Capital+Punishment

 The following article in the Jewish Week discusses whether or not there should be capital punishment in Israel for terrorists: [] starting from “In contrast to the right-wing tone of the prisoner-release demands, calls to sentence Palestinian terrorists to death appear to have broader public support.”
 * __Capital Punishment __**
 * Death Penalty for Terrorists? **

Do you think there should be capital punishment in Israel for terrorists (such as the Fogel family’s murderers)? Why or why not? If your answer is yes, do you think there should also be a death penalty for Jewish criminals in Israel who are found guilty of murder (or multiple murders)?

What are the arguments presented in this article for and against the death penalty for terrorists?

What is the history of the death penalty in Israel? What is the law on the books about the death penalty? In practice, when was the death penalty actually implemented?

Today, we are going to look at Biblical and rabbinic sources to see what the Jewish tradition has to say about the death penalty. First, we will look at the Bible. Each person or pair will read one of the following biblical verses, and answer the following questions: Then each person or pair will present their verse to the class.
 * Biblical Sources for the Death Penalty **
 * Restate your verse in everyday English.
 * What argument does the verse give for the death penalty?

Jordan and Mack: **ו ** <span style="font-family: 'David','sans-serif'; font-size: 16px;"> שֹׁפֵךְ דַּם הָאָדָם, בָּאָדָם דָּמוֹ יִשָּׁפֵךְ: כִּי בְּצֶלֶם אֱלֹהִים, עָשָׂה אֶת-הָאָדָם. __<span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Genesis 9:6 __ <span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Whoever sheds the blood of man, by man shall his blood be shed; for in His image did God make man.
 * <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 16px;">1. ****__<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 16px;">בראשית ט:ו __**

<span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Yossi and Yishai: ** 2. ****__ ויקרא כד:יז-כ __** **<span style="font-family: 'David','sans-serif'; font-size: 16px;">יז ** <span style="font-family: 'David','sans-serif'; font-size: 16px;"> וְאִישׁ, כִּי יַכֶּה כָּל-נֶפֶשׁ אָדָם--מוֹת, יוּמָת. **<span style="font-family: 'David','sans-serif'; font-size: 16px;">יח ** <span style="font-family: 'David','sans-serif'; font-size: 16px;"> וּמַכֵּה נֶפֶשׁ-בְּהֵמָה, יְשַׁלְּמֶנָּה--נֶפֶשׁ, תַּחַת נָפֶשׁ. **<span style="font-family: 'David','sans-serif'; font-size: 16px;">יט ** <span style="font-family: 'David','sans-serif'; font-size: 16px;"> וְאִישׁ, כִּי-יִתֵּן מוּם בַּעֲמִיתוֹ--כַּאֲשֶׁר עָשָׂה, כֵּן יֵעָשֶׂה לּוֹ. **<span style="font-family: 'David','sans-serif'; font-size: 16px;">כ ** <span style="font-family: 'David','sans-serif'; font-size: 16px;"> שֶׁבֶר, תַּחַת שֶׁבֶר, עַיִן תַּחַת עַיִן, שֵׁן תַּחַת שֵׁן--כַּאֲשֶׁר יִתֵּן מוּם בָּאָדָם, כֵּן יִנָּתֶן בּוֹ. __<span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Leviticus 24:17-20 __ **<span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif'; font-size: 16px;">17 **<span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif'; font-size: 16px;">If anyone kills any human being, he shall be put to death. **18** One who kills a beast shall make restitution for it: life for life. **19** If anyone maims his fellow, as he has done so shall it be done to him: **20** fracture for fracture, eye for eye, tooth for tooth. The injury he inflicted on another shall be inflicted on him.

Ari: //<span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Background: In biblical times, a person who accidentally killed, flees to a city of refuge, so that the family of the murdered person cannot kill him. But a person who killed intentionally cannot flee to a city of refuge. // **<span style="font-family: 'David','sans-serif'; font-size: 16px;">יא **<span style="font-family: 'David','sans-serif'; font-size: 16px;"> וְכִי-יִהְיֶה אִישׁ, שֹׂנֵא לְרֵעֵהוּ, וְאָרַב לוֹ וְקָם עָלָיו, וְהִכָּהוּ נֶפֶשׁ וָמֵת; וְנָס, אֶל-אַחַת הֶעָרִים הָאֵל. **יב** וְשָׁלְחוּ זִקְנֵי עִירוֹ, וְלָקְחוּ אֹתוֹ מִשָּׁם; וְנָתְנוּ אֹתוֹ, בְּיַד גֹּאֵל הַדָּם--וָמֵת. **יג** לֹא-תָחוֹס עֵינְךָ, עָלָיו; וּבִעַרְתָּ דַם-הַנָּקִי מִיִּשְׂרָאֵל, וְטוֹב לָךְ. __<span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Deuteronomy 19:11-13 __ **<span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif'; font-size: 16px;">11 **<span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif'; font-size: 16px;">If, however, a person who is the enemy of another lies in wait for him and sets upon him and strikes him a fatal blow and then flees to one of these cities, **12** the elders of his city shall have him brought back from there and shall hand him over to the blood-avenger [family member of the murdered person] to be put to death; **13** you must show him no pity. Thus you will purge Israel of the blood of the innocent, and it will go well with you.
 * <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 16px;">3. ****__<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 16px;">דברים יט: __****__<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 16px;">יא __****__<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 16px;">-יג __**

Yoel:
 * <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 16px;">4. ****__<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 16px;">דברים יט:יט -כא __**

//<span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Background: A person who testifies falsely is punished with the same punishment that he had wanted the person he accused to receive. So if John testifies against David, saying that David killed a man and David should be punished by death, and then it turns out that John was lying and David is innocent, John is sentenced with the death penalty instead of David. //

**<span style="font-family: 'David','sans-serif'; font-size: 16px;">יט ** <span style="font-family: 'David','sans-serif'; font-size: 16px;"> וַעֲשִׂיתֶם לוֹ, כַּאֲשֶׁר זָמַם לַעֲשׂוֹת לְאָחִיו; וּבִעַרְתָּ הָרָע, מִקִּרְבֶּךָ. **<span style="font-family: 'David','sans-serif'; font-size: 16px;">כ ** <span style="font-family: 'David','sans-serif'; font-size: 16px;"> וְהַנִּשְׁאָרִים, יִשְׁמְעוּ וְיִרָאוּ; וְלֹא-יֹסִפוּ לַעֲשׂוֹת עוֹד, כַּדָּבָר הָרָע הַזֶּה--בְּקִרְבֶּךָ. **<span style="font-family: 'David','sans-serif'; font-size: 16px;">כא ** <span style="font-family: 'David','sans-serif'; font-size: 16px;"> וְלֹא תָחוֹס, עֵינֶךָ: נֶפֶשׁ בְּנֶפֶשׁ, עַיִן בְּעַיִן שֵׁן בְּשֵׁן, יָד בְּיָד, רֶגֶל בְּרָגֶל. __<span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Deuteronomy 19:16-21 __
 * <span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif'; font-size: 16px;">19 **<span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif'; font-size: 16px;">you shall do to him [the false witness] as he schemed to do to this fellow. Thus you will sweep out the evil from your midst; **20** others will hear and be afraid, and such evil things will not be done again in your midst; **21** Nor must you show pity: life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot.


 * <span style="color: #92d050; font-family: 'Garamond','serif'; font-size: 16px;">The Rabbis Debate the Death Penalty **

<span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Although the Bible was in favor of the death penalty, the rabbis were not so sure about it. The Mishnah presents four opinions about whether and how often the Sanhedrin should use the death penalty. We will debate this question through the voices of the rabbis. Each person/pair will represent one of the four positions, and present a short argument answering the following questions from the perspective of your rabbi/s: <span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif'; font-size: 16px;">You should also anticipate what arguments the other rabbis will make, and think about how you will rebut them. After all four rabbis present their argument, each rabbi will have a chance to rebut the others. __<span style="font-family: 'David','sans-serif'; font-size: 16px;">מסכת מכות פרק א משנה יא __ <span style="display: block; font-family: 'David','sans-serif'; font-size: 16px; text-align: right;">סנהדרין ההורגת אחד בשבוע, נקראת חבלנית; רבי אלעזר בן עזריה אומר, אחד לשבעים שנה. רבי טרפון ורבי עקיבה אומרים, אילו היינו בסנהדרין, לא נהרג בה אדם לעולם; רבן שמעון בן גמליאל אומר, אף הן מרבים שופכי דמים בישראל.
 * <span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif'; font-size: 16px;">What do you think about the death penalty? Why?
 * <span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif'; font-size: 16px;">How do the biblical verses support your argument? If the biblical verses do not seem to support your argument, why do the biblical verses not apply in your time?

__<span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif';">Tractate Makkot, Chapter 1, Mishnah 11 __ <span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif'; font-size: 150%;"> Gabe and Ariel: [Tanna Kamma (anonymous position)]: A Sanhedrin that executes someone [uses capital punishment] once in seven years is called a violent court. <span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif'; font-size: 150%;"> Yossi : R. Elazar son of Azaryah says: [a court that executes someone] even once in seventy years [is called a violent court]. <span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif'; font-size: 150%;"> Yoel: R. Tarfon and R. Akiva say: Had we been members of the Sanhedrin, no one would ever have been executed. <span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif'; font-size: 150%;"> Yishai: R. Shimon son of Gamliel say: [By avoiding all capital punishment] they instead would have caused a proliferation of murderers in Israel.

//<span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif';">Note: The Gemara explains that Rabbi Akiva and Rabbi Tarfon would have asked the witnesses such difficult questions that every witness would be disqualified. //

<span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif'; font-size: 150%;">By the time of this Mishnah, the question of whether or not to implement the death penalty was already theoretical, because the Sanhedrin stopped using the death penalty forty years before the destruction of the Temple.

__<span style="font-family: 'David','sans-serif';">תלמוד בבלי מסכת עבודה זרה דף ח עמוד ב __ <span style="font-family: 'David','sans-serif';">מ' שנה עד לא חרב הבית גלתה סנהדרין וישבה לה בחנות … <span style="font-family: 'David','sans-serif';"> שלא דנו דיני נפשות מאי טעמא? כיון דחזו דנפישי להו רוצחין ולא יכלי למידן אמרו מוטב נגלי ממקום למקום כי היכי דלא ליחייבו.

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<span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif'; font-size: 150%;">Forty years prior to the destruction of the Second Temple, the Sanhedrin [the Jewish high court] was exiled from the Temple and met in the marketplace… in order not to pass the death sentence. What was the reason? When the Sanhedrin saw that murderers were so prevalent that they could not be properly dealt with judicially, they said: Rather let us be exiled from place to place than pronounce them guilty [when the Sanhedrin met outside the Temple, they no longer had the right to pass the death sentence]. =====

//<span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif';">What would you do were you on the Sanhedrin? Would you impose the death penalty? //

**<span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif';">Alternatives to the Death Penalty **

<span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif'; font-size: 150%;">What happens when there is no death penalty? What are alternatives to the death penalty that would be just?

__<span style="font-family: 'David','sans-serif';">רמב"ם משנה תורה הלכות רוצח פרק ב הלכה ה __ <span style="display: block; font-family: 'David','sans-serif'; font-size: 16px; text-align: right;">הרי שלא הרגם המלך, ולא הייתה השעה צריכה לחזק הדבר--הרי בית דין חייבין מכל מקום להכותם מכה רבה הקרובה למיתה, ולאסור אותן במצור ובמצוק שנים רבות, ולצערן בכל מיני צער: כדי להפחיד ולאיים על שאר הרשעים, שלא יהיה להם הדבר לפוקה ולמכשול לבב, ויאמר הריני מסבב להרוג אויבי כדרך שעשה פלוני, ואיפטר.

__<span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Maimonides, Mishneh Torah, Laws of Murderer, 2:1 __ <span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif'; font-size: 16px;">If the king did not execute the accused, and the times do not warrant an execution, then the courts should whip the accused until he nearly dies, lock him up for many years, and make him suffer as much as possible so that other evildoers will be scared and they won’t be caused to stumble, saying I will kill my enemy just as so-and-so did, and I will get away with it.


 * <span style="color: #ff0000; font-family: 'Garamond','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Death Penalty in the United States **

<span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif'; font-size: 16px;"> <span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Please watch the following video: <span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif'; font-size: 16px;">[]
 * <span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif'; font-size: 16px;">What arguments are made in this video against the death penalty? Which (if any) of these arguments are unique to the United States?
 * <span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif'; font-size: 16px;"> From what we learned in these two classes, what do you think the Jewish tradition would have to say about the death penalty in the United States?

<span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Many rabbis in the United States, from each of the major denominations, have made statements against the death penalty in the United States, citing sources from the Jewish tradition to support them:

<span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif'; font-size: 16px;">1) Reform Judaism: __<span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif';">Central Conference of American Rabbis, 1979 __ <span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif'; font-size: 130%;">a. Both in concept and in practice, Jewish tradition found capital punishment repugnant, despite Biblical sanctions for it. For the past 2.000 years, with the rarest of exceptions, Jewish courts have refused to punish criminals by depriving them of their lives. <span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif'; font-size: 130%;">b. No evidence has been marshaled to indicate with any persuasiveness that capital punishment serves as a deterrent to crime. <span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif'; font-size: 130%;">c. We oppose capital punishment under all circumstances.

<span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif'; font-size: 16px;">2) Conservative Judaism: __<span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif';">Rabbi __<span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif';">[|Ben Zion Bokser] __<span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif';">, <span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif';">Statement on capital punishment, 1960  __ <span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif'; font-size: 16px;">In effect [the rabbis] did away with the application of the death penalty. The rabbis… declared openly that they found capital punishment repugnant to them… There is another reason which argues for the abolition of capital punishment. It is the fact of human fallibility. Too often we learn of people who were convicted of crimes and only later are new facts uncovered by which their innocence is established. The doors of the jail can be opened, in such cases we can partially undo the injustice. But the dead cannot be brought back to life again. We regard all forms of capital punishment as barbaric and obsolete.

<span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif'; font-size: 16px;">3) Orthodox Judaism <span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif'; font-size: 16px;">[|Rabbi Yosef Edelstein] __<span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif'; font-size: 16px;">, Director of the Savannah Kollel, 2000 __ <span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif'; font-size: 16px;">You may be aware that it was exceedingly difficult, in practice, to carry out the death penalty in Jewish society… the capital punishment outlined by the Written and Oral Torah, and as carried out by the greatest Sages from among our people (who were paragons of humility and humanity and not just scholarship, needless to say), did not remotely resemble the death penalty in modern America (or Texas). In theory, capital punishment is kosher; it's morally right, in the Torah's eyes. But we have seen that there was great concern… regarding its practical implementation. It was carried out in ancient Israel, but only with great difficulty. Once in seven years; not 135 in five and a half.

//<span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Do you think the United States should have the death penalty? How (if at all) is your position shaped by the Jewish sources we read? //