Israel names 26 Palestinian prisoners to be freed in 48 hoursI also must say "I told you so" to all of those who voted not only the ruling Likud-Beitenu but for Naftali Bennett's NRP aka Jewish Home Party. For as many elections as I've been blogging, such as all of those Knesset elections in the past decade plus, I've warned everyone who reads my blog that the Likud isn't a reliably Right party and that all parties in the coalition must obey coalition discipline and even ministers don't have a say/vote in policy decisions.
All were convicted of murder, including brutal killings such as 1990 Rosh Hashanah lynch of IDF reservist in Gaza; 21 inmates are from West Bank, 5 from Gaza
When I got home from work yesterday afternoon and turned on the news I kept hearing the top Likud ministers chastising Bennett and his MKs for publicly voicing their opposition to government policy. This was all so easy to predict. The Likud is correct in complaining about Bennett. Bennett signed a contract to abide by government decisions.
A Cabinet committee unsurprisingly defeated on Sunday a motion by the Jewish Home to propose a bill that would prevent the government from freeing heavy-duty terrorists. The Ministerial Committee for Legislation voted 8-5 against the proposal, with Likud, Yesh Atid and Livni’s HaTunah party minsters opposing it and Jewish Home and Yisrael Beiteinu ministers voting for it. With Justice Minister Tzipi Livni heading the committee, the bill had no chance. Click here to understand how she wears three hats, all of them oversized. Interior Minister Gideon Sa’ar, a senior Likud member and a close aide to Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu, characteristically played the role of a sore winner and told Jewish Home Minister Uri Orbach, “If you don’t like it, you can resign.” Sa’ar berated the Jewish Home for daring to propose a bill that would have gone against government policy. Livni was even cruder with her snipe that the government does not act on the orders “of the rabbis in the West Bank.”
Read more at: http://www.jewishpress.com/news/jewish-home-punched-out-in-losing-bid-to-keep-terrorists-jailed/2013/10/27/
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| Avi Ohayon, GPO |
And please don't try your scare-mongering on me claiming that it would be worse if Tsippi Livni or another Leftist was Prime Minister. I've been observing Israeli governments and politics for almost half a century, and I've seen the Likud (originally Menachem Begin's Herut) in all positions and guises. Israel's only Land withdrawals, Sinai and Disengagement, were under Likud Governments. The Left wouldn't dare with a strong Right opposition. Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu is always best when pushed to the wall. That's where I want him, not in power.
The present Israeli Government is promoting policies far to the Left, and that's the truth.
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The Prophets Of Israel stated only a remnant of the Jews would be saved.
The rest like the generation of Sodom will perish quickly and be forgotten!
Batya, in line with their thinking, who will remember the authors of this infamous, cynical, wretched and evil decision a hundred years from now?
Evildoers are like a plant that dies in the evening. It cannot be soon enough to happen to them for the sake of Israel and the world.
Israel's rejections of the death penalty is idiotic.
"Right of Reply: Another view of the death penalty" By DUDLEY SHARP, Jerusalem Post, 03/19/2009, Opinion, Op-Ed Contributors
Innocents are better protected with capital punishment.
There are some clear problems with "Fabulously Observant: Jews and the death penalty," by David Benkof (March 12).
Rabbi Avi Shafran gave a common answer as to why a great many Jewish faith groups oppose the death penalty: "Jews have all too often found themselves on the wrong side of the administration of capital punishment - often for the sole 'crime' of being Jewish."
Sadly, true. However, the fact that Jews have been wrongly executed doesn't mean that Jews cannot morally and rightly execute wrongdoers.
An obvious example: Jews have been wrongly incarcerated, in just the same shameful manner, yet, Jews are not opposed to justly incarcerating those who violate the law.
Jewish talk show host Dennis Prager is correct, "capital punishment for murder is the only law that exists in all five books of the Torah."
In other words, to God, implementing the death penalty for murder is a very big deal. If that is the case, why do so many Jewish faith groups oppose it?
Rabbi Shafran ended, "That many a convicted criminal in the United States has later been exonerated by evidence or testimony only adds to the reluctance."
Reconsider.
In the US, of those sentenced to death since 1973 or later, possibly 25 actual innocents have been identified and released from death row. That is 0.3 percent of those so sentenced. There is no proof of an innocent executed in the US, at least since 1900.
Of all the government programs in the world that put innocents at risk, is there one with a safer record and with greater protections than the US death penalty? Unlikely.
In fact, innocents are better protected with the death penalty.
BENKOF ADDS, "... two individuals had to witness the capital crime, and there had to be a 'kosher' warning before the act took place."
That was only for Jews, For all others, one witness would suffice and no warning was necessary.
Benkof continues, "The Talmud says that any court that imposed death on a convict once in seven years - or even once in 70 - was considered a 'bloody' court."
This is a common and unfortunate recitation since it excludes the response of a later Talmudic sage, Rabbi Simon ben Gamliel: "Such an attitude would increase bloodshed in Israel." In other words, by letting murderers live, you only embolden more murderers - an important omission by Benkof.
Benkof continues: "Finally, there is the issue of the humaneness of the death penalty. Under Jewish law, capital convicts would be given alcohol until they were intoxicated, so they would suffer less."
Suffer less? There were four methods of execution. If Jewish law were concerned with less suffering, why not pick only the least painful method? Why four, when three will always be worse than the fourth? In fact, all four were horrendous.
Benkof continues: "In the American system, convicts are first given a paralytic, so if they do suffer under the consequent two lethal drugs, they cannot express their pain. And there is significant evidence that they do suffer."
Benkof is factually in error. The paralytic is given second. The first drug given is a massive dose of barbiturate or other anesthesia, leaving the inmate in a coma state. Almost exclusively, the "evidence" of suffering with lethal injection is of the "maybe," "might," "could be" variety.
Benkof concludes: "But ultimately, it seems to me that life in prison without parole is a better option than the death penalty - in Israel, North America and throughout the world."
It would be helpful if (Bekof) would give a good reason why.
Rabbi Azriel Rosenfeld at RMD@JewishAnswers.org
68. Murderer and Protection of Life - Rotze'ach u-Shemiras Nefesh
It is forbidden to murder, as it says "You shall not murder".1
A murderer must be put to death, as it says "He shall be avenged"2;
it is forbidden to accept compensation from him instead, as it says "You shall not take redemption for the life of a murderer...; and there shall be no atonement for the blood that was spilled... except the blood of him that spilled it".3
It is forbidden to execute a murderer before he has stood trial, as it says "And the murderer shall not die until he stands before the congregation for judgment".4
However, we are commanded to prevent an attempted murder by killing the would-be murderer if necessary, and it is forbidden to refrain from doing so, as it says "And you shall cut off her hand; you shall not be merciful"5;
and similarly for attempted fornication, as it says "[If the man seizes her and lies with her...] just as a man rises up against his friend and murders him, so is this thing."6
It is forbidden to refrain from saving life when it is in one's power to do so, as it says "You shall not stand on your friend's blood."7,a
1. Ex. 20:13; Deut. 5:17
2. Ex. 21:20; see Lev. 24:17,21
3. Num. 35:31,33
4. Num. 35:12 d.
5. Deut. 25:12
6. Deut. 22:26
7. Lev. 19:16 a. 1:1,4-11,14
From Halacha Overview,
http://www.torah.org/learning/halacha-overview/chapter68.html
It is proper to challenge the "two eyewitness" requirement.
Is There a Biblical Requirement for Two Eyewitnesses for Criminal Prosecution?
http://prodpinnc.blogspot.com/2013/06/is-there-biblical-requirement-for-two.html
Norman, I'm just not the waiting type.
Dudley, thanks for your input. Since Israeli law isn't totally based on Jewish Law and does have capital punishment on the books for Nazis, I don't see why there should be a problem here.
That's the problem, the State of Israel doesn't base its laws on Torah but on secular law (which is really oxymoronic as Israel is the Jewish State which should make it adhere to Torah law). But, this is the era of the Erev Rav (keitz hayamim). To the point of the matter, they did execute Eichmann, yimach shmo, a Nazi, which these terrorists are also, Nazis, and capital punishment is necessary and correct according to Torah Law and secular law. The reason they don't execute these murderers is that they hold unto them solely for the purpose of trading them. On all accounts, they are wrong. Bottom line, Torah prohibits the releasing of these murderers and also demands capital punishment for them because they are the enemy. They are not Jewish citizens of the country where even in 70 years, there was not an execution. These are today's Nazis with Jewish blood on their hands.
Israeli Law is based on all sorts of legal systems including the Torah, and it's like one of those jokes about the committee.
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