The thousands of members of the group  “L’chaim! Jews Against the Death Penalty,” of which I am the co-founder, wholeheartedly condemn the sadistic death chamber that Israel’s National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir has recently unveiled. On August 18, 2026, the Jerusalem Post reported the construction of a hanging facility with viewing booths for terror victims and their families to witness the hanging of convicted terrorists. Visitor permits will be available for members of bereaved families. Ben-Gvir’s office justified this by stating that this practice is “customary in many countries.” To mark the occasion, Ben-Gvir stated: “I promised to worsen the conditions of terrorists in prisons – we kept it. I promised to pass the Death Penalty for Terrorists Law – we did. And now the death row and hanging facility are also starting to take shape.” He later added: “We are making history. Our terrorists deserve only one thing – death by hanging.”

Israel is indeed making history – by being squarely on the wrong side of it. Ben-Gvir’s comment that the witnessing of execution is “customary in many countries” is misrepresentative at best. It may very well be that those barbaric nations that still carry out hangings do have witness chambers. The truth of the matter, however, is that in this 21st century, the vast majority of nations across the globe have abolished the death penalty. The sadistic death chamber that Ben-Gvir is creating is a damning symbol of the current government of Israel’s ongoing march of folly toward medieval vulgarity. This charged moment demands a more detailed explanation of precisely why this is the case.

The shameful company of executing nations that Israel now keeps

In a recent Jerusalem Post op-ed, David S. Levine responded to an essay that I penned in which I had accused Israel of using the death penalty as a means of enacting vengeance for the incomparable horrors of October 7, 2023. Mr. Levine’s retort, rather than denying this charge, openly acknowledged that the death penalty is indeed “unapologetically vengeance,” which he then proceeded to justify. L’chaim has outlined ad nauseum why the insidious vengeance that is capital punishment is inherently wrong. It would be nonsensical to reiterate this reality to anyone who truly feels that vengeance is appropriate human behavior.

​Instead, it might behoove death penalty supporters like Mr. Levine to consider the shameful company of executing nations that Israel now keeps in the wake of the two barbaric execution-related bills that a majority of Knesset members passed into law earlier this year. These laws place Israel on a damning list of uncivilized, executing regimes across the globe.

​To highlight Israel’s backward trajectory, it so happens that just last week Lebanon abolished the death penalty, with Hezbollah as the only Lebanese party opposed to it, thereby aligning Israel with........

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