Israel Prison Research Articles

Attitudes of nurses, paramedics, and medics towards security prisoners: a cross-sectional study

BackgroundSecurity prisoners in Israel are those imprisoned due to offenses involving harming state security or from nationalistic motivations. On the one hand, they are accused of a serious criminal offense that harmed state security, while on the other hand they have a right to healthcare like any human being. According to the Theory of Planned Behavior, an attitude is one of three components that predict a behavior intention. The study aims to evaluate the attitudes of nurses, paramedics, and medics toward security prisoners, and to identify factors that could be related to their attitudes.MethodsA cross-sectional study, conducted using a convenience sample. Attitudes toward security prisoners were measured using the Attitudes Towards Prisoners (ATP) questionnaire. The study included 281 participants. The results show that the nationality of staff members (Jewish, Muslim, or Christian) did not influence their attitudes toward security prisoners (p > 0.05).ResultsStaff members who had treated a security prisoner showed a more positive attitude compared with those who had never treated a security prisoner (p < 0.05). The study also found that the youngest group of participants (20–30 years) had a lower average attitude compared with older age groups (p < 0.05). This may be due to the younger participants’ closer age to the experience of military service.ConclusionsThis study showed that there is no connection between staff members’ nationality and their attitudes toward security prisoners. This indicates that the staff treat patients in accordance with the equality value. By characterizing variables related to the staff’s attitudes we can propose appropriate training programs for the studied staff and the introduction of this topic into the various curricula in Israel, thus improving the quality of staff care.

Assessment of Nutritional Status and Health Perception among Male Inmates in Israeli Prisons.

The nutritional and health perceptions of inmates are crucial to their overall well-being. However, limited research has been conducted on this topic. This study aimed to assess the nutritional and health perception state of male inmates in eleven prisons in Israel. A cross-sectional study was conducted between February and September 2019 with 176 voluntary participants. Structured questionnaires were used to collect data on socio-demographic characteristics, healthy habits, subjective health status, and prison situation variables. The study found that the prevalence of overweight (40%) and obesity (18.1%) among 18-34-year-old inmates was significantly higher than in the reference Israeli population. Short detention periods (up to one year) predicted less weight gain, while older age predicted poorer health status. Better emotional status significantly predicted better subjective health status among male inmates. There is a need for nutrition interventions to improve the health of inmates. The significant weight gain during incarceration and the associated lower health index and stress highlights the importance of increasing knowledge and promoting a healthier lifestyle in incarceration as early as possible and continuing over time.

Ethnic affiliation and reentry difficulties and barriers among parolees

The empirical literature on prisoners’ reentry process points to several obstacles they face upon release. This study focuses on the subjective perceptions of paroled prisoners in Israel regarding the difficulties they face and whether there is a difference between Jewish and Arab parolees regarding the significance they attribute to these difficulties. The study also compares these subjective perceptions of paroled prisoners to the perceptions of Prisoner Rehabilitation Authority workers regarding the difficulties released prisoners face on parole. The sample included 346 paroled prisoners and 75 Prisoner Rehabilitation Authority workers. The findings reveal significant gaps between the paroled prisoners and PRA workers regarding the importance they attributed to the reentry difficulties. Almost no significant differences were found between Jewish and Arab paroled prisoners. The current article offers several possible explanations for the gaps found regarding the significance of the difficulties accompanying the reintegration process.

Palestinian Satellite Media in the Service of Palestinian Prisoners in Israel’s Occupation Prisons: An Analytical Study

This study aims to shed light on the role of the Palestinian satellite media in serving prisoners in the prisons of the occupier and the extent of its ability to develop its media coverage and harness it in defending these prisoners, shouting their voices, conveying their suffering, and mobilizing the local, regional, and global audience behind their cause. The paper was based on its content analysis methodology. This study focused on the media coverage of the Palestinian satellite channels specified in the research's subject throughout 2021, from the first month of January to the last day of the last week of the previous month of December. In the most noticeable results of this study, despite the massive pain and the importance of the issue, the Palestinian visual media did not seek to equate its media coverage with the importance of this issue and the sacrifices of its children. Behind digging up the truth and facing the world with it. The Palestinian visual media was at the quantitative level, so it sought to cover various issues extensively. Still, it was qualitatively superficial, transient, traditional, lagging the language of the modern world, and from the voice and strictness of the law, fluctuating in its coverage and seasonal in its use.

Unravelling the “Black Box”: Treatment-Staff Perceptions of Hermon Prison’s Drug-Rehabilitation Program

This current qualitative study analyzed treatment-staff perceptions of the advantages and weaknesses of Israeli’s primary prison-based drug rehabilitation program, as implemented in Hermon Prison in Israel. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 12 social workers and recovery mentors who worked as therapists in Hermon Prison during the research period. The analysis showed that the main advantages described were that the program was varied (included psychotherapy, education, vocational training, and work) and required a 1-year stay in a therapeutic community setting, with intensive exposure to eclectic psychotherapy methods and was delivered in a prison that is organizationally and architecturally designed to serve treatment goals. The primary weaknesses that the therapists perceived were shortages of treatment staff (staff turnover was high), individual psychological therapy and of follow-up treatment in the community. The research suggests that reducing these deficiencies may improve the program’s effectiveness, and it offers an initial theoretical model for creating an effective drug rehabilitation program.

The role of music among prisoners and prison staff: A qualitative research study

Music is an integral part of every subculture, including that of prisons. However, no research has yet examined the meaning of music for prisoners and prison staff. The present research examined the role of music in the world of prisoners in Israel and how prison staff experience it. Content analysis of interviews with 10 convicted prisoners and 9 prison staff members indicated four central themes: the different ways prisoners consume and are exposed to music; the role of music in provoking positive and negative feelings; the role of music in the relationships among inmates – closeness and conflicts; and the role of music in the relationships between prisoners and prison staff, particularly in terms of prison regulation of music consumption.

Despair Will Hold You Prisoner, Hope Will Set You Free: Hope and Meaning Among Released Prisoners

The current study examines the self-image and worldviews of 10 released prisoners in Israel through narrative analysis of their life stories, including past and present periods in their lives and future aspirations. The findings reveal a chaotic past perceived as lacking meaning, hope, and clear boundaries while being devoid of choice. Prison is considered a turning point, and attitudes after release change toward choice, life meaning, and a hopeful future. The discussion addresses these themes, and the important variables of hope and life meaning in generating changed goals and rehabilitation.

What Works in Israeli Prison-Based Sex Offender Rehabilitation Programs: Program Participants' Perspective.

This study invited 10 of the 22 sex offenders enrolled in a prison-based rehabilitation program in one of the prisons in Israel to engage in the two first of the 4-D ( Discover, Dream, Design, and Deliver) stages of the Appreciative Inquiry . Consistent with the responsivity principle, and the IA tenets, program participants were interviewed to Discover components to which they were responsive and Dream/envision additional ones that would increase engagement and progress. Content analysis of the interviews indicated that despite the initial decision to enrol based on external incentives, participants eventually engaged in group therapy and expressed the desire to understand and regulate their sexual behaviour. While the the modules of Cognitive Behabioral Group Therapy (CBT) were viewed as assets, the lack of sufficient recruitment criteria, the large therapy group size, and its open-ended structure were mentioned as impediments reaching therapeutic goals. Social workers/therapists were criticized for their request that they be informers, and for their accusative therapeutic style whenever sexual issues were broached. Recommendations derived from the offenders' narrative were to increase staff professionalism to create a therapeutic alliance that promotes trust and open communication. Criminal justice practitioners may then take up the challenge of the never-ending process of Appreciative Inquiry to Design and Deliver program components envisioned by the participants to increase participants' responsivity to the program and thus its effectiveness.

The Impact of Bibliodidactics on Success in Learning to Read Among Nonnative Criminal Inmates

The main purpose of this study, based on research conducted in two randomly selected maximum-security prisons in Israel, is to explore the effectiveness of Bibliodidactics, a unique teaching reading method. The research found Bibliodidactics significantly improves the levels of technical reading among nonnative illiterate and poor-reading prisoners of Hebrew. The method is also significantly more efficient for nonnative illiterate prisoners, both in reading comprehension and in technical reading. The authors conclude that literacy instruction for struggling readers benefits from a focus on emotional processing of text, providing meaningful contexts to learning materials that motivate and sustain the readers’ interest.

Recognition and treatment of law enforcement violence against detainees and prisoners: A survey among Israeli physicians and medical students.

Physicians regularly encounter victims of violence. Although some at-risk groups are increasingly recognized as such, the risks faced by prisoners and detainees are often overlooked. The scope of violence against them is unknown and their treatment is often hampered by unique social and institutional impediments. This article reviews the need for improved recognition and protection of such patients and the associated obstacles, while presenting information on the experience, knowledge and attitudes of physicians in Israel regarding the maltreatment of prisoners and detainees. We sent a questionnaire to physicians and medical students in Israel to enquire about their knowledge concerning examination and treatment of persons under police custody who appear to be victims of violence as well as their attitude concerning torture. We received answers from 443 physicians and 114 medical students. Most physicians would correctly examine and document the injuries, but only 59% would report their suspicions of violence to the Ministry of Health. Though 60% of physicians objected in principle to the use of torture, a majority endorsed the use of physical and psychological pressure during interrogation. Moreover, 29% of physicians thought it is permissible for physicians to examine detainees and verify their health so that torture can begin or continue. Our study shows that there is a need for development and implementation of treatment and reporting protocols as well as educational programs concerning the ethical and legal requirements of physicians towards detainees and prisoners in Israel. Limitations of our study are discussed.

From Subcultures to Toolkits: Ethnicity and Violence in Israeli Prisons

Research on violence in US prisons frequently finds higher rates of violence among ethnic minorities compared to whites. Explanations focus on a “subculture of violence,” sometimes referred to as an honor culture or code of the street, whereby minorities import a deeply internalized, violent subculture into prison. Subcultural theories of violence have been challenged by scholarship that views culture as providing a “toolkit” of frames and scripts that individuals draw upon in different social contexts. According to this model, the importation of violence is far from inevitable, because violence results from the interplay between social context and cultural toolkits. We assess the ability of these two cultural models to explain ethnic differences in prison violence in a different national context by comparing rates of violence among Arab Muslim and Jewish criminal prisoners in Israel. Subcultural models lead us to expect higher rates of violence among Arab Muslim prisoners, while a toolkit-based explanation that draws on social identity research predicts lower rates of violence. We test these hypotheses using both logistic regression and propensity score matching on data covering over 16,000 prisoners, supplemented by in-depth interviews with prisoners and staff. Our results conflict with the expectations of subcultural theories and lend support to culture-as-toolkit explanations. We conclude by discussing the relevance of our findings for research on prison violence, theories of the relationship between culture and violence, and the usefulness of incorporating social identity into toolkit theory.

Palestinian prisoners in Israel versus Namibian prisoners under apartheid: a potential role for the International Criminal Court

This article compares the status of Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails with the experiences of Namibian prisoners during apartheid South Africa. The situations in South Africa and Israel have much in common: both adopted dual systems for different racial groups contrary to international law. The difference was in the reaction of the international community. Superpowers were willing to intervene in the Namibia question; if that had not been the case, the situation in Namibia would have probably remained unchanged. States should take meaningful action in addition to talking forums and impose sanctions against Israelis suspected of committing crimes. The Palestinians too should utilise measures available in international law and other diplomatic channels. The recent accession of Palestine to the International Criminal Court might offer a breakthrough in dealing with the regime of apartheid enforced by Israeli occupation authorities, including the crimes against Palestinian prisoners in Israel. Yet this step requires much technical preparation.

Pastoral Group Counselling at a High Security Prison in Israel: Integrating Pierre Janet's Psychological Analysis with Fritz Perls' Gestalt Therapy.

This is a report of a short-term, pastoral counselling group conducted with Jewish internees in a high security prison in Israel. It was held as an adjunct to daily secular individual and group counselling and rehabilitation run by the Department of Social Work. Pastoral counselling employed spiritual and psychosocial methodologies to reduce anger, improve prisoner frustration tolerance, and develop a sense of self-efficacy and communal identity. It combined semi-didactic scriptural input with Pierre Janet's personality model, Fritz Perls' gestalt therapy, and analysis of the group process.

Recidivism Among Licensed-Released Prisoners Who Participated in the EM Program in Israel

Toward the end of 2006, a pilot program was launched in Israel wherein licensed-released prisoners were put under electronic monitoring (EM). In addition to EM, the pilot program, operated by the Prisoners' Rehabilitation Authority, provides programs of occupational supervision and personal therapy and is designed to allow for early release of those prisoners who, without increased supervision, would have been found unsuitable for early release. The aim of this study was to ascertain whether participation in the EM program among licensed-released prisoners in Israel might bring about lessened recidivism. For that matter, rates of arrests and incarceration were examined during a follow-up period of up to 4 years, among the entirety of licensed-released prisoners participating in the EM program between the years 2007 and 2009 (n = 155). To compare recidivism rates, a control group was assembled from among the entirety of released prisoners who were found unsuitable for early release in judicial conditions, and had therefore served the full term of their incarceration, to be released between the years 2005 and 2006 (a period of time during which an EM program was not yet operated among licensed-released prisoners in Israel). Study findings clearly show that while among the control group, 42% of released prisoners were re-incarcerated, at the end of a 4-year follow-up period, only 15% among the study group had returned to prison. These findings can be explained by combining the Social Control theory and the Self-Control theory which consider the period of time under EM program and the occupational and familial integration tools for reducing criminal connections and enhancing pro-social behavior.

De-Radicalization in Israel's Prison System

An effective de-radicalization process in prisons is intended to facilitate the renouncement of violence and terrorism by those that have carried out such offenses. A key lesson that can be drawn from Israel's de-radicalization efforts is that it is possible, indeed recommended, to treat inmates—regardless of their level of radicalization—in a dignified and humane manner. However, Israel's ability to significantly de-radicalize security prisoners is limited if it is at all existent in its current form. Security prisoners with the potential for positive change should be placed in a different, perhaps foreign setting. This article provides an overview of Israel's prison system, the challenges it faces, its efforts to de-radicalize security inmates and suggests additional courses of action.

Rape and Consensual Sex in Male Israeli Prisons

Prisons deprive male inmates of heterosexual relationships and, thus, prevent them from asserting their masculinity via “traditional” means. Accordingly, many prisoners experience extreme emotional, psychological, and physical distress, which can lead to intimidation, aggression, and reestablishment of their sense of dominance through homosexual activities with consenting or coerced partners. This quantitative and qualitative study, based on research undertaken in a random sample of 30% of the male prisons in Israel, analyzes the neglected issue of homosexual relationships in Israeli prisons. The findings indicate that sexual harassment or homosexual rapes rarely take place in Israeli prisons and consensual homosexual relationships are rare. Furthermore, Israeli inmates view homosexual relationships in prison as disgusting and disgraceful and conceptualize them in highly negative emotional terms.

Female inmates' perspectives toward consensual same-sex sexual relationships in an Israeli prison

Consensual same-sex sexual relationships in female prisons have long been of interest to researchers, and most of the research in the subject has been conducted in US prisons. This study aims to continue this course of research in a female prison in Israel, where same-sex sexual relationships among female inmates have so far been overlooked. Particularly, the study aims to examine female inmates' attitudes toward same-sex sexual relations in prison and their motivations to engage in such relationships. The findings of this study reveal that: (1) Israeli female inmates perceive consensual same-sex sexual relationships in prison as a frequent phenomenon. (2) Although the inmates claim that consensual same-sex sexual relations are frequent in prison, most of them express negative attitudes toward these relationships. (3) Consensual same-sex sexual relationships of inmates who serve short-term sentences are perceived by their peers as based on economic exploitation; in contrast, consensual sexual relationships of long-term inmates are deemed to be based on love and companionship. Implications of these findings are discussed.

A Palestine that might have been

Despite unremitting, decades-long attempts to present the narrative and history of the Palestinian struggle as Israel, the US and western powers would have us see it, there has been a persistent and enduring counter-view, backed by meticulous academic research, political and personal involvement, direct experience, campaigning and historical analysis, that continues to be expressed from myriad perspectives and in myriad ways. Some of the most significant of these recent works, on Hamas, the PLO, Palestinian prisoners in Israel, US/Palestine negotiations, and the boycott, divestment and sanctions (BDS) campaign, are examined in depth here. Their authors include Shafiq al-Hout, Sara Roy, Omar Barghouti, Beverley Milton-Edwards and Stephen Farrell, Abeer Baker and Anat Matar, and Clayton Swisher. Taken together, these works provide an effective antidote to the propaganda on the conflict.

Positive criminology and imprisoned sex offenders: Demonstration of a way out from a criminal spin through acceptance relationships

The purpose of this qualitative research was to examine the change process experienced by imprisoned sex offenders during incarceration from the standpoint of emerging positive criminology perspective. The participants were 38 males incarcerated in two prisons in Israel who had been convicted of various sexual offences. The participants underwent individual in-depth, face-to-face interviews, lasting several hours each. Initially, the findings suggested a tendency for offences to escalate over time, referred to as a “criminal spin”, which can be stopped only by external intervention. Most of the participants also reported that they experienced positive changes during the current imprisonment, associated with broad support received from various sources. This suggests a possible way out of the criminal spin by exposing offenders to the human and social acceptance of meaningful agents, thus supporting the positive criminology perspective. In addition to their theoretical contribution, the findings have practical implications for the assessment, treatment and rehabilitation of sex offenders.

The Multidimensionality of “Pains of Imprisonment” Among Incarcerated Women in Israel

This study re-examined Gresham Sykes's initial conceptualization of “pains of imprisonment” as it applied to women inmates. It contextualized these pains within the women's social experiences both inside and outside the only women's prison in Israel. Semi-structured interviews with 42 female prisoners were conducted. Two counter-themes emerged from our analysis. The first one portrayed prison as punishment, a “painful condition,” a stressful event that included deprivation, negative meaning, suffering, and pain. The opposite—and more dominant—theme framed incarceration as a positive experience, during which the prisoners received nurturing, care, and treatment, which they had not been afforded in the outside world. We found that “pains of imprisonment” was a multidimensional and complex phenomena that included contradicting emotions, thoughts, and behaviors. “Pains of imprisonment” was part of a larger group of pains that extended beyond the time and place of prison.