Moral cowards? This looks like moral courage, Mr Netanyahu

“Before I begin, just a quick announcement. If any other moral cowards haven’t left this hall, please do so now.” That is what Benjamin Netanyahu, Israel’s prime minister, paused to say as delegates walked out ahead of his address at the just-concluded UNGA.

Moral cowards. That is what he called those who walked out. Not just cowards but moral cowards. He wasn’t just questioning their decision not to listen to his address; he was also questioning their morality. But then, who gets to decide what constitutes moral cowardice or moral courage?

I imagine those who walked out believed they were making a morally bold statement. To them, remaining in the hall may have felt like lending legitimacy to a leader whose government’s conduct they strongly disagreed with.

Mr Netanyahu, on the other hand, saw it differently. He called them hypocrites for walking out and insisted Israel was right to defend itself and, by extension, other countries from aggression.

Same action, different interpretation. The question is not simply who was right but who determines what is morally right when our convictions, loyalties and interests collide. It gets even more complicated when politics enters the room.

I have often wondered how remarkably creative we can become when the person doing wrong is ‘our person.’

When the politician we dislike is accused of corruption, we demand accountability. We laud the government when they are arrested and charged. When the same happens to the politician we support, we want context; we demand evidence and explanations. We even find ‘enemies’ to blame.

When a leader we like says something offensive, we invoke freedom of expression or claim meanings were lost in translation. When the same words come from someone we dislike, we demand that every institution in the land takes action.