Yehuda Bauer, professor

I come from a people who gave the Ten Commandments to the world. Time has come to strengthen them by three additional ones, which we ought to adopt and commit ourselves to: thou shall not be a perpetrator; thou shall not be a victim; and thou shall never, but never, be a bystander. -Yehuda Bauer, professor (b. 1926)

This sounds good but I think it is mistaken. For one thing, Bauer's eleventh commandment is already covered in greater detail in the original ten, as is Bauer's thirteenth. Number twelve is problematic in that sometimes being a willing victim is the way to ultimate victory. Noble martyrdom is a valid way to resist evil, in some circumstances. I say "valid" because I am not referring to so-called "martyrs" whose aim to kill and destroy innocent lives. On the other hand, maybe Bauer is right. A true victim is always an Object, whereas a true martyr is clearly a Subject.

(A less significant criticism: the proper form of the verb with "thou" is "shalt," not "shall.")

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