Are Crime Victims Being Gagged Under the Israeli Criminal Justice Procedures?

In this conceptual article we examine the issues revolving around crime victims' participation under the Israeli criminal procedure in recent years. As such, the article discusses the official status of victims, the protections guaranteed by local legislation during the various legal stages--beginning with the criminal investigation procedure through the protections guaranteed under law, and their routine implementation. Specifically, the article discusses changes in Israeli legislation and practice in regard to victims' rights, while comparing them to those in other countries. Further, the article discusses the introduction of restorative justice to legal procedures in Israel, and its relevance to victims' rights. It concludes with a recommendation to establish a standardized policy that will assure victims' rights in order to secure their status while also ensuring that they are being exposed to a therapeutic process that is much needed for the victims, and in particular for domestic and sexual assault victims

Difficulties and Challenges in an Employment Supervision Program for Paroled Prisoners

The integration of paroled prisoners in employment is presented in the theoretical and research-based literature as one of the principal means of achieving successful re-entry by the prisoners into the community. The literature deals extensively with the correlation between integration and perseverance in employment and risk indices, the most pronounced of which is a return to crime. According to the Theory of Desistance from Crime, it is not enough for criminal activity to cease; a complex process must set in motion to bring about a change in perceptions and behaviour in all walks of life, especially regarding employment. A key program being implemented by Israel's Prisoner Rehabilitation Authority is one involving an employment guidance and supervision program for paroled prisoners. The program emphasizes employment in all its facets – placement, support during the period of employment and supervision during parole – alongside psychological treatment and rehabilitation in the community. Operating the program are employment supervisors and psychotherapists. In order to understand how the program is managed and perceived by its operators, in-depth interviews were conducted with seven psychotherapists and employment counsellors in the framework of the present qualitative-interpretive research. The article describes the perceptions of the personnel responsible for running the program during the period 2018-2020. The findings of the research highlight the difficulties and limitations the prisoners face, harmony and dissonance in the encounter between supervisors and psychotherapists, the dilemma over protection of society vs. assistance to the prisoners, employment characteristics as indicative of the rehabilitation process, and the merits of the program. The article also discusses the contribution of employment supervision to successful reintegration of paroled prisoners in normative employment and society

The "Black Box" Behind Prison-Based Vocational Training Programs

Despite the great importance of prison vocational programs, studies have pointed to a wide variety of barriers that inhibit the released prisoner's chances to integrate into the labor market. The present qualitative investigation was designed to crack the "black box" behind six vocational programs implemented in the Israel Prison Service (IPS). Our findings based on the interviews with all the supervisors in the programs emphasized several factors that seem necessary for the success of the different vocational programs. The interviews show that training in a correctional environment poses a number of major difficulties for the respondents. Furthermore, a significant part of the prisoners' motivation to participate in the training programs is not necessarily related to the desire to find work after release. It was also found that a relatively long training, which makes it possible to find work in the field even during the period of incarceration, holistically addresses the various needs of the prisoner, and corresponds to the job market requirements, increases the chances of its participants to find employment also after their release from prison. When the characteristics of the various programs were examined, it was found that in addition to the characteristics of prisoners, one must also consider structural characteristics such: to what extent do the programs comply with the requirements of the Israeli labor market, confer a formal diploma at the end of the training period, or allow integration into the work force after release

"Judaism Intertwines with Worldly Good": A Qualitative Study on Religious Rehabilitation Programs in the Israeli Prison Service

Background: Religion with its religious institutions has played a key role in shaping punishment and rehabilitation of offenders throughout history. The aim of these programs is to transform a person spiritually and lead them to intra-personal changes on the religious level by prompting repentance or the reaffirmation of one's faith. Objectives: We present qualitative findings from an evaluation of two religious programs operating in the Israeli Prison Service: The Torah Rehabilitation Program (TRP) that functions as a religious community within prison walls, and the Torah Study Program (TSP) in which prisoners participate faith-based studies four hours a day. The main research question that led the researchers was how Judaism provides opportunities for prisoner’s rehabilitation. Method: This research is a qualitative study that includes seven interviews with seven Rabbis who work in the Israeli Prison Service and lead the religious programs. The interviewees were involved in the formulation and implementation of the religious correctional programs. Results: The interviewees have raised a link between Jewish beliefs and practices, including atonement, and the foundations of prisoners’ rehabilitation. Among the themes that have been raised: promoting moral action; giving prisoners a second chance; providing opportunities for repentance and atonement; supervision; placing emphasis on behavioral norms; focusing on belonging and commitment to a community; working alongside Torah; learning and providing a unique response to each individual according to their characteristics and needs. Conclusions: The emerging themes raised in the interviews correspond well with theoretical ideas found in the field of corrections in general and in positive criminology in particular

The Role of RASSF1A in Uveal Melanoma

1, 5, 6 PURPOSE. RASSF1A inactivation in uveal melanoma (UM) is common and methylation-induced. We investigated the effect of RASSF1A re-expression on the UM phenotype in vivo and in vitro. METHODS. The phenotypic effect of methylation-induced inactivation of RASSF1A in UM was explored using a stable RASSF1A-expressing UM-15 clone. RASSF1A expression was assessed using QRT-PCR. Proliferation was evaluated in vitro using MTT assays. Additionally, athymic NOD/SCID mice were injected subcutaneously or intraocularly with RASSF1A-expressing and -non-expressing UM-15 clones, and euthanized when tumors reached a volume of 1500 mm 3 , or at 56 or 46 days, respectively. Tumor tissues, eyes, and livers were analyzed histologically. RESULTS. In vitro analysis confirmed the lack of RASSF1A expression and full methylation of the RASSF1A promoter region in the UM-15 cell line, which was reversible following treatment with 5-Aza-2-deoxycytidine. Cells expressing exogenous RASSF1A showed slower proliferation than controls and regained sensitivity to cisplatin. Compared to mice injected with control cells, mice treated with UM-15 cells expressing exogenous RASSF1A did not acquire intraocular tumors, and their subcutaneous tumors were relatively delayed and small. Neither group had liver metastases. CONCLUSIONS. UM cells reduced tumorigenicity in the presence of activated RASSF1A. RASSF1A apparently has an important role in the development of UM, and its reactivation might be applied in the development of new treatments. (Invest Ophthalmol Vis Sci. 2012;53:2611-2619) DOI:10.1167/ iovs.11-7730 U veal melanoma (UM) is the most common form of primary eye cancer in adults, with an annual incidence of 6-7 cases per million per year. 1 It accounts for 80% of all noncutaneous melanomas and 13% of all deaths caused by melanoma. The tumor carries up to 50% 5-year mortality from metastasis. 3,4 However, their biological and clinical behaviors differ. 2 Additionally, although alterations of chromosomes 1 and 6 are common to both tumors, aberrations, such as monosomy of chromosome 3 and gain of 8q, in addition to other aberrations, typically are found only in UM. 9 Studies revealed that a mutation in the alpha subunit of the heterotrimeric G gene (GNAQ) was present in almost half of all UMs examined, 9-15 and that UM metastatic spread was related to mutations in the BRCA associated protein 1 (BAP1) gene on chromosome 3. 9 Aberrant promoter hypermethylation of CpG islands is thought to have an important role in the inactivation of tumor suppressor genes (TSGs) in cancer. 21 From th

Reconstructing the Narrative of Rape in the Kibbutz by the Israeli Press

The author proposes that national press coverage of sex crimes in Israeli kibbutzim is intended to restructure the public’s perception by showing that such crimes are a symptom of broader social problems. Articles about a rape incident in Kibbutz Shomrat published during 1991–1995 in the local kibbutz press are compared with a sample of articles dealing with the same subject in two of the largest daily Israeli newspapers during the same period. Coverage by both sources of a later story of rape in another kibbutz from 2005 is also examined. The author demonstrates that the national press used the rape incident to invalidate the presumed moral superiority of the kibbutz movement and presented the crime as a symptom of the broad ideological and social crisis faced by the kibbutz movement. The local kibbutz press used a “defensive attribution” mechanism to construct their narrative, allowing kibbutz members to distance themselves, and the values their community professes, from the rape case