(JNS) The images from the Knesset shocked many around the world. When Israeli Minister of Security Itamar Ben-Gvir popped a bottle of champagne to celebrate the passage of a law imposing the death penalty on terrorists whose goal is to destroy the State of Israel, he was widely condemned for demonstrating execrable taste, for which he was admonished by Knesset Speaker Amir Ohana. Indeed, the blowback against the 62-47 vote in favor of the measure in its final readings went beyond disgust with the always-controversial Ben-Gvir. The law itself was widely denounced as an act of discrimination against Palestinian Arabs, who were, critics claimed, being singled out for punishment.
The international outrage about the so-called “racist” death penalty law is part of a familiar narrative about Israel that has become normalized in mainstream media coverage of the Jewish state in recent years. It fits in with the torrent of stories about an alleged epidemic of “settler”...
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