Death Penalty For Terrorists Voted On In Israel's No Death For Murder State

 Nadene Goldfoot                                              

The first reading of a bill to impose the death penalty on terrorists convicted of murder was voted on in the Knesset yesterday. It was expected to narrowly pass and move forward through the legislative process. The Israeli Knesset recently approved, in its first reading, a bill to introduce the death penalty for individuals convicted of nationalistically motivated murder or "terrorism". The vote, which took place on Monday, November 10, 2025, passed with 39 votes in favor and 16 against. 

Seems to me so many terrorists commit murder in their act of terror and slaughter such as what happened on October 7, 2023.  All those picked up who were committing this act would be under the death penalty.  This is a stated war, but that happened first and foremost.  It was a planned attack, planned for the past 2 years, some have noted.  "It is widely reported that the October 7, 2023, attack by Hamas on Israel was planned for at least two years prior. Some aspects of the planning, such as the use of an "Eagle Squadron" for aerial attacks, were in the works for over a year. "

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 Mandatory Palestine code of law, which included capital punishment for several crimes, but in 1954, Israel abolished the penalty for murder. 

The only execution in the history of the State of Israel was carried out in  1962, when Holocaust architect Adolf Eichmann was hanged for genocide and crimes against humanity. 

The last death sentence in Israel was handed down in 1988, when John Demjanjuk was sentenced to death for war crimes and crimes against humanity; his sentence (and conviction) was subsequently overturned in 1993 following an appeal to the Israeli Supreme Court. No death sentences have been sought by Israeli prosecutors since the 1990s.

Currently the only crimes that are capital crimes in Israel are for crimes against humanity and treason.

The current President of Israel is Isaac Herzog. He has been in office since July 7, 2021.The President of Israel is the head of state, a largely ceremonial role, while the Prime Minister serves as the head of government and chief executive. The current Prime Minister is Benjamin Netanyahu. 

The President of the State of Israel has, under the authority of the Basic Laws of Israel (specifically, Basic Law: The President of the State) the ability to pardon or commute a death sentence.

In the USA, California, Florida, Texas, and Alabama have the largest death row populations. As of December 31, 2022, 2,270 inmates were under sentence of death in the United States. There are five methods of execution in the United States: lethal injection, electrocution, lethal gas, hanging, and firing squad.

In the United States, capital punishment (also known as the death penalty) is a legal penalty in 27 states (of which two, Oregon and Wyoming, have no inmates sentenced to death), throughout the country at the federal level, and in American Samoa. It is also a legal penalty for some military offenses. Capital punishment has been abolished in the other 23 states and in the federal capital, Washington, D.C. It is usually applied for only the most serious crimes, such as aggravated murder. Although it is a legal penalty in 27 states, 21 of them have authority to execute death sentences, with the other 6 subject to moratoriums.