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Being kept ‘behind the walls’ is no picnic, if you’re a man. But imagine how is for women who are incarcerated in an Israeli maximum security prison. Though far fewer women wind up behind prison walls in Israel, those who do are often repeat offenders who come from bad home environments where they were physically and mentally abused; resulting in their turning to alcohol and drugs as an escape. Their need for money to satisfy expensive drug habits resulted in their turning to committing crimes ranging from theft to robbery to even murder.
Though fewer prisons have facilities for women inmates, one prison, Neveh Tirza, is specifically known for specializing in dealing with a population of 200 women security prisoners, some of whom are also Arab terrorists. Many of these female inmates have run afoul of the law since their early teens, when abusive home environments, and dropping out of school (if they did attend at all) caused them to turn to crime, including prostitution, to earn money for their drug habit. Those coming from lower economic strata are the most unfortunate as their chances of being rehabilitated are nearly nil. Though prison life is certainly no picnic, for many of these women it is much more ’stable’ than their former environment on the outside. Once released, many ‘ex-cons’ have virtually nowhere to go, as they are shunned by parents and relatives.
Palestinian female terrorists, such as Ahlan Tanimi, involved in the Sbarro pizza parlor bombing, are also kept here, with occasional clashes between them and Jewish prison inmates.
Prison authorities try to offer educational and vocational courses to prepare their ‘guests’ for living in normal society, once they are released. Even if the inmates do learn a skill, such as sewing or even electronics (including computer programming), being accepted for employment by many employers is difficult at best. Finding a suitable place to live outside the prisons walls, especially if one has little or no money; is also a serious problem for these women who also need intensive emotional support as well. Lack of both often results in their returning to the only “security” they may have ever known.
Governmental authorities, particularly social service agencies, need to be more aware of and sympathetic to the needs of these women to prevent them from turning once again to crime and them returning back to prison walls. Many of these women may have much to contribute to society if they are only given a chance to ‘make it’ in the real world. If not given this chance, they have no alternative other than to return to prison life once again.
One Comment
If this were the early 1970’s, Elvis might come here and make a sequel
to Jailhouse Rock.
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