Death penalty bill: The end justifies the means
Op-ed: Michal Salomon, who lost her husband, father-in-law and sister-in-law in the Halamish terror attack, says her quest for death penalty for terrorists isn't driven by revenge but by the need to prevent the next murder.
Five and a half months have passed since we joined the bereavement family. It's not a long time, but it seems like forever.
During this time, I have gotten to know people and met families who were just like me not so long ago—whole and happy families, until fate took over.
Today, after personally experiencing terror, I think and believe the death penalty is the proper response to a terrorist who took someone's life. A man who got up in the morning and turned into a murderer won't go back to being a human being.
I am here in the name of the people and families who don’t know they're about to join the bereavement family. The quest for a death penalty isn't driven by revenge, but by the need to prevent the next murder. After all, no punishment will return our loved ones.
We have been waging a daily war on terror, on despicable people who sanctify death for the sake of respect and money, for a long time now. In this war, we must use every single tool at our disposal. The end justifies the means.
After the shocking murder of Yossi, Chaya and Elad, may God avenge their blood, I was certain the earth would move and something would change. I was certain anything would be done to prevent the next murder. Unfortunately, we weren't the last ones.
We must do everything in our power to restore deterrence. In addition to the death penalty bill which passed its preliminary reading at the Knesset on Wednesday, it's time to completely destroy terrorists' homes and revoke their citizenship. Every means of deterrence preserves the sanctity of life. By harming our means of deterrence, we are forfeiting human life.
Michal Salomon lost her husband Elad, her father-in-law Yossi and her sister-in-law Chaya in the Halamish terror attack.
