the value of life - of all lives : it is noteworthy that this verse (Deuteronomy 20:19) gave rise to an important Jewish ethical principle, bal taschit - do not destroy - לֹֽא־תַשְׁחִ֤ית. A thorough exploration of this ethical principle is beyond the scope of this commentary. However I note here that not only has this principle been explored in the context of Jewish environmental ethics; particularly in light of the numerous commentaries (including in the Talmud) that bring forward the metaphor of a human person being like a "tree of the field" (from our verse), it is a simple step to make to inquire about the concept of "do not destroy" regarding human life.

In fact, other translations of Deuteronomy 20:19 bring forward the metaphor of a human person as a "tree of the field":

Metsudah Chumash, 2009:
When thou shalt besiege a city a long time, in making waragainst it to take it, thou shalt not destroy the trees thereofby forcing an axe against them: for thou mayest eat of them, andthou shalt not cut them down (for the tree of the field is man'slife) to employ them in the siege.
Interesting to compare the King James Version:
When thou shalt besiege a city a long time, in making waragainst it to take it, thou shalt not destroy the trees thereofby forcing an axe against them: for thou mayest eat of them, andthou shalt not cut them down (for the tree of the field is man's life) to employ them in the siege.

"BBC witnesses Israeli settlers' attack on Palestinian farm in West Bank"
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cewy88jle0eo