Page 319 - EFI-RAV ZILBERSTIN_VOL 8.EFI-RAV ZILBERSTIN_VOL 8.1A

Pg: 319 - 10-Back 21-10-31

277: HANDING OVER A
MURDERER TO THE
POLICE IN A COUNTRY
WHERE MURDERERS
ARE EXECUTED

ɳ Question

An incident took place abroad involving a lowly Jewish murderer who
killed his innocent colleague Shimon when Shimon tried to find a
place to earn a decent, honest livelihood and the murderer was in-
terested in acquiring the same business but was unable to because
Shimon had preceded him, so he killed him. During his flight after
the murder he sustained injury and came to a Jewish physician and
asked him to treat him and dress his wounds. Under that country’s
laws the physician must report this to the authorities and they will
apparently kill him because they impose capital punishment. If the
physician doesn’t hand him over to the police and the matter is dis-
covered, the physician is liable to be put in prison.

What should the Jewish physician do? Should he hand him over
to the authorities even though it seems that they will kill him or is he
forbidden to hand him over because a Jew may not hand over a fellow
Jew to be killed, even though the physician may be imprisoned and
perhaps lose his livelihood?

Dr. Sody Namier, Neveh Dekalim,
Gazah Beach

Handing a Criminal over for Punishment 2 303