R. Shlomo Goren

This chapter grapples with the views of R. Shlomo Goren (1917–94), who served as Chief Ashkenazi Rabbi of the Israel Defense Forces and subsequently as Chief Rabbi of Israel. His positions are in some respects a compromise between the positions of those who came before him. Most notably, on the issue of conscription, he takes a position that is between the majority of figures in this study who claim that conscription is permitted because wartime Halakhah is different from everyday Halakhah, and that of R. Yisraeli who in his later writings argues that it is permitted because the requirement to endanger oneself for the sake of others is required by everyday Halakhah itself. R. Goren also has the most extensive discussions of any of our figures on enemy civilian casualties. He permits the killing of civilians but only if it occurs accidentally in the course of battle.