So now we have the death penalty on the menu as a panacea. So why not go all the way and have public hangings in the town square and invite a rowdy crowd to come and cheer. If we wish to go back to the dark ages and respond to violence with violence we surely can create more violence. We can open stadiums and perhaps go back to stoning. We as Jews were supposed to bring light unto nations, to reflect righteousness, justice and knowledge of good to the entire world it seems we have changed our purpose in so called civilization to barbarism. What happened to our moral commitment to the sanctity of human life? We are in the midst of one of the darkest periods in our history. Perhaps these members of parliament could better spend their time planning for a future where our children and grandchildren both Israeli and Palestinian could spend their days in safety, could go to school and live a normal life. Not a life in shelters, if they have them, in trauma and in fear for their lives.

Capital punishment is a violation of fundamental human rights, that is the right to life. This new Israeli law would not even allow for the right to appeal before execution.

Since Time Immemorial Jewish scholors created restrictive rules to prevent execution in fact these rules led to the death penalty being abolished. It seems that the powers that be are filled with a desire for revenge. Where are those scholors today? certainly not in the hearts of the law makers of Israel, certainly not in the hearts of the settlers who take the law into their own hands, murder, torture and destroy property in the West Bank, may I ask where is the culpability of these criminals. No there is no accountability. It seems that certain perpetrators in our society are above the law. When caught committing murder, will they too face the death penalty?

Decades of research have proved that executing will not prevent others from committing heinous crimes. In fact most of Europe and 23 states in America have abolished the death penalty. Would executing the man who killed my beloved son David bring my child back. In fact it would just contribute to to cycle of violence and hatred. I would have done anything to spend one more minute with him, but that was not to be. Instead I chose a another path, a path that would prevent other families from experiencing the excruciating pain of loss that never goes away.

Perhaps those members of Parliament who in their great wisdom voted for this barbaric law should do a little research outside of the confines of the Knesset and understand how approving the death penalty will be received by enlightened people worldwide. Do they not understand that their bellicose attitude and provincial behavior is endangering the lives of Jews in the diaspora. Now there is a license for antisemitism.

If we are to retain our humanity we must look into our hearts and understand that we cannot teach that killing is wrong by killing.

© The Times of Israel (Blogs)