Protesting Veiled Vengeance

On February 27th, in what was the latest installment in the growing groundswell of Israeli and Jewish protest against the death penalty worldwide, Israeli citizens living across Europe who “refuse to stay silent in the face of state-sanctioned executions” demonstrated in front of Israeli embassies in Berlin, Prague, Vienna, and Amsterdam. Some of them held up signs featuring Jewish death penalty abolitionist Elie Wiesel’s famous quote asserting: “Death should never be the answer in a civilized society.” Others with loudspeakers waved placards featuring the Eitz Hayim – the Tree of Life – logo of “L’chaim! Jews Against the Death Penalty,” a group comprising thousands of members in Israel and throughout the Diaspora. They called upon the European Union to intervene and uphold its commitment to the abolition of the death penalty.

As L’chaim members recently outlined in a Purim-themed essay, multiple factors motivate such protestors against capital punishment in Israel –  or anywhere. One such reason is recognizing what lies at the core of the death penalty: vengeance. That insidious menace that has plagued humanity since time immemorial merits particular focus, now more than ever, as the contentious debate over this proposed legislation continues in the Knesset.

Many mask the centrality of vengeful bloodlust in language of “proportional justice,” a term that Maoz Druskin invoked in his recent Times of Israel op-ed,  “The Death Penalty in Israel: Terror Must Have a Cost.” An even more common veil for capital revenge is the phrase “retributive justice.” This term recently reared its head in an op-ed entitled “Israel should enact the Ben-Gvir death penalty law.” Author Alex Sternberg wrote that this legislation “is motivated by aims such as deterrence, avoiding prisoner exchanges, retributive justice, and reinforcing national security messaging.” Sternberg subsequently admitted that “there is little evidence, however, that executing terrorists deters others.” Regarding the other points on Sternberg’s list, this writer has written extensively in this publication and elsewhere about why such a bill would only further endanger Israelis and how, instead of........

© The Times of Israel (Blogs)