National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir’s proposed death penalty bill would, if enacted, place Israel on par with Iran as a top global executioner. This is a likelihood that Israeli politicians and citizens would do well to realize as they consider voting for this law. The scepter of executions has the potential to do tremendous harm to Israel’s already precarious international standing as it seeks to distance itself from enemy nations like Iran. Israel claims to be diametrically opposed to the Iranian regime in terms of moral integrity, human rights adherence, and as a beacon of democracy in the Middle East. Executions in Israel would only align it with Iran in the minds of the world’s civilized nations, who would further equate both societies for their respective forms of religious fanaticism that seem to be dictating foundational law.

According to publicly reported figures, Iran consistently carries out more executions annually than any other country in the world. (Unofficially, China remains the top global executioner, with human rights organizations estimating that thousands of executions occur annually, though precise figures are classified as state secrets.) The Norwegian-based Iran Human Rights (IHR) recently reported that it had verified at least 1,500 executions in Iran between January and December of 2025 alone, adding that many more have taken place in the final weeks of the year. This death toll marks nearly double the amount of executions Iran carried out in 2024, when IHR was able to verify 975 executions – although the exact number is never certain as Iranian authorities do not give official figures. In all, Iran, Iraq, and Saudi Arabia were responsible for 91% of executions in 2024. (By comparison, the United States witnessed 25 executions in the same year.)

The thousands of members of the group L’chaim! Jews Against the Death Penalty are keenly aware of Iran’s international shame when it comes to its use of the death penalty. Members have partnered with various Iranian human rights organizations to vocalize their horror over Iran’s record. This advocacy included sounding the alarm for Nethanel ben Ziona Ghahremani, a 20-year-old Iranian Jew, whom the Ayatollahs executed in 2024 for a killing he committed in a clear-cut act of self-defense.

Image: Nethanel ben Ziona Ghahremani, a 20-year-old Iranian Jew, whom the Ayatollahs executed in 2024 for a killing he committed in a clear-cut act of self-defense.

 

While it remains unclear exactly how many convicted terrorists in Israeli prisons would be subject to execution under Ben-Gvir’s proposed bill, the number of human beings this law would condemn to death is easily comparable to Iran’s bloody ledger. As of late 2025, the tally of individuals in Israeli custody specifically for direct involvement in the October 7, 2023, massacre is estimated to be several hundred. However, a precise total remains difficult to confirm due to ongoing releases and legal classifications. This number includes approximately 250 members of Hamas’s elite Nukhba commando unit—those who participated directly in the initial border breach and attacks— who are reported to be in Israeli prisons under administrative detention. The New York Times also has cited public records indicating that Israel holds roughly 2,700 additional Palestinians detained in Gaza during the years of fighting following the terror attack. Israel imprisons these individuals for their links to Hamas or other terrorist organizations, though not necessarily for direct participation in the October 7 assault. Ben G’vir’s death penalty proposal could potentially result in death sentences for them all.

Ben-Gvir continues to tout his execution bill shamelessly, despite substantial public ridicule. In the wake of last week’s fatal ramming and stabbing of two Israeli citizens in Beit She’an, he falsely claimed that passing his execution law would help to deter others from committing such deadly acts of terror. Meta-studies have concluded time and again that when it comes to deterrence, there is no demonstrable link between the presence or absence of the death penalty and murder rates. The threat of the death penalty would not have deterred terrorist acts on October 7, 2023, just as it did not deter the Pittsburgh Tree of Life Shooter, who now faces execution. It would not have stopped the perpetrators of the heinous massacre at Bondi Beach in Sydney, Australia, this past Hanukkah, and it most certainly would have done nothing to prevent the unfathomable ramming and stabbing in Beit She’an, nor any other incomprehensible murderous act of the past, present, and future.

Ben-Gvir’s proposed legislation is nothing short of an abomination for all of Israel and the Jewish world. The members of L’chaim! Jews Against the Death Penalty have outlined ad nauseam the multiple reasons this bill merits the employment of this extreme descriptor. L’chaim recently delineated these points in a Hanukkah post enumerating in detail the “8 Reasons to Vote Against the Death Penalty this Hanukkah.” Those explanations include the fact that the death penalty will increase – not decrease – terrorist attacks by creating more shahids (martyrs), risks executing the innocent, does not bring “deterrence,” is racist in its application, violates the human right to life, often results in physical torture, always is psychological torture, and – from Adolph Hitler to Trump to Ben-Gvir – is used as a political tool, particularly for election campaigns. L’chaim also illustrated how Jewish tradition makes the death penalty virtually impossible, and how many execution methods are direct Nazi legacies, including firing squad, gassing, and lethal injection.

Of capital punishment, the renowned death penalty abolitionist, human rights activist, Nobel laureate author, and Holocaust survivor Elie Wiesel famously said that “Death Should Never be the Answer in a Civilized Society.” Over 70% of nations have realized this and abolished the death penalty in law or practice. It is time for Israel to pass this perennial barometer for civilized humanity and join the majority of nations on this crucial issue. Ben-Gvir’s bill does precisely the opposite by opening the Pandora’s Box of state-sponsored killings, lowering Israel’s status in the world, and giving fodder to antisemites everywhere who horrifically preach that Judaism is a “death cult.” As it has helped achieve for Iran, the death penalty would give Israel a pariah status in the collective consciousness, posing a recipe for disaster for the Jewish state and the safety of Jews across the world. Israelis of good conscience cannot let this happen on their watch, nor can any Jew across the globe.

Cantor Michael J. Zoosman, MSM, BCC

Co-Founder: L’chaim! Jews Against the Death Penalty

Advisory Committee Member: Death Penalty Action

Cantor Michael Zoosman (he/him/his) is a Certified Spiritual Care Practitioner with the Canadian Association for Spiritual Care/Association canadienne de soins spirituels (CASC/ACSS) and received his cantorial ordination from the Jewish Theological Seminary of America in 2008. He sits as an Advisory Committee Member at Death Penalty Action and is the co-founder of “L’chaim! Jews Against the Death Penalty.” Michael is a former Jewish prison chaplain and psychiatric hospital chaplain. Currently, he serves as a Spiritual Health Practitioner (Chaplain) for various mental health outreach teams, working with individuals in the community living with severe mental health disorders and addiction. He lives with his family in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada and is a progressive Zionist. His opinions are his own.