As Ben-Gvir Vows to Execute Palestinian Prisoners, Should He Stop at Lethal Injection?
Soon, we will meet at the city square, at nine o'clock. The square will fill with people, more than it did during the "march of the million." The precise time and location have not yet been determined, nor has the identity of the producers and performers, but we can trust the government and Knesset to do so quickly.
It's true that the liberal head of the Knesset Committee for National Security, Zvika Foghel, has determined that executions will be carried out by lethal injection. But trust Itamar Ben-Gvir to not miss the immense electoral potential of the bill, and see to it that the execution by needle will be replaced by a public hanging at a city square.
Israelis – some of them, not all – will love Ben-Gvir. Many of them would be happy to come to the square at nine o'clock. You'd be amazed how many will show up.
Meanwhile, Channel 14 TV correspondent Moti Kastel has published on the Pirsum Rishon website that an Israeli delegation will soon be visiting countries that have capital punishment, in order to study different methods of execution.
The composition of this delegation has not been determined yet but one may assume that it will include licensed slaughterers working in slaughterhouses, rabbis who will deal with Torah-related aspects, functionaries, Shin Bet operatives whose new commander has already announced that he is in favor of gallows, IDF sharpshooters and air force pilots who have specialized in mass killings.
One could begin with Syria. On May 18, 1965, Israeli spy Eli Cohen was hanged on Marjeh Square in Damascus, with his body remaining there, swinging in the wind for six hours, so that the masses could walk by.
When Palestinian "terrorists" are hanged here, including "anyone who murders a Jew only because he is a Jew, including those who plan or dispatch the murderer," six hours won't suffice for the masses to gather around the gallows. Let it take as long as it takes; the main thing is that the people of Israel can behold the sight and enjoy themselves.
Parents will bring their children, grandparents their grandchildren; settlers will declare a pause in the pogroms so that they too can come. They wouldn't miss an opportunity to stand tall and express their Israeli pride. Is this an exaggerated picture? I'm not so sure.
If the Eli Cohen model is not to the delegation's liking, it can move on. Regrettably, there are only 23 countries that still have capital punishment.
In Iran, it's mainly done by hanging, but the delegation will find it difficult to witness such an event first-hand. A Zoom consultation with Iran's hangmen will also not be possible. In Saudi Arabia, they use a sword for beheading, but as long as it hasn't joined the Abraham Accords, there will be problems with them too.
China is a good candidate, but it's possible that Donald Trump won't view this favorably. North Korea is closed off, and Pakistan and Bangladesh are hostile. Yemen saw an impressive rise in executions in 2024 but it too is not friendly. Maybe one could try Somalia, and of course there is the country leading the free world.
America has moved in recent years from the electric chair to the Foghel method, the lethal injection. Its experience has dwindled to only 19 executions in the last 25 years, a laughable number in comparison to what Israel is planning, and there they don't just execute murderers of white people, as is planned here.
That's why we have nothing to learn there. In America there is also a (scandalous) right to appeal, with condemned people living on death row for many years. Here, the Foghels won't allow that. The lust for revenge and bloodthirst is too powerful and will have to be fulfilled within 90 days, at most.
Thus, the American model is too half-hearted for us. After all, the bill stipulates that no appeal will be possible. No unanimous decision will be required by that beacon of Israeli justice, the military court giving the sentence.
A lethal injection is for the weak, Foghel. It isn't carried out with wide public attendance. Ben-Gvir and Limor Son Har-Melech won't like that method. Gallows are a must.
One could concentrate all the executions on Independence Day, perhaps at the peak of the beacon-lighting ceremony. One can leave a few for Purim too, a big holiday for Jews. The crowds will sound their Purim rattles as the dirty Arab takes his last breath, and Israel will be mighty once again. There is what to look forward to.