Posters were hung overnight across Jerusalem in protest against a proposed bill to impose the death penalty on terrorists, scheduled to be discussed today (Wednesday) by the National Security Committee.
The posters were hung near the Knesset gates on Kaplan Street and in the neighborhoods of Nachlaot and Rehavia.
The posters, written in a haredi style, expressed strong opposition to the promotion of the bill. Among other things, they stated that imposing the death penalty contradicts Jewish tradition, which effectively abolished capital-punishment laws some two thousand years ago.
The authors warned against taking authority that is not entrusted to humans, and argued that returning the death penalty would be an imitation of foreign and cruel practices, which could lead to expanded use of it in the future.
They also wrote that since the destruction of the Temple and the dissolution of the Sanhedrin there is no authority to adjudicate capital cases, and that the great rabbis of Israel in every generation warned against the dangers inherent in doing so.
The posters also criticized religious public representatives, whom the protesters say are silent in the face of the bill's advancement.
The posters were sponsored by the "Voice of Rabbis for Human Rights", which opposes the bill on the grounds of public appearance, moral considerations, and Jewish law. According to the organization, the death penalty has not been proven effective in deterring terrorists, and it could become a dangerous tool in the hands of the authorities against other groups in the future.
The organization's CEO, Avi Dabush, said, "This bill is not Jewish, not moral and not necessary. Jewish tradition abolished the death penalty out of the understanding that no person has the authority to make a definitive judgment over another person's life. Security officials have said for years that it does not deter, and the real danger is the expanded use of this penalty in the future. We went out into the streets with posters because this is a language understood by anyone who believes that the sanctity of life is a principle and not a slogan."
The organization noted that the debate on the bill is taking place at a sensitive time, and expressed concern that the legislation could pass amid a charged public atmosphere, without a deep discussion of its implications.