1. United States
2. Ore.
3. Letter

I am writing as your constituent to urge you to take immediate action in response to Israel's Penal Bill (Amendment No. 159), passed by the Knesset on March 30, 2026, which legalizes the death penalty within Israel's military detention system. This legislation is deeply alarming for several reasons: Israel's military detention system has been documented by the United Nations and multiple human rights organizations as characterized by systemic discrimination, torture, coerced confessions, prolonged detention without charge, and the absence of due process. Introducing an irreversible punishment — execution — into this system does not create justice. It makes permanent what is already unlawful. The bill disproportionately targets Palestinian prisoners, including children. Research by Save the Children shows that between 500 and 700 Palestinian children are arrested each year and prosecuted in Israeli military courts. Physicians for Human Rights has documented at least 94 Palestinian deaths in Israeli custody between October 2023 and August 2025, linked to torture, medical neglect, and inhuman conditions. Legalizing executions in this context amounts to state-sanctioned killing. As Israel's primary political, military, and diplomatic backer, the United States has a direct responsibility here. Continued military aid and weapons transfers that sustain this detention system put the U.S. in violation of its own stated commitments to human rights and international law. I urge you to: 1. Publicly condemn this legislation and call for its immediate repeal. 2. Support a suspension of military aid and weapons transfers to Israel until meaningful human rights protections are in place. 3. Demand immediate protections for Palestinian prisoners, particularly children, women, and the seriously ill. 4. Support independent international investigations into deaths in Israeli custody. The United States cannot claim to uphold human rights while funding and shielding a system that executes people without fair trial. I ask you to stand on the right side of history.