What Matters Now to Haviv Rettig Gur: Death penalty for terrorists?

Welcome to a bonus episode of What Matters Now, a weekly podcast exploring key issues currently shaping Israel and the Jewish World, with host deputy editor Amanda Borschel-Dan speaking with senior analyst Haviv Rettig Gur.

This week, we answer a slew of listeners' responses to our conversation last week, "Excruciating dilemmas as murderers set to be released," about the painful issue of the release of Palestinian security prisoners as part of the hostage release-ceasefire deal.

We received dozens of emails from listeners who asked how an Israeli implementation of the death penalty for mass murderers may shift future terrible negotiations as the nation currently reels from the reality that terrorists with blood on their hands are being freed.

We speak about the two cases in which Nazis were sentenced with the death penalty and one case in which an Israeli IDF officer was executed by a firing squad in 1948 after being falsely accused of treason.

The death penalty is still on the books in Israel, ostensibly. If it were enacted for terrorists who are serving multiple life sentences, could it reduce the "exchange value" for Israeli hostages?

And so this week, we ask Haviv Rettig Gur, what matters now.

What Matters Now podcasts are available for download on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube or wherever you get your podcasts. This episode was produced by the Pod-Waves. 

IMAGE: Zakaria Zubeidi, 49, a Palestinian prisoner and former a top commander in the Al-Aqsa Martyrs’ Brigades who was released by Israel, waves a Palestinian flag as he is cheered by people after arriving in Ramallah aboard buses of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), on January 30, 2025. (AHMAD GHARABLI / AFP)

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