We, the thousands of members of “L’chaim! Jews Against the Death Penalty” from Israel and abroad, join the members of T’ruah: The Rabbinic Call for Human Rights and countless other Jewish and non-Jewish organizations in unequivocally condemning the  racist, dangerous, vengeful, and unjust death penalty bill that a majority of Knesset members, as expected, recently passed into law under the convenient cover of the fog of war. They did so as Jews around the world are busy preparing for Pesach (Passover), arguably Judaism’s most widely celebrated holiday. This consummate festival of liberation derives its name from a climactic point in the narrative of the vaunted Exodus, when Malakh HaMavet (the “Angel of Death”) passed over (pasach) the houses of the enslaved Israelites.  In a wanton act of desecration of this sacred season, proponents of this monstrous legislation have invited back into Eretz Yisrael the man-made version of this Malach HaMavet. They have done so just ahead of the Fast of the First Born, when observant Jews fast, lest they succumb to that very killer angel that lawmakers have unleashed across the land. Indeed, it was none other than death penalty abolitionist Elie Wiesel (1928-2016) who aptly referred to capital punishment as just that: the “Angel of Death.” In the wake of this horrific development, L’chaim members pledge to redouble our efforts to keep Wiesel’s abolitionist torch aflame, now more than ever.

Removing Death Penalty “Chametz”

Just as Jews have sought to rid their homes of forbidden chametz (leavened products) ahead of this Passover season, so, too, do we now begin the work of repealing this law and ridding Israel once and for all of capital punishment. It so happened that this devastating news of the passage of this law broke while L’chaim’s co-founder, Cantor Michael Zoosman, was sitting down with Emmy®-Winning Producer and Journalist Gabrielle Caplan for an interview about this very issue.  In that session, while a majority of lawmakers voted this monstrous bill into law, we addressed many of the reasons that L’chaim has been emphasizing in recent months as to why the death penalty should constitute forbidden chametz for any civilized society, and why it will prove catastrophic for Israel.

Specifically, we discussed how the death penalty will increase – not decrease – terrorist attacks in Israel, creating more murders and martyrs (shahids), and will undoubtedly endanger Jews worldwide. We reflected on how, from Adolph Hitler to Donald Trump, Machiavellian politicians wield the death penalty as a political tool, particularly for election campaigns. We considered the recent examples of this in Israel via National Security Minister Ithamar Ben Gvir’s nauseating noose-shaped lapel pin and illicit virtual defacing of a gallows museum, as well as Limor Son Har-Melech’s disgusting Nazi-inspired Purim costume featuring an injection syringe. 

In our interview, we reviewed how Jewish tradition makes the death penalty virtually impossible to carry out. Passage of this bill now has certainly betrayed the life-affirming core of that tradition. We also spoke about how terms like “deterrence,” which is a fallacious delusion when applied to the death penalty,  and “retributive” or “proportional” justice, are veils for vengeance. Unequivocally, such revenge does not bring closure for murder victims’ loved ones.

We addressed how the death penalty is inherently racist and how this bill, in particular, is viciously discriminatory. We reviewed how the death penalty inherently violates the human right to life. Relatedly, we mentioned how it often results in physical torture, and always is psychological torture for individuals counting down to their execution day. There is absolutely no humane way to execute human beings against their will.

We covered how many execution methods are direct Nazi legacies, including firing squad, gassing, and lethal injection. We spoke about how capital punishment will traumatize the executioners within the Israel Prison Service. (This specific bill recently passed also risks making anyone involved in violation of human rights treaties.) Last but certainly not least, we lamented on how the death penalty inevitably risks executing the innocent, and how this will unquestionably occur now in Israel’s rush to execute.   

From “Dayeinu” to “Chad Gadya:” A Passover Seder to Banish the Man-made “Angel of Death”

At this Passover season, this litany of strikes against the death penalty calls to mind “Dayeinu,” a well-known song that accompanies almost every traditional Passover Seder. Its verses recall the various miracles that the Divine wrought, enabling the ancient Israelites to escape from Egyptian bondage into freedom. Modern Israel’s passage of this bill has effectively turned this chorus on its head. Any one of the reasons that we delineated above should have been enough in and of itself to banish this man-made Angel of Death from Israel’s shores. Taken together, they make this vote to legislate death in Israel an abject abomination of the highest order. 

Nonetheless, like Pharaoh before Moses, those Knesset members who have voted for this bill have ignored all of these repeated warnings and instead invited the dark spectre of executions back into Israel this Passover. It would behoove them now to remember Wiesel’s full statement linking capital punishment to this holiday they are about to observe with their loved ones. As Wiesel famously exclaimed:

“With every cell of my being and with every fiber of my memory I oppose the death penalty in all forms. I do not believe any civilized society should be at the service of death. I don’t think it’s human to become an agent of the angel of death.”

Another Passover song, “Chad Gadya” (Aramaic for “One little goat”), features the very same Angel of Death that Wiesel invokes. In the last verse of that beloved piece toward the end of the festive meal, the Divine definitively defeats this Malakh HaMavet, which can no longer unleash its deadly wrath on the world, even upon Israel’s enemies. Years ago, L’chaim composed an additional prayer for recitation at the Pesach Seder just after this final verse of Chad Gadya, to underscore this poignant denouement. We exclaim that prayer again now, in the hope that future Israeli lawmakers will repeal this horrific bill:

“May the outstretched arm of the Holy Blessed One support us in our quest to banish the Angel of Death from our land, from all Israel, and from our shared world. May we see an end to the taking of life through murder and all forms of capital punishment. May we see restorative justice, compassion, and chessed (lovingkindness) replace the penalty of death. May healing of mind, body, and spirit come for all impacted by violence. And may we always remember: “aza chamavet ahava” – “Love is as strong as death.” (Song of Songs 8:6)

We at L’chaim shall continue to hold this prayer in our hearts and to vociferously sound the alarm regarding this vital issue as we strive to change the hearts and minds of members of the Knesset to put an end to the cycle of violence and killing, once and for all. Only then shall we ultimately succeed in banishing this proverbial Angel of Death on Passover, and in perpetuity.

Cantor Michael J. Zoosman, MSM, BCC

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

Advisory Committee Member: Death Penalty Action

© The Times of Israel (Blogs)