MK Gilad Kariv: Death penalty bill will lead to an increase in terror attacks

The Democrats MK Gilad Kariv slams efforts to pass a pair of bills imposing the death penalty on terrorists, telling the Knesset that the controversial legislation is “unbefitting a state that seeks to be part of the civilized family of nations.”

“Regarding the Jewish legal position on the death penalty — Jewish law does not allow the imposition of a death sentence by a mere single-vote majority. This proposed law creates a dramatic distinction between one court and another, as if taking a terrorist criminal’s life could depend on whether his case is tried in a military court or a civilian one,” Kariv, a Reform rabbi, argues.

The proposed bill stipulates that Israeli courts must impose the death penalty on those who have committed a nationalistically motivated murder of a citizen of Israel, while allowing judges serving on military courts in the West Bank to sentence offenders to death with a simple majority rather than unanimous decision.

In Jewish law, capital cases are never judged by a tribunal of three judges, but for the bill’s backers, “Judaism is a source of inspiration only when it is convenient to promote extremist positions,” he argues.

“This proposed law will not lead to deterrence — it will lead to an inflation of hostage-taking attacks. It will lead to an increase in terror attacks. This bill will bring about dramatic international pressure at a time when the State of Israel is already on the edge.”