Zionist Values Cannot Coexist With Gaza's Children Starving to Death at Israel's Hands
The mass starvation of children is a profound moral failure that will plague Israelis' consciences for decades. Silence is tacit consent.
Tali Gal | Sep. 3, 2025 | originally published in “Haarez” | Link
What until recently was considered a future danger has become an existing fact: There is serious hunger in Gaza. Babies aren't gaining weight, teenagers are showing signs of regression, and children's hair and faces bear the clear signs of advanced malnutrition.
The bodies and brains of an entire generation are being damaged in ways that will leave permanent physical, psychological and emotional scars. Children aren't "small adults." Their bodies and brains are still developing, and malnutrition during these critical stages will cause irreversible damage.
The mass starvation of children is a profound moral failure that will plague Israelis' consciences for decades. Unlike adults, children don't take part in the political debate, vote or decide where they will live. When they're made to pay the price for wars that they didn't start, the injustice is particularly egregious.
The disaster of Gaza's children is described in the media as a problem that preoccupies only the left. It should preoccupy every Jew — not only those who consider international law important, but those for whom Zionism and Judaism are the main sources of their values.
Anyone who considers the Torah and tradition their guides must remember that the commandment to act as a chosen people isn't a privilege but a responsibility — “ye were strangers in the land of Egypt.” Children occupy a central place in Jewish tradition. Adults have an obligation to pass on to their children the legacy of the covenant with God.
And in this covenant, as in the spirit of Jewish tradition, compassion, concern for the weak and respect for life come first. The commandment of pikuah nefesh places the value of life above almost any other commandment. These values totally contradict the situation in which children are dying of hunger under Israeli rule.
Nor do the values of Zionism jibe with the mass death of children from starvation on land for which the Jewish state is responsible. The Zionist movement didn't aspire only to Jewish sovereignty, it also sought the creation of a society based on morality, justice and social responsibility. This vision was shared by the architects of Zionism across the political spectrum.
On the right, Ze'ev Jabotinsky measured national strength by the ability to take care of the weak. Menachem Begin warned against cruelty and the exploitation of power, claiming that the Jewish people, who have experienced oppression, must not emulate the oppressors. On the left, David Ben-Gurion declared already in 1948: "The fate of the children is the fate of the nation.” Sure enough, from its early years, Israel has legislated many laws designed to protect children.
These values are deeply enshrined in international law, of course. Since the early 20th century, children have been considered to possess a special right to protection during wartime, and numerous declarations have determined that humankind must prevent hunger, injury and illness among children. The 1989 UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, which was ratified by Yitzhak Shamir's government in 1991, made this commitment an obligatory legal norm.
Three articles in the convention are especially relevant to the situation in Gaza. Article 6 recognizes "that every child has the inherent right to life ... survival and development." Article 24 determines their right to health care, as well as "adequate nutritious foods and clean drinking-water. And Article 38 states that "all feasible measures [must be taken] to ensure protection and care of children who are affected by an armed conflict." Also, international humanitarian law and the laws of war forbid the starving of civilians as a means of combat.
The opposing arguments — that Israel has the right and obligation to protect its citizens after Hamas' October 7 attack, that Hamas bears the basic responsibility for Gazans' plight, and that Hamas is boycotting humanitarian aid and conducting a "starvation campaign" — are true. But these arguments don't change the main fact: Children in Gaza are dying of starvation, and Israel has a direct responsibility to prevent that.
The people with the greatest obligation to make their voices heard are professionals in the public sector, but rabbis, teachers, community leaders, university heads, high-tech executives, union chiefs and businesspeople must also demand an end to the war, the transfer of food and medicine and the prevention of further child deaths. Silence is tacit consent.
Whether the source of authority lies in Jewish tradition and the Zionist commitment or in the norms of international human rights, there is only one conclusion: The starving of children cannot be justified. Stopping it isn't a political issue but a matter of conscience, and it must be done now.
We must declare a cease-fire and immediately ensure that all of the hostages are released. Also, without preconditions, we must allow the unrestricted transfer of food, medicine and medical teams into Gaza, while allocating resources for the rehabilitation of Gaza's children.
Prof. Tali Gal is the chair of the Child and Youth Rights Program at
the Minerva Center for Human Rights at Hebrew University's Faculty of Law.