Give killer death penalty

Op-ed: Brother of Itamar massacre victim Ruthie Fogel wants death sentence for killer

Reuters | Published: 10.05.11, 18:27

The man who murdered our sister Ruthie, her husband Udi, and their three children, Yoav, Elad and Hadas in cold blood is now on trial. The military court judges have the permission, privilege and duty to hand down a verdict against this despicable, loathsome creature and make our people stand tall again. At this time, we demand of the legal establishment that the terrorist’s sentence would be loud and clear – the death penalty.

All the questions that are up for debate on such day are worthy of discussion, and we shall respond to all of them, not out of a personal sense of revenge but as part of a genuine, broad vision that would mend all the rifts among our people.

Some will ask, shouldn’t such sentence only be handed out in unusual cases (the Eichmann trial for example?)

However, one line connects the Nazi archenemy to the murderers from Awarta, the animals who would have likely repeated their acts even if the family involved was from Jerusalem, Tel Aviv, Haifa or Ramle. They would have broke into any Jewish home and done it without any pangs of conscience.

There isn’t much difference whether this is Allahu Akbar or the Final Solution. The desire to exterminate the Jewish people had hundreds of names through history and it always expresses one desire – to exterminate us.

Some will ask, would such sentence deter the next terrorists?

Yet this should not be the consideration for the penalty, because there is one truth: Did these murderers perpetrate an act for which they no longer deserve to live? The answer to this is clear to all, to our regret.

Some will ask, should a death penalty be ordered, will similar penalties be give to Jewish murderers?

Yet there was never a case where a Jewish terrorist entered the home of an Arab family and butchered everyone he saw, including sleeping children and a three-month-old baby.

Some will ask, can’t there be mistakes with such verdict?

In this case there can be no mistakes, as the killers confessed and even said that they have no regret and are sorry they were unable to kill the other children, Tamar, Roi and Yishai. Does anything still think they didn’t do it?

In our conversations with Knesset members, ministers and numerous regular folk the general sense is clear: A line was crossed, and the response should also go beyond the regular bar (and it may not be exhausted with the death penalty, but rather, could include more effective means for deterrence: Home demolitions, the expulsion of families, and so on.)

We have no hint of a personal sense of revenge. However, we feel the push of the millions of Jews murdered through the course of history telling us: “We established a state and coped with worse. Overcome the upcoming difficult period and don’t believe the fearful words uttered before every meaningful step. Because if we believe in ourselves, in our abilities and in our righteousness, everything shall be possible.”

Alichai Ben-Yishai is the bother of Ruthie Fogel. He wrote the piece on behalf of the Ben-Yishai family.