Israel’s Death Penalty Bill Invites “Angel of Death” this Passover

Under the fog of war’s cover, the Knesset inches closer to passage of its racist, dangerous, vengeful, and unjust bill establishing the death penalty for terrorists. It does so as the Jewish world begins preparations for Pesach (Passover), arguably its most widely-celebrated holiday. This consummate festival of liberation derives its name from a climactic point in the narrative of the vaunted Exodus, when Malakh HaMavet (the “Angel of Death”) passed over (pasach) the houses of the enslaved Israelites. In a wanton act of desecration of this sacred season, proponents of this monstrous legislation seek to invite back into Eretz Yisrael the manmade version of this Malach HaMavet. Indeed, it was none other than death penalty abolitionist Elie Wiesel (1928-2016) who aptly referred to capital punishment as just that: the “Angel of Death.” We, the thousands of members of “L’chaim! Jews Against the Death Penalty” in Israel and across the world, carry Wiesel’s torch once again now. We shall not let this abomination come to pass without sounding the alarm as loudly as possible this Pesach.

On “Hardened Hearts”

The horrific Hamas terrorist attacks of October 7th, 2023, along with other murderous acts of terror, have produced unimaginable suffering throughout Israel. Many surviving victims and their loved ones understandably advocate for the death of the terrorists who ripped apart their lives. In such extreme circumstances, the urge for vengeance is naturally overwhelming. It is a force that those of us who have never endured such losses ourselves could ever begin to fathom. Civilized societies bear a responsibility to uphold ethical standards to protect and set appropriate boundaries for such victims, lest their justifiable feelings unintentionally endanger themselves and society as a whole.

And yet, instead of holding this moral line, power-hungry politicians like Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir have sought to bow to the basest of human impulses in order to gain votes at the polls. It is entirely appropriate this Passover to equate their unconscionable attitude with the hardened heart of yet another politician, Pharaoh, who in the Exodus story stubbornly ignored Moses’ pleas to release the people of Israel from bondage. L’chaim members have often drawn a similar Biblical parallel directly in recent years, particularly during Passover executions, when we have petitioned governors to stay their executioners’ proverbial swords.  Members of the Jews Against Gassing Coalition also have made Passover appeals against various heads of state ahead of nitrogen gassing executions, imploring them to honor the Pesach lesson of not forgetting the past, including the legacy of Nazi gas chambers.

The “Ten Plagues” of the Death Penalty

Make no mistake: the passage of this death penalty bill would prove disastrous, for multiple reasons. As L’chaim did for Hanukkah and Purim in recent months, we have elected to outline some examples of this reasoning once again, this time through the lens of a relevant Pesach ritual. We have labelled 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.”

The recitation of these plagues serves as a macabre litany at the centerpiece of the Passover Seder. It is customary for Seder-goers to remove ten drops of wine, one for each plague they chant, symbolizing how the suffering that each affliction produced for our people’s enemies diminishes our joy even now. 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 here in the hope that this juxtaposition serves as a reminder that capital punishment condemns any government that wields it, infinitely more so than any of the individuals it condemns to death:

Dam (Blood) –  Israel’s death penalty bill 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. (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 bill would betray 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 bill 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. The specific bill that is about to be made law also would risk making anyone involved in violation of human rights treaties.

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

Banishing the Manmade “Angel of Death”

As Knesset members consider ignoring all of the above and inviting the dark spectre of executions back into Israel this Passover, it would behoove them to remember Wiesel’s full statement linking it to this holiday. As he famously exclaimed:

“With every cell of my being and with every fiber of my memory I oppose the death penalty in all forms. I do not believe any civilized society should be at the service of death. I don’t think it’s human to become an agent of the angel of death.”

“Chad Gadya” (Aramaic for “One little goat”), one of the final songs of the Seder meal, features the very same Angel of Death that Wiesel invokes. In the last verse of that beloved piece, the Divine definitively defeats this Malakh HaMavet, which can no longer unleash its deadly wrath on the world, even upon Israel’s enemies. Years ago, L’chaim composed an additional prayer for recitation at the Pesach Seder just after this final verse of Chad Gadya, to underscore this poignant denouement. We exclaim that prayer again now, in this pivotal moment in the moral life of the modern Israeli state, as we call upon its lawmakers to follow the Divine example:

“May the outstretched arm of the Holy Blessed One support us in our quest to banish the Angel of Death from our land, from all Israel, and from our shared world. May we see an end to the taking of life through murder and all forms of capital punishment. May we see restorative justice, compassion, and chessed (lovingkindness) replace the penalty of death. May healing of mind, body, and spirit come for all impacted by violence. And may we always remember: “aza chamavet ahava” – “Love is as strong as death.” (Song of Songs 8:6)

How miraculous would it be this Pesach if members of the Knesset (MKs) were to heed our appeal, cool their politically-charged passions, and reply to us as Pharaoh responded to Moses at one point in the Exodus saga, lamenting: “Forgive my offense just this once, and plead with your G-d יהוה that this death but be removed from me.” (Ex. 10: 17)  Though we at L’chaim would never claim to be like Moshe Rabbeinu, or even Wiesel, we aim to follow the necessary pursuit of restorative justice in the hope that “this death but be removed,” as well, from Israel’s ledger. We welcome all MKs to join us in striving to put an end to the cycle of violence and killing, once and for all. Only then shall we ultimately succeed in banishing this proverbial Angel of Death on Passover, and in perpetuity.

Cantor Michael J. Zoosman, MSM, BCC

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

Advisory Committee Member: Death Penalty Action