On 30 March, the same day that the Knesset passed its barbaric death penalty law, a vast coalition of Jewish organizations across Israel and the world immediately petitioned the Supreme Court of Israel to repeal it. The next day, the court ordered the state to respond to that petition and the request for an interim injunction by 24 May. The thousands of members of “L’chaim! Jews Against the Death Penalty” in Israel and throughout the Diaspora, together with various Israeli politicians and Jews of good conscience, as well as all of civilized humanity, will, of course, continue to do all we can to support this vital, sacred effort.

The Knesset passed this medieval law on the eve of Passover. As L’chaim has underscored, the grotesque spectacle of Minister of National Security Ben Gvir’s immediate, champagne-laden celebration of this death-worshipping event effectively desecrated that holiday for all of Israel. His abject abomination will do more than any antisemitic trope to further the lethal Passover blood libel that has led enemies of Israel to label Judaism a proverbial “Death Cult” time and again.

It so happens that the 24 May deadline for a response to the request for an interim injunction falls just after the next major Jewish holiday of Shavuot. By the end of that festival, which is dedicated to honoring the narrative of the Divine revelation of the Torah at Mount Sinai, the truth about the unconstitutional nature of this unabashedly racist law and of the deterrence delusion must also be fully revealed. That knowledge, in turn, must lead to the unconditional repeal of this monstrosity. Nothing short of such an unmitigated reversal can merit Israel’s redemption in the eyes of civilized humanity in the wake of this unfolding calamity.

Actively pursuing repeal to halt Ben Gvir’s political grandstanding

Expedition of repeal is essential, given the rush to execute by proponents of death like Ben Gvir. Not long after Israelis emerged from their Passover Seder, in which they lamented Malakh HaMavet, the Angel of Death, Ben Gvir demonstrated his thirst for capital punishment, which Elie Wiesel, himself a dedicated death penalty abolitionist, aptly described as the manmade “Angel of Death.” In a recent interview, Ben Gvir described with excitement how he already has implemented plans to create a veritable “death row,” gleefully specifying that he has ordered red uniforms for those condemned to death.

Many commentators have correctly observed that Ben Gvir’s love of the limelight is fueling his macabre comments. In so doing, he is taking a page from one of the most infamous tyrants’ playbooks since time immemorial, seeking to capitalize on collective bloodlust politically. Some of these same critics have stated that Ben Gvir fully expects the Supreme Court to repeal this law and that he is merely taking full advantage of this limited window of international media attention.

This view presupposes that Israel’s High Court will reverse this law, which is far from certain. In a reality where a convicted felon and attempted coup instigator like Donald Trump could be reelected to perhaps the most powerful office in the world, and in a nation like Israel, where a criminal like Benjamin Netanyahu could remain prime minister year after year, anything is possible. No political or legal presumptions are safe. A robust, proactive campaign against this law is therefore necessary to enable Supreme Court justices to realize exactly what is at stake: namely, the soul of Israel itself.

Heeding Israeli Supreme Court Justice Haim Herman Cohn: “We cannot uproot evil by recycling it through us.”

To that end, current Supreme Court justices must heed the words of their predecessor Justice Haim Herman Cohen (1911-2002). At the founding of the state of Israel in 1948, Cohn was asked to help create its legal system, which he did by combining Jewish, Ottoman, Roman, and British legal traditions. An ardent opponent of capital punishment, including cases against terrorists, he resigned as state attorney to avoid being part of the 1961 death penalty trial of Adolf Eichmann, against which he famously stated: “We cannot uproot evil by recycling it through us.” Cohn was appointed to the Israeli Supreme Court in 1960 and served for 21 years, including a period as the court’s deputy chief justice. He founded the Israeli branch of Amnesty International and was the first president of the Israeli Association of Civil Rights. His books included “The Trial and Death of Jesus” and “Human Rights and Jewish Law,” and he received the Israel Prize in 1980.

In his 1994 essay, “The Values of a Jewish and Democratic State,” Cohn wrote the following about the death penalty:

“The prohibition against harming human life, as a foundational principle of public law, means first and foremost the prohibition against imposing the death penalty. Human life – meaning the life of a murderer or a traitor as well. The fact that a murderer took human life does not justify taking his, neither by the state nor by anyone else…The sages of the Mishnah did everything in their power to ensure that no offender would be put to death…Not only has the death penalty ceased to be a Jewish value, but one could argue that the rejection of the death penalty has itself become a Jewish value. And this rejection is also a distinctly democratic value.”

Israeli legal analyst Yuval Yoaz recently offered some of the most salient comments on Cohn’s unambiguous words. Writing in the Times of Israel, Yoaz stated: “Ultimately…the death penalty law for Palestinians convicted of deadly acts of terror must be struck down by the High Court not just because it fails the proportionality test, but because it contradicts the very values of the State of Israel, both as a Jewish state and as a democratic one.”

“Reveal, Repeal, and Redeem” – a new spiritual pilgrimage

Justice Cohn’s words combine with the synchronistic alignment of the death penalty law’s Passover enactment to reveal why the current Supreme Court repeal of this death penalty law is a mission of redemption for Israel. The tripartite cycle of the major Jewish holidays of Sukkot (the “Feast of Booths”), Pesach (“Passover”), and Shavuot (the “Feast of Weeks”) is known collectively as the Shalosh Regalim (“Three Pilgrimage Festivals”), and forms a profound spiritual arc. Jewish traditions link these festivals to a wider cycle (starting in the fall) that begins with Creation (Rosh Hashanah/Sukkot), continues with Redemption (Passover), and culminates in Revelation (Shavuot). The overarching theme is the transformative journey from physical freedom to spiritual intimacy with God.

In a bastardization of this cycle, the Knesset’s Passover adoption of this law has celebrated the destruction, rather than creation, of life. Of capital punishment, Elie Wiesel powerfully stated that “death should never be the answer in a civilized society.” Only with the Supreme Court’s revelation of this law’s unconstitutionality by Shavuot and its eventual repeal can Israel merit redemption in the eyes of civilized humanity.

Reveal. Repeal. Redeem. This new spiritual pilgrimage and paradigm is the only viable path forward now for Israel. May the justices of the Supreme Court, Israelis of good conscience, and Jews across the world forge ahead together on this journey, bringing it to vital fruition bimheirah v’yameinu – soon in our day.

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)