Seven Jewish groups sent the following letter to the Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Foreign Minister Penny Wong on April 7 demanding that Australia cut ties with Israel following the Knesset’s new death penalty law.

Dear Prime Minister Albanese and Minister Wong,

As Jewish Australians, we urge you to consider our views regarding the new death penalty law that passed through the Israeli Knesset on March 31.

This law authorises military courts in the Occupied West Bank to impose the death penalty on Palestinians convicted of deliberate killings defined as terrorist acts under Israel’s discriminatory counter-terrorism law.

It removes procedural safeguards; the right of appeal, of pardons, of meaningful judicial discretion and demands that executions be carried out within 90 days of sentencing. The law would only apply to Israelis convicted of murder if their attacks were aimed at “ending Israel’s existence”.

This law further cements Israeli status as a pariah........

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