The death penalty bill for terrorists is being brought for a preliminary vote in the Knesset on Wednesday following the passing of the bill in the Knesset’s Ministerial Committee on Legislation on Sunday. The vote on the bill poses a dilemma for Chareidi MKs, who are opposed to the bill due to halachic issues. According to Hebrew reports on Tuesday, sources in the UTJ party say that the party will refrain from voting for the bill on Wednesday. The Shas party is expected to vote in favor of the law in the preliminary reading to allow it to pass, but will not participate in the final vote. However, Kikar H’Shabbat reported that both UTJ and Shas will vote in favor of the bill in a preliminary reading in order to show their support for the fight against terrorism. The bill will then be brought to the Cabinet for further discussion, and the Chareidi MKs will utilize that time to consult with their Gedolim on the issue. A Shas minister told Kikar: “Senior security officials warn that the bill will do more harm than good because even if the court will use the law and sentence the terrorist to death, the terrorist will become a hero in the Arab world by the time the trial is over and it will only lead to further attacks. This law endangers lives and this is the position we will present to the Moetzet Chachmei HaTorah.” The report also quoted an MK from Agudas Yisrael who said: “Apart from the security issues, there’s also a halachic issue here. The Supreme Court can decide at any time that the law will also apply to Jews. Who are we to advance a law that will lead to imposing the death penalty on Jews? Is the Sanhedrin around?” Chief Rabbi Yosef Yitzchak publicly opposed a death penalty law for terrorists in 2018, citing the same two reasons mentioned above. Firstly, the bill was opposed by Shin Bet officials at the time who expressed concern that it could endanger the lives of Jews around the world who could be kidnapped as bargaining chips for terrorists on death row. Secondly, Harav Yosef expressed concern that the bill could apply to Jewish terrorists – such as Amiram Ben-Uliel, who was indicted for the deaths of three Arabs in Duma – saying that only the Sanhedrin has the power to sentence a Jew to death. The Yisrael Beiteinu party has announced that it will support the bill. National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir, who proposed the bill, conveyed a message to the Chareidi parties on Tuesday, saying: “I assume that everyone in the coalition understands that our strength is in our unity. Voting in favor of a death penalty law for terrorists is not a ‘favor’ that someone is doing for Otzma Yehudit, but rather the existence of a simple and clear coalition agreement, which promotes one of the most important bills in the history of the country.” (YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)
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