“Hang ‘em high like Haman!”

Such is the retort that death penalty supporters often sling at us, the thousands of members of “L’chaim! Jews Against the Death Penalty” in Israel and across the world, as we protest the death penalty in every case, and in all forms. Haman, of course, is the reviled, ultimately hanged antagonist of the holiday of Purim, which now approaches in the Jewish calendar. Just three years ago, Texas carried out an execution on Purim itself of someone many of us knew personally, a horrific synchronicity that L’chaim addressed in detail. This year, with Israel debating a bill calling for the hanging of convicted terrorists, the stakes of this synchronicity are as high as the lofty fifty-cubit gallows on which Haman and his ten sons were executed.

The same Knesset that is considering this death penalty bill will no doubt pause its macabre arguments in honor of this holiday. This time affords some space for Jews in Israel and throughout the Diaspora to evaluate this legislation.  The highly publicized execution of Haman and his ten sons on Purim compels us to offer a total of eleven reasons why the passage of such a bill would be disastrous for the Jewish world in the twenty-first century.

11 Condemned Men and 11 Condemning Factors:

To highlight the vileness that each reason represents, we have assigned each factor the name of one of the eleven condemned Purim villains. We invite readers to consider these eleven facts about capital punishment as we call upon members of the Knesset to vote against the death penalty bill currently before them. This is by no means an exhaustive list, but rather a set of points to keep in mind while weighing this sacred and lethal decision. It is customary for Megillah chanters to whisper the names of Haman’s ten sons quickly. Like the groggers blotting out any mention of Haman, this practice is intended to wipe away their........

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