Why apologize for doing what God commanded?

Rabbi Jonathan Lieberman is not only a remarkable writer, who has a column each Friday in the Jerusalem Post, but he is also a physician. So, it is no wonder that he has aspired to, in his own words, advance the ideals of “redemption, justice and humanity.”

It is, because of those values, which he holds so dear, and the way he has spent his entire life trying to help and heal people, that he is deeply troubled about the conclusion, to which he has arrived, undoubtedly the result of how he has processed the dreadful events of October 7th. “The absolute evil of Hamas terrorists who gleefully boast about their heinous acts, reveling in their savagery, swearing to repeat their bloodshed again and again” has caused him to “thing the unthinkable, the title of his last article.  

Of course, the subject concerns the death penalty, something which does not exist in Israel, but for one exception, in its 76-year history, when the notorious Nazi mastermind, Adolf Eichmann was hanged in 1962 for crimes committed during the Holocaust.

Since then, even the most hardened criminals, convicted of multiple murders, have not been executed but have, instead, been sentenced to life imprisonment, all at the cost of taxpayers, forced to prolong their miserable lives which would better serve society if they came to a swift end.

As we head into the first century of our existence, one might ask, “Why did it take us so long to figure out that the death penalty might be a benefit to the Jewish homeland which remains the coveted target of destruction for so many evildoers?” 

The answer lies in the exorbitant price which Israel has had to pay in order to extract our hostages from the clutches of the demons who have held them captive in the most inhumane conditions possible. That cost has meant allowing 36 lifers to go free, amongst the 1,000 Palestinian prisoners who have already been released.

Those included one man who murdered 12, one man who murdered 3 and raped 5 prison guards, and another who murdered 8, four of whom were children. The list of these savages, with blood on their hands, rivals the worst specimens of evil creatures the world has ever produced. As Rabbi Lieberman points out, their likelihood of recidivism is already guaranteed. Life is meaningless to them, snuffed out at will, without so much as a twinge of regret or troubled conscience.

Consequently, a prison term, even encompassing the entirety of one’s life, seems woefully inadequate to Lieberman, because for someone who values true justice, he knows that it will not be meted out in this life, given the great probability of release from the prisons meant to isolate them from hurting other innocents. This latest deal has proven that!

But, while Rabbi Lieberman seems terribly conflicted in his contemplation of the right thing to do, I would like to remind him of what is written in the Torah, which he, undoubtedly, strives to observe. The laws, given to Moses by God, were done so, both as a model to instruct us on what constitutes true justice in the eyes of the Almighty, but also, I firmly believe, as a strong deterrent to committing heinous acts, which disqualify one from further enjoying the privilege of life.

The concept of capital punishment is completely righteous when someone has taken a life unjustly. As early as the book of Genesis, we see that there is a command that “Whoever sheds man’s blood, by man his blood shall be shed, for in the image of God He made man.” (9:6) 

Once the formal code of behavior was given, in the form of the Ten Commandments, the sixth commandment clearly stated, “You shall not murder.” (Deut. 5:17)  While provisions were made to flee and take refuge elsewhere, in the event of an accidental manslaughter, this was not the case with a deliberate murder. Such a person, who killed the one he hated, was to die for his act, with no pity being given to him. (Deut. 19:13)

Murder, along with idol worship, and other major infractions were viewed as detestable acts which polluted the land that God had given. This is the reason that those who committed them were not permitted to live and commanded to be cut off from humanity. 

Although much of today’s society has come to look upon the death penalty as too harsh or barbaric to enforce, there is a justified reason why God gave these instructions, knowing that society could never recover from the profound evil which was deeply rooted in the heart of unrepentant individuals who, similar to today’s Hamas terrorists, could slaughter innocents without batting an eyelash. It is that kind of depravity which poisons every human being, injecting a kind of moral decay into the creation of God.

That kind of rot, allowed to fester, will bring about a sure downfall, affecting everyone around it for the worse, until all goodness, worth and value is completely vanquished by the darkness that takes over with deluge force. This is why we are commanded to root it out from our midst, in order to prevent our own ruin once it takes over.  

But, in a world where everything is topsy turvy, sympathies are now extended to evildoers while innocent victims are left languishing and unattended. To facilitate that kind of distorted application of mercy, clever labels have been appropriated in an attempt to camouflage the crime. That is how murderous terrorists became freedom fighters and how their Jewish victims were represented as oppressors or supremacists. 

But rape is rape and murder is murder, and no repackaging of those heinous acts of violence can turn them into acceptable societal behavior, nor can the perpetrators be cast as blameless, for they are guilty before God and man, numbered with those who have contaminated and defiled the world with their foul evil for which they have no remorse.

It is for them that the death penalty is not the unthinkable but rather a fitting end to a person who has made the choice to go to the dark side with no hope of rehabilitation.  Such people exist, much to our deep regret, but no one should ever apologize for carrying out what God rightly commanded when confronted by such an individual!