Lethal Silence Ahead of Knesset Death Penalty Debates

Next week, the Knesset will hold a committee discussion regarding passing the racist and vengeful death penalty bill that sits before them. Proponents like MK Limor Son Har-Melech and National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir hope to bring this legislation to fruition before the close of the winter session in two weeks. They intend to tie passage of the bill to a vote to pass the state budget, thereby maximizing pressure on all coalition members to support it. The February 28 initiation of war with Iran has understandably diverted media attention away from this bill. Public participation in the process, which had been building for some time before the onset of military engagement, has also ebbed. The dedicated members of the Public Committee Against Torture in Israel have alerted the world as to how capital punishment advocates are hoping to push through this bill under the cover of the distraction of the current war.

Silence in the face of these developments may prove – quite literally – deadly. 

It is therefore more imperative than ever that the rising groundswell of Jewish individuals and organizations standing with the thousands of members of “L’chaim! Jews Against the Death Penalty” within Israel and worldwide raise their voices now. L’chaim members often invoke Elie Wiesel, whose abolitionist stance encapsulates theirs. When questioned about his feelings on capital punishment, Wiesel resolutely stated, “Death should never be the answer in a civilized society.” By the end of his life, Wiesel publicly said that he made no exception to this rule, stating: “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.”

While that quote informs L’chaim members now, another from Wiesel merits serious consideration in this liminal moment. In his now-famous 1986 Nobel Prize Acceptance Speech, Wiesel stated: “I swore never to be silent whenever and wherever human beings endure suffering and humiliation. We must always take sides. Neutrality helps the oppressor, never the victim. Silence encourages the tormentor, never the tormented.” Wiesel’s charge reminds us of the danger of silence in the face of all human rights violations, of which the death penalty is undeniably one. 

Beyond this blatant human rights transgression, there are at least a dozen other reasons to oppose this bill. The death penalty will increase – not decrease – terrorist attacks in Israel, creating more murders and martyrs (shahids), and endangering Jews worldwide. It risks executing the innocent. Jewish tradition makes the death penalty virtually impossible to carry out. Terms like “deterrence,” which is a fallacious delusion when applied to the death penalty,  and “retributive” or “proportional” justice are veils for vengeance, which does not bring closure for murder victims’ loved ones. The death penalty is racist. 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. The death penalty will traumatize the Israel Prison Service executioners. And, last but certainly not least, from Adolph Hitler to Donald Trump and now Ithamar Ben Gvir, the death penalty is used as a political tool, particularly for election campaigns. 

Twenty-first-century Judaism must hold to the ethical thin red line that Wiesel set forth, mandating speaking out against the trampling of human rights. It cannot mirror Hamas, Iran, Saudi Arabia, Yemen, and others by violating its moral obligations and ethical standards and engaging in state-sponsored killings of defenseless prisoners. With Wiesel’s neshama in mind and heart, and on behalf of all L’chaim members, we respectfully implore Israel to join civilized humanity and abolish the death penalty once and for all. The first step toward doing so is voting against the abject abomination that is the death penalty bill.  

In this fraught moment for this vital issue, silence is complicity. The Jewish world must speak out – and now is precisely the time to do so.

Cantor Michael J. Zoosman, MSM, BCC

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

Advisory Committee Member: Death Penalty Action