“Ethics in time of war can only be judged by the degree to which they reflect the divine plan. In war there are two kinds of forces operative: (1) those which make for love, justice, harmony, and the well being of all mankind, and (2) those which work in alliance with narrow racial and national loyalties towards the selfish exploitation of others…
He who would wage war must search his heart and make sure that the ends for which he is fighting are a reflection of the divine plan. His actions will be justified only if they help to lead humanity to spiritual brotherhood cemented by an inviolable sense of the unity of all human beings, regardless of class, color, nationality, race, religion or creed.”
Meher Baba, from Listen, Humanity pg. 131
https://avatarmeherbabatrust.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/ListenHumanity.pdf
The above statement by Avatar Meher Baba is a concise statement on the ethics of war and an excellent basis on which to evaluate the justifiable basis for war. It is a common sense rule of thumb from a spiritual and humanistic perspective that posits the essential unity of life despite outward differences, and that to wage war apart from or in contradiction to this basis is unacceptable.
In short, war based on “selfish exploitation of others” is unacceptable. War will only be justified, in fact, if it promotes “spiritual brotherhood…regardless of class, color, nationality, race, religion or creed.”
By this standard, the US/ Israel genocide against occupied Palestine is flagrantly unacceptable. Israel is acting altogether as a rogue state in denying the rights and very existence of millions of Palestinians- whose land Israel has stolen. This could not be a more emphatic illustration of the promotion of “narrow racial and national loyalty”.
