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Rabbis and Jewish leaders Call for the Halt of the Death Penalty

We believe that government must protect the dignity and rights of every human being; with the death penalty, our country fails to live up to this basic requirement.

We, the undersigned Jewish leaders across denominations, express our opposition to the use of the death penalty in America.



As Jews and citizens, we believe that governments must protect the dignity and rights of every human being. By using the death penalty, our country fails to live up to this basic requirement.



Too often, the wrong person is convicted for crimes they did not commit. Owing to their socio-economic situation or lack of access to legal resources, wrongly convicted people often have no real opportunity to respond to an overwhelming legal system that, after an initial conviction, makes the proof of innocence very difficult. The consequences of this system are not only fundamentally unjust but also produce racially disparate outcomes. Additionally, tax payers are required to pay exorbitant amounts to maintain death row.



The rabbis taught that a court that often puts others to death is deeply problematic. How often? Rabbi Eliezer ben Azariah says, "Every 70 years." Rabbi Tarfon and Rabbi Akiva say, "If we were in a court, no person would ever be executed," (Makkot 7a). While not categorically opposed to capital punishment, the rabbis saw the death penalty as so extreme a measure that they all but removed it from their system of justice. In contrast, our American system today lacks the highest safeguards to protect the lives of the innocent and uses capital punishment all too readily.



We do not naively believe that everyone on death row is completely innocent of any crime. Yet, it is time to see the death penalty for what it is: not as justice gone awry, but a symptom of injustice as status quo. "You must rescue those taken off to death!"(Proverbs 24:11)!



As Jewish community leaders, we are calling for an end to a cruel practice, but also for the beginning of a new paradigm of fair, equitable restorative justice.



Rabbi Dr. Yitz Greenberg

Rabbi Dov Linzer

Rabbi Dr. Shmuly Yanklowitz

Rabbi Ari Hart

Rabbi Dr. Yehudah Mirsky

Rosh Kehillah Dina Najman

Rabbi Dr. Elisha Ancselovits

Rabbi David Jaffe - Kirva Institute

Rabbi Dr. Art Green

Rabbi Sharon Brous

Rabbi Jason Kimelman-Block

Rabbi Michael Latz

Rabbi Dr. Sid Schwarz

Rabbi Rachel Kahn-Troster

Rabbi David Teutsch

Rabbi Menachem Creditor

Rabbi Micah Caplan

Rabbi David Bauman

Rabbi David Kalb

Rabbi Barry Dolinger

Rabbi Daniel Raphael Silverstein

Rabbi Dr. Michael Chernick

Rabbi Gabe Greenberg

Rabbi Ariel Evan Mayse

Rabbi David Polsky

Rabbi Jason Herman

Rabbi Jenny Solomon

Rabbi Barat Ellman

Rabbi Tracee Rosen

Rabbi Dean Shapiro

Rabbi David Segal

Rabbi Adina Allen

Rabbi Andy Koren

Rabbi Robin Nafshi

Rabbi Elana Kanter

Rabbi Abby Sosland

Rabbi Jacob Fine

Rabbi Dr. Miriyam Glazer

Rabbi Suzanne Singer

Rabbi Daniel Kirzane

Rabbi Michael Rothbaum

Rabbi Nina H Mandel

Rabbi Marc Soloway

Rabbi Jocee Hudson

Rabbi Jack Silver

Rabbi Sarah Leah Grafstein

Rabbi Bonnie Sharfman

Rabbi Leo Michel Abrami

Rabbi Michael Goldman

Rabbi Jean Eglinton

Rabbi Sheila Peltz Weinberg

Rabbi Evan Schultz

Rabbi Ari Lucas

Rabbi Ahud Sela

Rabbi Dr. Cheryl Weiner

Rabbi Robert Scheinberg

Rabbi David Spinrad

Rabbi Joshua Ratner

Rabbi Aaron Alexander

Rabbi Sam Feinsmith

Rabbi Mel Gottlieb

Rabbi Jonah Geffen

Rabbi Elliott Tepperman

Rabbi Morris Allen

Rabbi Dennis Linson

Rabbi Derek Rosenbaum

Rabbi Devorah Marcus

Rabbi Toba Spitzer

Rabbi Neil Comess-Daniels

Rabbi David Lerner

Rabbi Fred Scherlinder Dobb

Rabbi Jonah Pesner