Jewish group protests against nitrogen hypoxia as method of execution
NEW ORLEANS (WGNO) — The group Jews Against Gassing gathered on the steps of the Touro Synagogue to protest against the state's plan to execute death row inmates using nitrogen hypoxia.
'We cannot stand silent while prisoners are executed in our names, using a method that echoes those horrors,' Aaron Bloch with the Jewish Federation of New Orleans said. 'We stand here today to ask Governor Landry and the state of Louisiana to say no to gassing.'
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Gov. Jeff Landry says the state has finalized its protocol for using nitrogen gas as an alternative method of execution alongside lethal injection.
Members of the Jewish community are now gathering to voice their opposition, drawing parallels to the atrocities of the holocaust.
'For us, the use of gassing for execution is not just another form of capital punishment, it is a painful echo of genocide,' Rabbi David Cohen–Henriquez said. 'Nitrogen hypoxia involves forcing an inmate to suffocate by inhaling nitrogen gas through a face mask.'
The method was first used in January of last year when the state of Alabama executed 58-year-old Kenneth Smith. Despite claims it would be painless, witnesses reported Smith shook, convulsed and gasped for air for nearly 22 minutes until he was pronounced dead.
'For us, the use of gassing for execution is not just another form of capital punishment. It is a painful echo of genocide,' Rabbi Katie Bauman said.
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The state of Louisiana has not carried out an execution since 2010. In recent years, states have had trouble obtaining drugs used for lethal injections, which is largely the reason for the introduction of nitrogen hypoxia.
'The historical association with this execution method is chilling and undeniable, eliciting a visceral response that evokes not justice but genocide,' Naomi Yavneh Klos with the Jews Against Gassing coalition said.
According to the Death Penalty Information Center, there are currently 63 people on death row in Louisiana.
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Jewish group protests against nitrogen hypoxia as method of execution
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And yet I feel that the duly elected leader in the United States and the duly elected leader in Israel are both tearing down the very structures on which the countries are founded. And it's causing me tremendous heartache every day.' The mix of dread and relief reflected in some comments also appeared in the nonpartisan American Jewish Committee's recent open letter that praised a federal task force on antisemitism but warned about the effect of deep cuts at universities. 'We are concerned that ... lifesaving scientific research and other critical fields that have little connection to the areas where antisemitism has manifested may be harmed by arbitrary, across the board cuts to grants and research contracts,' the letter said. Last spring, Westwood was suffused with rage. The encampment erected by pro-Palestinian activists became a global news story in May after a melee instigated by pro-Israel counterdemonstrators erupted. UCLA's inability to stop it sparked intense criticism. The violence, among the university's darkest chapters, brought change. Those interviewed noted a turning point: Julio Frenk — whose German Jewish father fled Nazi Germany in the 1930s — becoming chancellor on Jan. 1. The university has also overhauled security and hired LAPD veteran Steve Lurie to lead the new Office of Campus Safety. Noting the 'pain and fear' that antisemitism had brought on campus, Frenk said, 'UCLA is unwavering in its commitment to building a campus community in which Jewish students — and all members of our community — feel safe, respected and welcome.' Senior Mia Toubian, 20, who is news editor of Ha'Am, UCLA's student-run Jewish newsmagazine, praised Frenk for banning Students for Justice in Palestine as a campus organization in March following a protest the group held in front of a UC regent's house that was vandalized. 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Lurie said that when police approached the building to arrest those blocking the entrance, they 'ran and kind of scattered.' The protesters' faces were covered, he said, making it impossible to identify them via recordings. But some at UCLA said the changes have been dramatic — for the better. Sharon Nazarian, founder of the Younes & Soraya Nazarian Center for Israel Studies at UCLA, noted a peaceful UCLA Hillel vigil and walk through campus to mark the first anniversary of the Hamas attack would have been 'unfathomable the previous academic year.' 'That,' she said, 'is a sea change for me.' A few USC students praised university leadership for protecting Jewish students. Ben Sheyman, 22, grew up in San Francisco, but his life as a Jew was partly shaped by his immigrant parents' experience in their home countries: Ukraine and Belarus — places where Jews were persecuted. When his family came to the U.S., it was supposed to be different. 'Here, you are as American as anybody else,' said Sheyman, who graduated this spring. But walking to class in the 2023-24 school year, Sheyman would see signs with slogans like 'End Zionism.' It was, he said, 'really unsettling.' Still, Sheyman felt unsafe just once, when a crowd of masked protesters held items emblazoned with 'Nazi symbols,' he said. The tighter security changed things for the better, he said. Cooper also felt safer in recent months, but related an upsetting run-in. She wears a Star of David necklace, and once, in the months after the Oct. 7 attack, a passerby hurled an extremely offensive Jewish slur at her as she walked near campus. She praised administrators' decision to close the campus gates, even if she has some reservations. 'Whether it's politically correct or not, I do feel safer,' she said. USC said in a statement that it 'continues to publicly and unequivocally denounce antisemitism in all its forms and has taken strong actions to protect all of our students ... from illegal discrimination of any kind.' It also touted the 'enhanced security protocols' and the launch of new mandatory seminars 'devoted specifically to free expression and civic discourse.' For some at USC, though, the fractures in their lives — the loss of friendships, the alienation from peers or professors — linger. People like Wallack. Her time at USC after the Oct. 7 attack was discombobulating. She left her sorority because she felt it did not voice sufficient support for Israel, and moved home. 'I don't really feel like I found my people at USC as a result of Oct. 7,' she said. Sitting in the shade at the USC Village in early May, Wallack touched her Star of David necklace and explained that she would not attend graduation ceremonies. Instead, Wallack departed for Israel. A business fellowship awaited.
