"We are all created in the image of God, the rabbi concluded, addingthat no one deserves to suffer. As I nodded my head in agreement, I suddenly wondered why I was doing so. Was it because this impulse reflects the undeniable appeal of the deontological argument, which states that we are obligeddeon is ancient Greek for dutyto follow universal rules? The command that we must not make others suffer and we must empathize with those who do suffer is certainly something the world needs more of, right? For moral philosophers, most importantly Immanuel Kant in the late 18th century, these rules are logically consistent and rooted in reason. In his famous categorical imperative, Kant argues that we must act according to those rules, based on our reason. These are laws which we would want to apply to all people, all the time, and in all places. There is, Kant declared, something truly breathtaking in this claim. Two things fill the mind with ever new and increasing admiration and awe, he wrote, the starry heavens above me and the moral law within me. But is the claim true? Are these laws truly within us? Religious deontologists think they are not. They instead insist that they are located within divine authorityi.e., the voice from the fire. As Deuteronomy 6:24 makes crystal clear, it is the moral law outside us, inscribed on the tablets handed by God to Moses, that command us to do all these statutes, to fear Him, for our good always. In either case, though, the attraction of deontology remains the same. Not only does it offer consistencyafter all, it applies to all people in all situationsbut also agency. In other words, while we cannot always determine the consequences of our actions, we can often control the intentions that led to the actions. Let justice be done, as the Latin phrase declares, though the heavens may fall. But is it that simple? When it comes to Gaza, the rabbi acknowledged that we search for a perspective that is truly difficult to find. And yet, the rabbi seemed to find one, nevertheless, because we were then told that our duty is to stand with Israel and all her inhabitants."

"For example, what if I was a Kantian philosopher hiding an undocumented migrant refugee Jew in Houston."

"Moreover, some of these fanatics hold key ministries in a government led by a man whose one guiding principle, regardless of the cost in innocent lives, is self-preservation. Finally, one does not need a degree in philosophy, moral or analytical, to conclude there is just one perspective on events in Gaza. Namely, that the deliberate starvation of men, women, and children is not just a legal crime, but also a moral horror."