There are few more hackneyed adages than the statement that a picture is worth a thousand words. It’s not always true; a picture can be deeply misleading, and words are often essential to giving context.
But often a picture does indeed say almost all that needs to be said. One such picture emerged on Monday night, after the Israeli Knesset passed a bill which enables the use of the death penalty for deadly acts of terror. The bill was promoted by National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir and after it passed, he was pictured celebrating with a bottle of champagne.
I do not think I have ever seen a more revealing picture in my life. Revealing is not quite the word; more like revolting. His presence in the Israeli government is not just a stain on Benjamin Netanyahu, whose need for the support of Ben-Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich in order to stay in power brought them both into the cabinet, breaking a convention that had lasted since Israel’s independence in 1948 that no such figures would ever be brought into a coalition. Their presence is a stain on Israel itself – and, of course, provides easy ammunition to Israel’s enemies, who use Ben-Gvir and Smotrich’s presence in government to paint Israel as being racist and fascist.
But no one picture has ever before captured just how repellent a figure Ben-Gvir really is – celebrating the passing of what is by definition, even for most of its supporters, a sombre bill with champagne, smiles and joy.
My point here is not about the bill itself. I do not for a moment accuse all those who support it of base motives or immorality. There are good people, and good arguments, on both sides of the divide. For the purposes of this piece, for example, you don’t even need to know what I think about the death penalty generally or the Israeli bill in particular, although I’ll be open. I used to be in favour. I could not see why, for example, child murderers who had committed some of the most unspeakable crimes imaginable should not pay the ultimate price. Similarly, with terrorists – the issue at stake with the Israeli bill.
I have, however, changed my mind. Other than in war, I do not think the state should seek to take people’s lives. I don’t think the evidence suggests the death penalty is the deterrent those of us who once supported it considered it to be. And, most obviously, there are too many miscarriages of justice for it to be a safe punishment.
But as I say, the issue here is not whether or not the bill that has just passed the Knesset is right or wrong. That is an essential, vital debate, but it is not the one I am concerned with here. My focus is on the mindset and behaviour of Itamar Ben-Gvir.
Because surely, for Jews especially, even if you think the death penalty is just and right, it is not something to revel in. Sanctifying life is the cord which runs through almost every aspect of Judaism. L’chaim – to life – we exclaim. Ben-Gvir’s celebration of death is profoundly un-Jewish. Sometimes, yes, the state has to kill terrorists in order to preserve the lives of its citizens, as Israel has been doing in Gaza. But it is not a celebration – it is a burden, no matter how righteous the cause.
Ben-Gvir has form in the celebration of death. For much of the past year he has worn a pin-badge on his jacket collar which takes the hostage ribbon and converts it into a golden noose – in support of the bill which has just passed, and more generally in support of the killing of terrorists in Gaza. For Ben-Gvir, the celebration of death seems almost the most important element in politics. First it was the golden noose. Now champagne. Ben-Gvir could not be clearer who and what he is.
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