In Canada and some European countries, laws have gradually expanded the circumstances under which doctors may kill their patients. The Netherlands this year has moved to relax its restrictions on the euthanization of children between the ages of one and twelve. Shlomo Brody explains the halakhic strictures on such deeds, as well as the ways that Jewish tradition has addressed the humanitarian concerns usually cited by euthanasia advocates:

Judaism certainly places a premium on preserving life and usually calls upon us to do everything to save a life. We value the life of all human beings and certainly do not belittle the inherent dignity of those with physical or mental impairments. We furthermore condemn active euthanasia, assisted suicide, or intentionally hastening someone’s death. Judaism does not want humans to “put out a flickering candle,” as the [talmudic] sages put it.

Nonetheless, . . . “There is a time for death” (Ecclesiastes 3:2). Sometimes our interventions will not extend living but instead prolong dying. Judaism doesn’t value dragging out a painful process of dying. Halakhah allows a person to forego further interventions when their ailments have become too great and their quality of life has become too degraded.

Of course, Brody explains, rabbinic authorities differ on how to find the correct balance:

Jewish law mandates that we can desecrate Shabbat to save the life of a person, even if we will only be extending their life for a short, fleeting amount of time. On this basis, Rabbi Eliezer Waldenberg asserted that even as we treat people for pain, we should generally do everything to extend a person’s life, even for a limited time. Similarly, Rabbi Immanuel Jakobovits repeatedly asserted, “Any fraction of life, whether ten years or a minute, whether healthy, crippled, or even unconscious, remains equally infinite in value.”

In contrast, Rabbi Yaakov Kanievsky (the “Steipler gaon”), followed by Rabbi Asher Weiss, have contended that this sentiment is wrong. Their proof is that halakhah permits removing an impediment to a suffering person’s death, if this will prevent severe suffering, as long as one does not move the dying person himself in a way that will cause him to die. Sometimes, we should passively allow natural death.

For some time, opponents of U.S support for Israel have been urging the White House to end the war in Gaza, or simply calling for a ceasefire. Douglas Feith and Lewis Libby consider what such a result would actually entail:

Ending the war immediately would allow Hamas to survive and retain military and governing power. Leaving it in the area containing the Sinai-Gaza smuggling routes would ensure that Hamas can rearm. This is why Hamas leaders now plead for a ceasefire. A ceasefire will provide some relief for Gazans today, but a prolonged ceasefire will preserve Hamas’s bloody oppression of Gaza and make future wars with Israel inevitable.

For most Gazans, even when there is no hot war, Hamas’s dictatorship is a nightmarish tyranny. Hamas rule features the torture and murder of regime opponents, official corruption, extremist indoctrination of children, and misery for the population in general. Hamas diverts foreign aid and other resources from proper uses; instead of improving life for the mass of the people, it uses the funds to fight against Palestinians and Israelis.

Moreover, a Hamas-affiliated website warned Gazans last month against cooperating with Israel in securing and delivering the truckloads of aid flowing into the Strip. It promised to deal with those who do with “an iron fist.” In other words, if Hamas remains in power, it will begin torturing, imprisoning, or murdering those it deems collaborators the moment the war ends. Thereafter, Hamas will begin planning its next attack on Israel:

Hamas’s goals are to overshadow the Palestinian Authority, win control of the West Bank, and establish Hamas leadership over the Palestinian revolution. Hamas’s ultimate aim is to spark a regional war to obliterate Israel and, as Hamas leaders steadfastly maintain, fulfill a Quranic vision of killing all Jews.

Hamas planned for corpses of Palestinian babies and mothers to serve as the mainspring of its October 7 war plan. Hamas calculated it could survive a war against a superior Israeli force and energize enemies of Israel around the world. The key to both aims was arranging for grievous Palestinian civilian losses. . . . That element of Hamas’s war plan is working impressively.