NJN Slams Israel’s New Racist Death Penalty Law

March 30, 2026—The Knesset today passed a law establishing hanging as the default punishment for Palestinians convicted of lethal attacks, but not for Israeli Jews convicted of the same crimes.

The death penalty is wrong—and imposing it in a discriminatory manner is even more so. By creating a separate and unequal legal standard—imposing the death penalty on Palestinians who kill Israelis while excluding Israeli Jews who kill Palestinians—the law enshrines inequality and embodies racism.

New Jewish Narrative spoke out against this law for months, alongside Britain, France, Germany, and Italy and other traditional allies of Israel. Israeli civil rights groups have already filed petitions asking the Israeli Supreme Court to intervene. We hope that the court will strike down this profoundly unjust law. 

“We are living in a moment when settlers are murdering Palestinians with impunity in the West Bank,” said Hadar Susskind, President and CEO of New Jewish Narrative. “Passing this law will only embolden those Jewish terrorists.

“Neither justice nor security can be built on discrimination. Laws that value one life over another do not make anyone safer. They deepen division, fuel violence, and erode the moral and democratic foundations that should guide any society.”