Ben Gvir’s Death Penalty Law Celebration Desecrates Israel’s Passover Observance

On the eve of Passover, the most widely observed of Jewish holidays, Minister of National Security Itamar Ben Gvir celebrated the passing of his pet racist, dangerous, vengeful, and unjust death penalty law by raising a champagne bottle and drinking to victory. The customary toast in Jewish tradition, of course, is to exclaim “L’chaim!”, meaning “to Life!” Partly for this reason, the name chosen for the Jewish anti-death penalty group that now includes thousands of members in Israel and abroad is “L’chaim! Jews Against the Death Penalty.” Those MKs (Members of the Knesset) who support this law have upended the phrase meant to evoke Judaism’s core life-affirming principles. While Ben G’vir claims to be a pious and observant Jew, his actions once again reveal his blatant disregard for Jewish values,

and an essential mockery of Jewish ritual symbolism. He might as well have screamed “Lamavet” (“To Death”) for his celebratory toast. Make no mistake: the passage of this death penalty law will certainly bring death for both convicted terrorists and innocent Israelis and Jews across the world. It is an abject abomination that will prove disastrous, for multiple reasons.

Wine at Passover Symbolizes Life and Joy – NOT Death

One of the most well-known facts about the Passover Seder, which both Jews and many non-Jews are keenly aware of, is that it traditionally involves drinking four cups of wine or grape juice. These four cups are a mandatory rabbinic commandment, representing the four expressions of redemption God used in Exodus 6:6-7 to promise freedom to the Israelites. Consumed at specific intervals in the Seder, they symbolize freedom, joy, and key stages of liberation, from slavery to becoming a nation. Perhaps one of the most widely understood reasons for drinking wine on Passover, as on Purim and on any Jewish holiday, is its symbolism of life, joy, sanctification, and transformation used to elevate holy moments like Shabbat, holidays, and weddings. It signifies “cheering the heart,” redemption (specifically the four cups at Passover), and divine blessing, while also serving as a reminder of the need for temperance and balance. By lifting a glass for death just days ahead of Passover, Ben G’vir has effectively desecrated this sacred tradition with inverted, grotesque symbolism.

A particular tradition of the Passover Seder that occurred just days after the passage of the death penalty bill highlights the extent of the sacrilege of Ben’ G’vir’s libation-laden celebration. It is customary for Seder-goers to remove ten drops of wine, one for each of the ten plagues they chant, symbolizing how the suffering that each affliction produced for our people’s enemies diminishes our joy on this holiday. This list culminates in the tenth plague of the death of the firstborn of Egypt at the hands of Malakh HaMavet – the “Angel of Death.” The recitation of these plagues serves as a macabre litany at the centerpiece of the Passover Seder. Instead of honoring this Passover ritual, Ben Gvir profaned it by introducing wine specifically to glorify killings. 

Ten more plagues of death

It is most fitting, at this Passover season, for L’chaim to use these same ten plagues as symbols of ten of the many reasons to oppose the death penalty. We therefore have labeled ten of these reasons with the names of the ten Makkot Mitzrayim (”Ten Plagues”) with which God cursed the Egyptians in response to Pharaoh’s “hardened heart.” We align those Biblical maladies with these ten damning strikes against the death penalty to highlight the fact that capital punishment itself is a plague on any society that enacts it. We offer this list again here now, after the passage of this catastrophic bill, in the hope that this juxtaposition serves as a reminder that capital punishment condemns any government that wields it, including Israel now, infinitely more so than any of the individuals it condemns to death:

Dam (Blood) –  Israel’s death penalty law will increase – not decrease – terrorist attacks in Israel, creating more murders and martyrs (shahids).

Tzifatdeiya (Frogs)  – It will undoubtedly endanger Jews worldwide.

Kinim (Lice) – From Adolph Hitler to Donald Trump, Machiavellian politicians wield the death penalty as a political tool, particularly for election campaigns, and that is the case with this law. (Consider the recent examples in Israel of Ben Gvir’s nauseating noose-shaped lapel pin and illicit virtual defacing of a gallows museum, as well as Limor Son Har-Melech’s disgusting Nazi-inspired Purim costume featuring an injection syringe.)

Arov (Wild Animals) – Jewish tradition makes the death penalty virtually impossible to carry out. Passage of this has betrayed the life-affirming core of that tradition.

Dever (Pestilence) – Terms like  “deterrence,”  which is a fallacious delusion when applied to the death penalty,  and “retributive” or “proportional” justice, are veils for vengeance. Unequivocally, revenge does not bring closure for murder victims’ loved ones.

Sh’chin (Boils) – The death penalty is racist, and this law in particular is viciously discriminatory.

Barad (Hail) – The death penalty inherently violates the human right to life. Relatedly, it often results in physical torture, and always is psychological torture for individuals counting down to their execution day. There is no humane way to execute human beings against their will.

Arbeh (Locusts) – Many execution methods are direct Nazi legacies, including firing squad, gassing, and lethal injection. 

Choshech (Darkness) – Capital punishment will traumatize the executioners within the Israel Prison Service. This law now also risks making anyone involved in violations of human rights treaties.

Makat Bechorot (Death of the First Born)  – The death penalty inevitably risks executing the innocent.

“Lashanah Haba’ah Birushalaim:” Onward Toward Repeal

On 30 March, the same day that the Knesset passed this barbaric law, a vast coalition of Jewish organizations across Israel and the world immediately petitioned the Israeli Supreme Court to repeal it. The next day, the Supreme Court ordered the state to respond to the petition and the request for an interim injunction by 24 May. The members of L’chaim, together with Jews of good conscience, and all of civilized humanity, will continue to do all we can to support this vital, sacred effort. 

None other than death penalty abolitionist Elie Wiesel (1928-2016) aptly referred to capital punishment as the “Angel of Death.” It is high time to banish this medieval plague from Israel, once and for all. The final uplifting song of the Passover Seder is “Lashanah Haba’ah Birushalaim”(“Next year in Jerusalem). It is our consummate hope and intention that next Passover, Jerusalem will see the repeal of this monstrous legislation.

Cantor Michael J. Zoosman, MSM, BCC

Co-Founder: L’chaim! Jews Against the Death Penalty

Advisory Committee Member: Death Penalty Action