When Truth Destroys: The Moral Obligation to Lie

You are ordered—like in the Oscar-nominated documentary No Other Land—to demolish the homes, schools, and wells of Palestinian families in Masafer Yatta, a community in the West Bank that has existed since the early 1900s. The official reason: to clear the land for a live-fire military training zone.

But when you arrive, something shifts. You see the faces of children whose classrooms are about to be erased, parents clinging to the walls of homes passed down through generations, elders who have known no other land. You feel the weight of the injustice, the unbearable cruelty of the state-sponsored mission.

So you refuse. You turn back.

Later, the Israeli government official overseeing the operation asks you to describe what happened.

If you lie—and say you carried out the orders—you will have saved these people’s homes, their schools, their community.

If you tell the truth, the bulldozers will return, and the destruction will be inevitable.

According to Jewish law, what should you do?

You are definitely allowed to lie to save the homes and classrooms from destruction, since it is permitted to lie to save yourself or others from serious harm. The only dilemma the Talmud discusses (Yevamot 65b) is whether you are required to lie in this type of situation. As usual, we find two opinions:

1.It’s permitted to say a falsehood to prevent harm to others.
(מותר לשנות מפני השלום)

2.It’s a mitzvah to say a falsehood to prevent harm to others.
(מצווה לשנות מפני השלום)

When the Rambam codified this principle, he used language that permits lying, specifically in situations where it helps avoid embarrassment for oneself or others (Hilchot Gezeilah Va’aveidah 14:13).

However, in this case, the issue at hand is not merely about embarrassment. An entire community, along with its institutions and means of livelihood, is at risk. The Rambam’s broader rulings on saving lives and treating strangers with fairness lead to the conclusion that lying is not just permissible, but an obligation—a mitzvah!