Jewish groups’ concerns over Israel death penalty law

Australia’s peak Jewish organisations have expressed concern over Israel’s new death penalty law, saying it departs from Jewish legal tradition and applies discriminatory standards based on nationality.

The Executive Council of Australian Jewry and Zionist Federation of Australia issued statements on Wednesday regarding the Death Penalty for Terrorists law, which passed the Knesset 62-48 on Monday.

The law mandates death by hanging as the default punishment for terrorists in the West Bank convicted of deadly terrorist acts by military courts, with execution to be carried out within 90 days of sentencing. The legislation was championed by far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir’s Otzma Yehudit party.

ECAJ said it stood in unwavering solidarity with Israel but expressed concerns from “this place of solidarity — and not in opposition to it”.

“Capital punishment has not been practised under Jewish law for many centuries — a reflection of deeply held values about the sanctity of life and the limits of human judgement,” ECAJ said.

The statement quoted Maimonides, who wrote in the 12th century that it is far preferable to acquit a thousand guilty persons than to put a single innocent person to death.

ECAJ said the law applied differential standards based on nationality alone, which “falls well short of the principle of equal justice”.

It said there was no empirical evidence the death penalty was a uniquely effective deterrent to terrorism, and noted the law provided very limited judicial discretion with no requirement for a unanimous verdict and no pardon provision.

“The Otzma Yehudit party’s campaign for this legislation represents a troubling departure from the principles that have guided Israeli law and Jewish tradition,” ECAJ said.

Zionist Federation of Australia president Jeremy Leibler said the organisation stood in solidarity with Israel as it faced sustained military attack from Iran and its proxies.

“It is from within that solidarity, not from outside it, that we express serious concern at the structure of the Death Penalty for Terrorists Bill,” Leibler said. “What concerns us is that this legislation creates parallel legal tracks that apply different standards depending on the nationality of the accused.”

He noted Israel’s own Attorney-General’s office, security establishment and Foreign Ministry had raised objections to the bill. “Jewish law and tradition insist on the equal worth of every human life as a reflection of the divine image,” Leibler said.

“The Talmud teaches that a court which imposes a death sentence even once in seven years is called destructive, not because the rabbis were naive about evil, but because they understood that when the state takes life, the moral cost falls on the entire society.”

The vote marked a major victory for the far-right Ben Gvir. “This is a day of justice for the victims and a day of deterrence for our enemies. No more revolving door for terrorists, but a clear decision. Whoever chooses terrorism chooses death,” Ben Gvir said.

Despite being promoted as a response to the October 7, 2023 attacks, the law would not apply retroactively.

Several opposition parties announced they would petition the High Court of Justice to nullify the law. Democrats MK Gilad Kariv said: “This is an immoral law that contradicts the foundational values of the State of Israel as a Jewish and democratic state.”

ECAJ said it trusted Israel’s Supreme Court would carefully scrutinise the legislation.