Anti-Israel activist groups have planned a rally on Tuesday in New York City to protest newly enacted Israeli legislation expanding the use of the death penalty for convicted terrorists.
The protest, billed as “Protest Against Prisoner Executions: Stop Genocide Behind Bars,” is scheduled for 2 p.m. at 800 Second Ave., the site of Israel’s permanent mission to the United Nations.
Organizers include CUNY for Palestine, Al-Awda: The Palestine Right to Return Coalition, Writers Against the War on Gaza, the Columbia Palestine Solidarity Coalition and a chapter of Students for Justice in Palestine at City College of New York.
“Flood the streets for Palestinian prisoners,” the groups wrote in a joint call to action. In a statement, organizers described the legislation as an “escalation” and alleged mistreatment of Palestinian detainees in Israeli custody.
Israel’s Knesset approved the measure on March 30 in a 62–48 vote. The law allows courts to impose the death penalty on those convicted of carrying out deadly attacks deemed acts of terrorism, with military courts in the West Bank empowered to issue such sentences.
The legislation marks a significant shift in Israeli penal policy. Israel has rarely used capital punishment; it’s last execution was that of Nazi war criminal Adolf Eichmann in 1962.
