The Los Angeles Times
January 1, 2006

Munich - Justice Must Be Done

By: JUDEA PEARL

When Steven Spielberg talks about his film "Munich," he uses words
such as violence, empathy, revenge and doubt." But one word is missing
from his comments, and from the film itself: "Justice."

Nearly four years ago, when the world reacted with shock and
indignation to the murder of our son, Wall Street Journal reporter
Daniel Pearl, my family and I had hoped the civilized nations would
mobilize to protect themselves, not merely against the practice of
targeting the innocent to transmit political messages but more
pointedly against the ideologies that license such moral deformity.

Unfortunately, brutal and videotaped killings of innocents has become part of the
cultural scene of the 21st century, steadily instilling contempt
toward the lives of others. More alarming, the very notion of
terrorism as a universal moral taboo has been the subject of a
relentless intellectual assault that relativizes and blurs it.
The mantra, ``One man's 'terrorist' is another's
`freedom fighter'" subverts judgment of right and wrong.

Regrettably, Spielberg's "Munich" now adds a Hollywood-styled
confusion to the moral relativism on terrorism. The story follows
an Israeli
agent -- assigned to assassinate the Palestinians responsible for
murdering 11 Israeli athletes at the 1972 Olympic Games in Munich --
who stops before completing his task as his moral doubts grow.
But shaping the story in this way blurs the distinction between the
murder of innocents and bringing killers to justice.

Our son Danny could have predicted the development of this moral
confusion as early as October 2001, three months before his abduction
in Pakistan. While interviewing the influential Qatari cleric Sheik
Yusuf Qaradawi, then considered a moderate, Danny asked him
about suicide bombings against Israeli civilians.
The learned sheik replied with a novel twist of logic.
"Israeli society in general is armed," he said, implying that Israeli
civilians -- including women and children, doctors and journalists --
are legitimate targets. Three months later, Danny would fall victim
to the same brand of twisted logic.

After Danny's murder, the most common reaction we heard from Pakistanis
was, "The murderers are unislamic. However, thousands of Muslims are
being killed in Afghanistan, Palestine and Iraq, so why all the fuss
about one American journalist?" This misses the distinction between
those who boast of killing innocents, and those who labor to prevent
civilian casualties -- the litmus test separating terrorists from
counter-terrorists.

"Munich" falls into this same trap of moral relativism. It does not
explicitly justify terrorism, but it leans in that direction by
assigning a palatable yet unchallenged rationale to the Palestinian
terrorists, and by having the Israeli hero suffer a crisis of
conscience. The idea that taking an innocent life is wrong regardless
of the rationale never enters the discussion.

Further missing from the script is the most important theme of all:
justice.

When people ask me whether I seek revenge, I answer: The killers do not
interest me. I would rather seek effective ways of lessening the
hatred that took Danny's life. We should care less about fanatics on
the run and more about the ideological fuel that sustains them, such
as clerics like Qaradawi, and Al Jezeera, which amplifies their voices.

However, when asked whether I wish to see the mastermind of Dannys
abduction, Ahmad Omar Saeed Sheikh, brought to justice, my answer is an
unqualified yes.
I can imagine Danny's son Adam (whom Danny never lived to see) one
day asking what happened to those who killed his father. I hope not to
have to reply: "The hearing of his appeal has been postponed for the
32nd time," (which, to the shame of Pakistan's justice system, is the
answer at the moment).

Bringing criminals to justice reaffirms the civilized world's
commitment to live by principles and breeds secure and responsible
citizens; failure to do so breeds morally confused criminals. "Munich"
is about the complexity of bringing evildoers to justice in a world
where those entrusted with the job often lack the will to do so.
With that in mind, the film can still be enjoyed. But the message we
should take away is that two of the terrorists are still at large
and must be brought to justice.
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Judea Pearl is a professor at UCLA and president of the Daniel Pearl
Foundation.