#267 / Editorial
Following the Knesset’s vote on the proposed death penalty bill, we felt it would be useful to share with readers outside Israel the views of the legal figures most deeply involved in building and defending the Israeli rule of law on this legislation, as well as on the political developments that made its passage possible. We therefore consulted Mordechai Kremnitzer, one of the principal architects of Israel’s General Penal Code, a former military judge, and now Professor Emeritus at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and Senior Research Fellow at the Institute for Democracy in Israel, who, along with several colleagues, published a strong condemnation of the first version of this bill in February 2023. In his interview with Julia Christ, he revisits the reasons for this opposition to a law described as “a stain on Israel’s legislative record” and explains why amendments to the existing law—since the death penalty has never been formally abolished in Israel for certain crimes —have transformed it into a discriminatory law and undermine the legal standards of the rule of law. But it is also an opportunity for him to describe the small steps that have led to this situation, where it is no longer merely a matter of worrying about the dangerous path the Jewish state has taken, but of asking to what extent it has effectively become something other than a liberal democracy. Kremnitzer thus recalls the accumulation of laws that, over the past 15 years, have profoundly altered the rule of law, the persecution of Palestinians in the West Bank, as well as the reduction of the concept of democracy, in public discourse, to a matter of majority rule. For those who know, from historical experience, what Zionism means in terms of protecting minorities, this is not merely a disappointment, but a truly tragic situation. For the fact that Israel now asserts its predominantly Jewish character against its minorities—and thus denies its own DNA—does not erase this experience. It does not negate the knowledge that no liberal democracy can guarantee a safe haven for Jews… with the exception of an Israel that Kremnitzer sees drifting further away every day.
Related articles
Israel: An illiberal democracy?
"We, Italian Jews: A Minority within the Minority"
From the Imaginary Jew to the Non-Existent Jew
During the “K. on Stage” event on February 5, the editor of the Italian edition of K., Ada Treves, painted a portrait of Italian Judaism in its most “noble” and least ostentatious form. Contrary to the better-known narratives of European Jewish life, this is an ancient, discreet, layered presence—a minority within a minority. A world that is largely invisible, devoid of folklore, where apparent obscurity does not hinder either continuity or the strength of existence.
This week the Italian issue of K. is also celebrating its 50th issue! If you or anyone you know is interested in delving into the Italian side of K., you can do so here.
Lastly, Pierre Savy and Lisa Vapné have just published A Brief History of Antisemitic Beliefs and Prejudices (Une brève histoire des croyances et préjugés antisémites) with Seuil. This week, in its first English translation, we are publishing excerpts from the book, including a passage—“From the Imaginary Jew to the Non-Existent Jew”—that explores the paradox of a frenzy that cannot help but produce fictional Jews, as if the antisemitic person could not do without those he would like to see disappear.
