Australia’s leading Jewish community group has condemned Israel’s new death penalty mandate for Palestinians convicted of fatal attacks as falling “well short” of equal justice.
On Monday, Israel’s parliament, the Knesset, made execution by hanging the default sentence for Palestinians in the West Bank convicted of killing Israelis in “acts of terror”.
Israel’s ambassador to Australia, Hillel Newman, defended the legislation during an address at the National Press Club in Canberra on Tuesday, saying that due to geographic distance, countries like Australia may not “understand” Israel’s position.
“Sometimes people … in different, faraway countries can’t also understand the threat. They can’t understand the situation,” he said.
“We’re in a difficult neighbourhood … we have neighbours who are bent on the destruction of the state of Israel, who are bent on terrorism.”
The Executive Council of Australian Jewry (ECAJ), which has stood by Israel’s actions during its war in Gaza, said it held concern for the “discriminatory application” of the law passed by the Knesset.
“The act applies differential standards based on nationality alone,” a statement released by the group on Wednesday said.
“This falls well short of the principle of equal justice.
“Australia has a proud and consistent record of opposing the death penalty in all circumstances, for all people.”
The law mandates execution within 90 days of sentencing for Palestinians in the occupied territory, bans commutation of sentences and only permits life imprisonment in cases where “special reasons” are found.
The Jewish group said this provided “very limited judicial discretion” in cases heard by military courts.
“Capital punishment has not been practised under Jewish law for many centuries, a reflection of deeply held values about the sanctity of life and the limits of human judgement,” the statement reads.
Israel’s ultra-nationalist Otzma Yehudit party’s campaign for the legislation represents a “troubling departure” from the principles that have guided Israeli law and Jewish tradition, ECAJ said.
Israel’s move has sparked widespread international condemnation, including from the United Nations and human rights groups.
Australia made a joint statement alongside France, Germany, Italy and the United Kingdom in criticising the law.
Its “de-facto discriminatory character” was a worrying development that undermined Israel’s international standing, the statement said.
Law professor Ben Saul, a United Nations human rights expert, staunchly criticised the laws.
“Israel must immediately repeal the discriminatory death penalty law passed today by the Knesset, as it contravenes Israel’s obligations under international law,” he said in a post on X.
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