Nostalgia Sunday – Prison Service History

December 5, 2010 - 6:46 PM by · Leave a Comment
Filed under: A New Reality, Crime, General, History and Culture, Israeliness, Life, News, Nostalgia Sunday, Politics, Profiles, Social Justice, War 

The Israel Prison Service isn’t the most popular or glamorous of the country’s defense and security forces. But the important work that it does was brought into sharp focus this past weekend with the Carmel forest fires and the human tragedy of 41 persons, of which 37 were prison guards whose lives were lost when their transport bus was engulfed by flames.

It seems only appropriate to present a short history of this unsung service, whose roots may be found, (often quite literally) in the jails cells of British Mandatory Palestine.

We will be like other nations, goes the saying attributed to national poet Haim Nahman Bialik, “When the first Hebrew policeman brings the first Hebrew prostitute before the first Hebrew judge.” The Zionists who envisioned the modern State of Israel were Utopians who believed they would be able to create a moral society without crime or criminals.

For this reason, Israel Prison Service (IPS) historian Naama Telem writes, “…prisons were not built for many years and old and inappropriate buildings, some dating to the British Mandate, were refurbished and used as detention centers… Prison conditions were harsh and very crowded. So much so, in the early 50s of the last century [the authorities] were forced to release a hundred prisoners, because there was not enough room for them.”

Israel’s first prison, called Ayalon, was built in the city of Ramle – also in a refurbished Mandatory structure – and was intended to house 450 prisoners. A second prison, Shata, was opened in 1952. “But it was on July 31, 1958 that the rules of the game changed. A prisoner revolt broke out, led by a group of Arab prisoners. The rebels took control of the weapons room and waged battle with prison wardens.

Two guards, Sergeant Joseph Shevach and First Sergeant Alexander Jaeger were killed [the funeral is pictured at left - RN]. Prison guards were injured. The exchange of fire killed 11 prisoners and 66 other prisoners managed to escape.”

“The Shata uprising caused a shift in the organization’s priorities. If, prior to the rebellion, rehabilitation and treatment of prisoners was the central issue, security was now awarded a place of honor. More and more funds were allocated to reinforce prison walls along with other security measures. The Age of Innocence, which began with the founding of Israel, ended.”

Two years later in May 1960, the IPS took part in another significant event in young State’s life: the capture and arrest of one of the most wanted Nazi criminals, Adolf Eichmann. The country was in an uproar over the arrest and vigilantism was feared. There’s no little irony in the fact that the IPS was called on to provide special protection so that Eichmann could be brought to trial unharmed. And once Eichmann was sentenced, it was the IPS that carried out the hanging – the first and last official prisoner execution in Israel’s history.

The Six Day War in June 1967 forced the IPS to conform to new realities once again, with thousands of Arab detainees suspected of belonging to organizations hostile to Israel entering the prison system. ”This new and problematic population meant the IPS had to deal with problems not previously recognized as well as a growing mass of prisoners.”

“The situation was becoming complex…. following the first and second intifadas… more and more terrorists were behind bars… The IPS had to find more and more detention facilities to meet the needs of the State of Israel. In 2006, handling of all security prisoners was transferred to the IPS and all IDF detainees held since the Six Day War were transferred to IPS permanent facilities. The tent camps that characterized the military prisons are disappearing and a new law allows soldiers to fulfill their military service prison guards.”

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Should we allow porn in Israeli jails?

February 6, 2009 - 9:09 AM by · 2 Comments
Filed under: Crime, History and Culture, Israeliness, Pop Culture, Religion 

Hannan MeltzerAbout five years ago, Emanuel Peled made headlines when he was convicted of fraudulently billing suckers for phone sex calls they didn’t make. He stole hundreds of thousands of shekels from strangers by threatening to make public these peoples’ love of audio porn, even though in most cases, the victims probably had no such attachments.

Now residing at the Hasharon Prison, Peled is making headlines again, this time for his own proud love of video porn. According to Haaretz….

The Public Defender’s Office says the petition [to the High Court] concerns the right to freedom of expression and consumption of information. The Israel Prison Service (IPS), however, claims that eliminating the ban on pornography could disturb religious inmates and lead to more violence inside prisons.

According to the petition, the prisoner does not have a partner and is therefore not privy to conjugal visits. He argues that being able to access pornography may offer a partial solution to his distress.

Apparently, Peled is notorious for getting the court system bogged down by his various appeals. But in a country where even those who assassinate politicians are allowed to marry people whom they’ve met while serving time, pornography seems like little to ask for.

It all comes down to how we define pornography as a people, and to what extent the evidence against the presence of porn holds water:

Attorney Tal Enar of the Public Defender’s Office claims that the IPS directive banning all pornographic material is disproportionate and illogical. The IPS claim that pornography in prisons will cause violence among inmates is scientifically unfounded, he says, adding that, pornography can instead be used to alleviate tension among sex offenders.

He also pointed out that the High Court rulings on the subject were handed down 25 years ago; since then, society’s attitude toward pornography has changed, he says: Consider, for example, the High Court’s decision to allow the Playboy Channel to broadcast in Israel.

It also comes down to the community of prisoners, which apparently has a high enough “religious” contingent that a porn infiltration might cause unrest among offended offenders. But really, it’s more of a question of philosophy. Of course convicts have rights too, but they’re not exactly put in these facilities to enjoy themselves either – it’s a matter of striking the right balance. The panel ruling on Peled’s plea, which includes Supreme Court Justices Hannan Meltzer (pictured), Elyakim Rubinstein and Dorit Beinisch, is not expected to decide in his favor.

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