Capital punishment in Israel
Capital punishment is a legal penalty in Israel. Capital punishment has only been imposed twice in the history of the state and is only to be handed out for treason, genocide, crimes against humanity, and crimes against the Jewish people during wartime. Israel is one of seven countries to have abolished capital punishment for "ordinary crimes only."
Israel inherited the
Currently the only crimes that are capital crimes in Israel are for crimes against humanity and treason.[1]
History
Israel's rare use of the death penalty may in part be due to
When the modern state of Israel was established in 1948, it inherited the
In December 1948, it was decided that in the event of further death sentences, all executions would be stayed until the government determined the fate of the death penalty. The first death sentences imposed by an Israeli civil court, against two Arabs who had been found guilty of murder, were confirmed by an appeals court in November 1949, but the sentences were commuted to life imprisonment by President Chaim Weizmann, due to his opposition to the death penalty.[5] The Israeli cabinet first considered abolishing the death penalty in July 1949.
In 1950, seven convicted murderers were on death row in Israel.
In 1954, the Knesset voted to abolish the death penalty for the crime of murder.[12] The death penalty was retained for war crimes, crimes against humanity, crimes against the Jewish people, treason and certain crimes under military law during wartime.
In 1962, the second execution—and the only civil execution—in Israel took place when Adolf Eichmann was hanged after being convicted in 1961 of participation in Nazi war crimes relating to the Holocaust.
Throughout the following decades, death sentences were occasionally handed down to those convicted of terrorist offenses, but these sentences were always commuted. In 1988, John Demjanjuk, a guard in a Nazi death camp during the war, was convicted of war crimes and sentenced to death after being identified as the guard nicknamed "Ivan the Terrible" by inmates for his brutality, but his identification, conviction and sentence were later overturned on appeal. In the mid-1990s, the practice of seeking the death penalty for those facing terrorism charges ceased.[13]
In the aftermath of the
In the March 2015 election, the Yisrael Beiteinu party ran on a platform that included death sentences for terrorists; in July of the same year a bill was proposed, and sponsored by one of the party's members, to allow a majority of presiding judges to sentence a terrorist to death. By a vote of 94–6 the bill was rejected in its first reading.[15]
Calls for imposition of the death penalty
Israeli politicians have sometimes called for the imposition of the death penalty on specific criminals. In 2010,
Avigdor Lieberman and his Yisrael Beiteinu party are strongly supportive of the death penalty for terrorists.[21][22]
In March 2023, a bill for the death penalty against terrorism offences was passed in the Knesset in a preliminary vote by 55-9. The bill was supported and pushed by
Public opinion
A 2017 poll found that close to 70% of Israelis would support giving death penalty after a trial to terrorists who murdered Israeli citizens.[26][27][28]
Executed people
Executed person | Date of execution | Crime(s) | Under President | Method | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Meir Tobianski | June 30, 1948 | Treason (posthumously exonerated) | Chaim Weizmann | Firing squad
|
2 | Adolf Eichmann | May 31, 1962 | war crimes , crimes against the Jewish people and membership of an outlawed organization involving the murder of many Jews.
|
Yitzhak Ben-Zvi | Hanging |
See also
- Capital and corporal punishment in Judaism
- Human rights in Israel
- Israeli targeted killings
- List of capital crimes in the Torah
- Religion and capital punishment
References
- ISSN 0174-4909. Retrieved 2023-05-25.
- ^ Mishnah Makot 1:10
- ^ Moses Maimonides, The Commandments, Neg. Comm. 290, at 269–71 (Charles B. Chavel trans., 1967).
- ^ "Conservative Responsa in Israel - Masorti Responsa - Schechter Institute of Jewish Studies - SIJS". www.responsafortoday.com. Retrieved 2015-07-16.
- ^ Shaul, Hon (1961-02-17). "מיתת־תליה" – חודש הסעיף שבוטל"" ["Bed of hanging" – the clause which was cancelled was renewed]. Maariv (in Hebrew). p. 23. Retrieved 2015-07-16.
- ^ רויכמן, ינון (14 December 2006). "הנידונים למוות". Ynet.
- ^ "Abolition of Death Penalty in Israel Proposed by Cabinet". Jewish Telegraphic Agency. 1951-10-30.
The Israel Cabinet last night decided to submit to the Parliament a law proposing abolition of the death penalty.
- ^ "Israel Will Not Carry out Death Sentences Immediately". Jewish Telegraphic Agency. 1953-12-17. Retrieved 2015-07-16.
The Israel Government has no intention of proceeding at this time with execution of death penalties, Minister of Justice Pinhas Rosen told Parliament's legal committee tonight in a statement [...]
- ^ "First Israeli Sentenced to Death for Torturing Nazi Victims". Jewish Telegraphic Agency. January 7, 1952. Retrieved 2020-04-28.
- ^ "The Nazi Collaborator Who Served Ice Cream in Tel Aviv". Haaretz. December 20, 2015. Retrieved 2020-04-28.
- ^ "הנ ידון למוות - שוחרר מהכלא - מעריב, 18/03/1959" [Sentenced to death - released from prison - Maariv, 18/03/1959]. Maariv (in Hebrew). March 18, 1959. Retrieved 2020-04-28.
- ^ "Israel Parliament Votes to Abolish Capital Punishment". Jewish Telegraphic Agency. 1954-02-17. Retrieved 2015-07-16.
The Israel Parliament today abolished the death penalty for the crime of murder. The vote was 61 to 33, with two abstentions.
- ^ a b Levinson, Chaim (20 May 2011). "IDF Expected to Seek Death Penalty for Killers of Fogel Family". Haaretz.
- ^ IDF court gives Palestinian five life sentences for Itamar murders
- ^ "Knesset votes down death penalty for terrorists 94-6". The Jerusalem Post. Retrieved 2015-07-16.
- ^ "Shomron Honors Druze Soldier Murdered at Tapuach Junction". Israel National News. 22 February 2011. Retrieved 24 July 2017.
- ^ "Netanyahu demands death penalty for Halamish terrorist". Times of Israel. 27 July 2017. Retrieved 27 July 2017.
- ^ "Gesetzesinitiative: Israel will Todesstrafe für Terroristen einführen". Faz.net.
- ^ "Israeli death penalty advocates win preliminary vote in parliament". Reuters. 3 January 2018.
- ^ Israel is now considering to bring back capital punishment to deal with the resistance. from : aljazeera.com
- ^ "ליברמן: "נגיש חוק עונש מוות למחבלים"". ישראל ביתנו (in Hebrew). 2015-02-17. Archived from the original on 2019-06-21. Retrieved 2020-05-30.
- ^ "Liberman: We will not give up until death penalty bill is approved". The Jerusalem Post | JPost.com. Retrieved 2020-11-18.
- ^ "Israel passes initial vote approving death penalty against terror offenders".
- ^ "Israel passes initial reading of controversial death penalty bill".
- ^ "I24NEWS".
- ^ "Poll: 70% of Israelis support death penalty for Palestinian terrorists".
- ^ "Over 70% of Jewish Israelis support death penalty for terrorists — poll". The Times of Israel.
- ^ "70 Percent of Israeli Jews Support Death Penalty for Terrorists, Survey Shows". Haaretz.