Trading Corpses

[nancylebov]

This recent deal between Israel and Lebanon made me realize how macabre this use of corpses is. It's storing the corpses of your enemies for years, hoping to get a good exchange for them.

Are there any laws or principles against it? Have there been wars where corpses were just returned out of decency?



My mind reels with fantasy and horror ideas. These are the corpses of your enemies. Zombies are a plausible possibility. So are ghosts just wanting to go home. The weirdest and perhaps most horrific possibility would be ghosts and zombies of the same people.

Comments

[nellorat.livejournal.com]

Since I'm a disease buff, most of what I'd read about corpses of the enemy in war is using the plague dead (one's own or the enemies) as biowar bombs.

I really like the idea of an infestation of ghosts and zombies of the same people. Could the ghosts perhaps be placated and asked to dissuade the zombies? And how would each revenent feel about the other? Cool weird stuff.

[nancylebov.livejournal.com]

I was assuming that the horror of the thing is that ghosts can't control zombies, even the body they used to inhabit. It would be a nice metaphor for karma and revenge.

Of course, after enough of that, the story could go in your direction or there could be a gamer version about a ghost finding zombie-settling information on the other side and bringing it back.

[chickenfeet2003.livejournal.com]

It goes back at least as far as The Iliad

[dcseain.livejournal.com]

I know this is an ancient practice. I do find it odd that it's a practice that Arab and Hebrew Semites would have, with the burial traditions they have. I would expect abuse of one's enemies corpses would be part of stuff, but would also expect that receiving even a preserved corpse would be - what's the word i want - stigmatized?.

[nancylebov.livejournal.com]

It's probably reasonable to count mainstream Israelis as having a mostly European culture.

I don't know which modern cultures (if any) make a practice of desecrating their enemies' corpses. IIRC, it happened in Somalia, but I don't know if it was standard even there.

[dcseain.livejournal.com]

I was thinking that the failure to bury by sunset is at best disrespectful of the dead.

[kressel.livejournal.com]

BS"D

In the Jewish tradition, a body must be buried as soon as possible. It's a degradation to the body and the spirit otherwise. Even still, in a case like this in which bodies were being held hostage, Jewish Law is NOT to give in because it encourages the hostage-takers to do it again.

As for historical precedents, in the 12th century, the great Torah sage the Maharam of Rottenberg was kidnapped by Crusaders. He refused to let himself be ransomed. After he died, his captors held his body for 13 years, demanding an extraordinary sum of money, which someone eventually decided to pay. If you want to hear the details you can download these two lectures:

On the Maharam
On his student, the Rosh