By the end of his life, Holocaust survivor, Nobel laureate and staunch death penalty abolitionist Elie Wiesel famously said of capital punishment: “Death should never be the answer in a civilized society.” We, the thousands of members of “L’chaim! Jews Against the Death Penalty” from across Israel and and the world stand with him and all of civilized humanity now in categorically condemning the “Prosecution of Participants in the October 7 Massacre Events Law (5786–2026)” that passed into law in the Knesset today after a unanimous 93-0 vote. (Of note, those members of the Knesset disgusted by the bill left the chamber ahead of the vote in protest.) We unequivocally oppose this law’s insidious fixation with vengeful killing. Instead, we support the victims of the October 7th acts of terror by siding with restorative justice – and life.

Israel’s “Punitive and Retributive Spectacle” Contradicts Jewish Life-Affirming Blessings

Israel’s barbaric new law establishes a special military tribunal to adjudicate Palestinians held in Israeli custody on suspicion of participation in the heinous Hamas-led terror attacks of October 7, 2023, and the subsequent hostage-holding in Gaza. It achieves this through a process that strips suspects of basic procedural protections essential to a fair trial and empowers the tribunal to impose the death penalty. Alongside the new Death Penalty Law that entered into force just in time to desecrate the start of Passover on March 30, 2026, this law places Israel in direct opposition to the international trend toward abolition and to binding obligations under international humanitarian law, including the prohibition of cruel, inhuman, and degrading punishment. Furthermore, this legislation strips suspects of basic procedural protections essential to a fair trial, rendering any death sentence imposed an arbitrary deprivation of life, absolutely prohibited under international law and potentially a war crime. The law also targets a specific, identifiable category of suspects, a form of personal legislation prohibited under both Israeli constitutional principles and international law. The law focuses on the roughly 300-400 detainees from Gaza suspected of involvement in the October 7th attacks and who remain in Israeli custody without charge or trial, amid a documented policy of systemic torture.

It so happens that the Knesset passed this veritable shanda (shame) the week before Rosh Chodesh Sivan (the new month of Sivan) in the Hebrew calendar. While this may seem irrelevant, a closer look at the wisdom of Jewish liturgy would teach otherwise. As an ordained cantor, in addition to being the co-founder of L’chaim, I am keenly aware of the liturgy that accompanies the end of the week before any Rosh Hodesh (new month). The central prayer at this liminal juncture is the Blessing of the New Month (Birchat Hachodesh). I will be reciting this very prayer once again this Shabbat for my home congregation. This short blessing invokes the word “Chaim” – “Life” – no less than eleven times as the congregation prays for all that is life-sustaining to come to fruition in the coming weeks. It reflects Judaism’s millennial arc of affirming life, a fact that renowned Orthodox Rabbi Yitz Greenberg eloquently affirmed in his anti-death-penalty op-ed in the Jerusalem Post earlier this year. (It is precisely for this reason that we named our Jewish death penalty abolitionist group “L’chaim” at our founding in 2020.)

Image: Screenshot of the opening of Birchat HaChodesh, the Blessing of the New Month, to be recited this Shabbat, May 16. No copyright. 

Most observant Jews like Rabbi Greenberg will be reciting this prayer across Israel and the world this upcoming Shabbat, Saturday, May 16. They will........

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