Wiesel on Executions: ‘Death should never be the answer in a civilized society.’

“Death should never be the answer in a civilized society.” – Elie Wiesel.

This famous statement is what Elie Wiesel would no doubt reiterate if he were alive today and asked about Israel’s proposed death penalty bill for convicted terrorists that the Knesset is currently debating. For the Holocaust survivor, acclaimed author, and human rights activist, that quote best encapsulated his inflamed opposition to the death penalty in all forms. It is a torch that we, the thousands of members of “L’chaim! Jews Against the Death Penalty,” carry in our hearts and souls. Wiesel’s comment is a simple phrase that should echo throughout the collective consciousness of all humanity, and in the hearts and souls of all Israelis now as their nation considers enacting this abject abomination. Wiesel’s words should serve as a mantra for our world when anyone – including Israel –  raises the barbaric scepter of a return to capital punishment.

Wiesel expounded upon the subject of the death penalty for a 1989 recording he made with other death penalty abolitionists entitled Lighting the Torch of Conscience, in which he stated the following:

“Death should be opposed, not served. I have seen too much death in my life. I have met too many people who served death in my life…

There is no reason in the world why death should be imposed by people of good will, of intelligence, of kindness –  people in the name of justice – on other people. Those who sinned – those who committed crimes – can be punished in other ways, but not with death. When we impose death on others, we are doing something to ourselves…

With every cell of my being and with every fiber of my memory, I oppose the death penalty in all forms…

I belong to a tradition – a Jewish tradition – that says that when a Sanhedrin in ancient times pronounced one death sentence in its entire tenure, that Sanhedrin – that Supreme Court – was called murderous.”

It is not difficult to discern from Wiesel’s stated position how he would respond to the notion that the modern Israeli government might execute not one, but potentially hundreds of convicted terrorists.

Wiesel’s words form one of our anthems in “L’chaim! Jews Against the Death Penalty,” a group of dedicated death penalty abolitionists that includes many individuals  – like myself – who are scions of Holocaust survivors. Our critics have argued that Wiesel was on record stating, as late as 1989, that he made an exception for convicted Nazis like Adolph Eichmann. Like Wiesel, I, too, once supported the death penalty for those who murdered my family members in the Holocaust. Just as my mind shifted on this point, so, it seems, did Wiesel’s by the end of his life. A public statement that Wiesel made six years before his death indicates this apparent change of heart.

As late as Oct. 27, 2010,  Wiesel spoke about his opposition to the death penalty during a lecture on capital punishment at Wesleyan University in Connecticut. Earlier that day at a press conference, he was asked about his feelings on the possible execution of the perpetrators of a horrific home invasion that had taken place in nearby Cheshire, CT, in 2007. As a Connecticut native myself, I shall never forget that case, which all the local news stations carried at the time. On July 23, 2007, Linda Hayes (born Steven Hayes) and Joshua Komisarjevsky invaded the residence of the Petit family in the small town of Cheshire. Though initially planning only to rob the house, Hayes and Komisarjevsky horrifically raped, attacked, and murdered Jennifer Hawke-Petit and her two daughters, 17-year-old Hayley Petit and 11-year-old Michaela Petit. They mercilessly burned young Hayley and Michaela alive. Their father, Dr. William Petit, escaped with severe injuries. The Hartford Courant cited this case as “possibly the most widely publicized crime in the state’s history.”

When asked for his opinion on the death penalty for the perpetrators, Wiesel focused his remarks on people like Dr. Petit and himself, both of whom were family members of murder victims. (Wiesel lost both parents and a sister in the Nazi death camps.) He indicated that society should punish such murderers more harshly than other prisoners and encouraged the criminal justice system to focus efforts on the survivors of violent crimes “so that families will not feel cheated by the law.” “But,” he said, “death is not the answer.” He emphasized that he might change his stance if the death penalty could bring back victims, which, of course, it could not. “I know the pain of those who survive,” Wiesel said. “Believe me, I know… Your wound is open. It will remain. You are mourning, and how can I not feel the pain of your mourning? But death is not the answer.” He concluded: “Death should never be the answer in a civilized society.” 

Wiesel’s words are a clarion call. They suggest that by the end of his life, he likely would have joined renowned Hebrew university philosophers Samuel Hugo Bergmann and Nathan Rotenstreich, scholar of Kabbalah Gershom Scholem, and Jewish theologian and philosopher Martin Buber, all of whom opposed Eichmann’s state killing, which Buber called a great “mistake.” Other Holocaust survivors themselves, such as Nobel-prize-winning author Nelly Sachs, voiced strident opposition to Eichmann’s execution.

For all the above reasons, L’chaim members remain committed to the conclusion that Elie Wiesel – Sachs’ fellow Nobel laureate – would stridently oppose the bill before the Knesset now to execute the perpetrators of the October 7th, 2023 massacre, or any convicted terrorist – Jewish or otherwise. Wiesel came to realize that any nation that opens Pandora’s Box by dealing with the man-made “Angel of Death” that is capital punishment has crossed the Rubicon beyond the bounds of civilized humanity. He knew that when this happens, all bets are off for what nightmares may come. He would no doubt lament how far the world still has to go in its sacred mission of global abolition.

In this liminal moment in the spiritual evolution of Israel – and indeed of all human civilization – Israeli citizens must heed Wiesel’s prophetic words. They must not neglect their responsibility to work to close the door on this manmade “Angel of Death” by calling upon their members of the Knesset to vote “no” to the proposed death penalty bill, and “yes” to civilized humanity, once and for all.

Cantor Michael J. Zoosman, MSM

Board Certified Chaplain –  Neshama: Association of Jewish Chaplains

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

Advisory Board Member, Death Penalty Action