A photograph from Ashdod last week brought to my mind an ancient memory, of a local Bible quiz decades ago, when I was in high school, and which I did not win. The conduct of the man bearing the title of “Minister of National Security” toward the detainees from the Gaza flotilla reminded me of the question that failed me: name three commandments connected to sunset. A brief look reveals that in addition to the timing that links them, all three demand that those in positions of power treat those under their authority with dignity. The gap between those commandments and that photograph raises troubling thoughts about Israel today.

I did not remember that when a person is executed, their body must be taken down from the tree before nightfall (Deuteronomy 21:22-23). Even someone found guilty of the gravest crimes and punished with the harshest penalty must have their body treated with dignity, and........

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