Roni Singer

Articles

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Revealed: National Security Ministry Ends Cooperation with Group Fighting Against Domestic Violence

Shomrim has exclusively disclosed that the Ministry has ceased funding a program operated by the Michal Sela Forum, providing a vital alternative to shelters for victims of domestic violence. Over the 18 months since its inception, the program has assisted approximately 270 women. Lili Ben Ami, the founder and CEO, expresses her astonishment at learning through the media that the government does not intend to renew the agreement, especially during a period of war when there has been a 20 percent surge in the demand for protection for victims of domestic violence. The National Security Ministry responds by stating, 'We intend to explore additional alternatives.'

February 19, 2024

Dispensing Justice for the October 7 Terrorists: Israel's Most Complex Legal Dilemma

The hundreds of Hamas terrorists who were captured after their murderous attack are due to go on trial. But how? Who will represent them? Which legal code? And what about the death penalty? ‘We’d all love to put a bullet in their heads,’ says one jurist involved with the special think group addressing these issues. Indeed, one change has already been implemented: Israel can hold these terrorists indefinitely. But, alongside the need for ‘national catharsis,’ Israel is a country with laws, which even gave Adolf Eichmann a fair trial. A Shomrim report in collaboration with N12.

November 14, 2023

Israeli Prison Service Promises Stricter Conditions for Palestinian Security Detainees

After the initial ‘euphoric’ response to the Hamas attack on Israel on the morning of October 7, silence fell over the facilities where Israel is holding 5,500 Palestinian security prisoners – who are desperate not to wreck any slim chance they have of seeing freedom. The Israel Prison Service is not taking any chances and has implemented emergency measures. ‘It’s in the prisoners’ interests to maintain the quiet, but you never know – so we’re taking measures to restrict contact and limit activities’

October 14, 2023

A Historic Report: ‘Committee Members Said They Watched the Investigation – and Couldn’t Sleep at Night’

More than six months ago Shomrim exposed the abuse, neglect and inhumane conditions in hostels for people with disabilities. Last week, a report published by a special public committee established to examine the workings of these institutions recommended their closure within five years, and moving the residents to ‘community housing’. The welfare minister has accepted the findings. ‘There are no words to describe how pleased we are with this report,” says attorney Na’ama Lerner. A Shomrim follow-up

March 20, 2023

Police Close 11 Bothels in South Tel Aviv Following Shomrim/N12 Report

The police raid came less than two weeks after a report by Shomrim and the N12 website into lawlessness in the Neveh Sha’anan neighborhood. Thirty-eight women worked at the raided establishments. Tel Aviv Municipality claims it offered them all a place to sleep, rehabilitation, and financial help, but they all disappeared into thin air after the raid. The head of the residents’ association: ‘We are still a long way off celebrating, but after decades of police indifference and inactivity, we have seen the first significant enforcement operations in our neighborhood’

March 13, 2023

Tel Aviv’s Crime Quarter: 31 Brothels, Drug Deals on Deckchairs and No Police

Welcome to Neveh Sha’anan: the neighborhood where there’s no law and no police. The only place in Tel Aviv where city hall has no problem with construction violations or illegal parking. Exclusive documentation obtained by Shomrim reveals that the police have made an informal decision that ‘anything goes’ in Neveh Sha’anan, so that crime does not infiltrate other parts of central Israel. Why is Neveh Sha’anan different from Rothschild Boulevard? This report also appears in the weekend supplement of N12

March 3, 2023

Neglect, Ltd: Inside Israeli Hostels for People With Disabilities

A series of joint investigative reports by Shomrim and Kan, Israel’s public broadcaster, reveals the goings-on in hostels for people with disabilities in Israel. The physical and emotional violence, the hidden camera that captured images of neglect and maltreatment and the helplessness of the Welfare Ministry, which is supposed to oversee these hostels but does nothing

July 27, 2022

Herd Immunity: One in Four Criminal Cases in Israel Involves Some Immunity Deal

Immunity is an important tool in the police's efforts to protect its sources and assets – but the widespread use of such agreements makes life hard for defense attorneys and the courts. Six years ago, authority for issuing immunity agreements was transferred from the Public Security Minister to a private attorney, selected by public tender. One former senior police officer: "We have to tell the truth: getting an immunity deal is a rubber stamp – and it serves the interests of the police and the prosecution." A special Shomrim report

June 6, 2022

"What do you want from me?" Israel's welfare authorities turn a blind eye to violence in shelters for people with disabilities

This week, the police arrested employees of the Bnei Zion shelter in Rosh Ha'ayon on suspicion of abusing residents on hundreds of occasions. A recording obtained by Shomrim shows that a complaint was made to a senior official responsible for people with disabilities a year ago – but he showed no interest in the information and did not deal with the complaint. In response, the Ministry of Labor, Social Affairs and Social Services said: "What can be heard in the recording is very serious and is in total violation of the ministry's policy, which is determined by the minister and the director-general. Since this incident came to light, the ministry has taken far-reaching steps to fully investigate the allegations." This Shomrim exposé was also covered by News 12 on its main evening news.

February 3, 2022

Tinderbox: Why no one dares to challenge Israel's failed security prison policy

There's one thing that prisoners and warders agree on: Israel's security prisons are poorly managed. At the heart of this failure is a long-standing policy with just one goal – keeping the occupied territories quiet, even though the connection between events in prisons and what happens on the ground is no longer what it once was. Moreover, the Israel Prisons Service inadvertently creates prisoner-leaders, turns a blind eye to sexual harassment of female warders, and strengthens the bond between prisoners and terror organizations. It is not the only culprit in this story: the Shin Bet is nixing any reform and, while the politicians have had harsh comments, they opted not to do anything. A Shomrim report.

February 15, 2022

Easy prey: Who’d believe an autistic rape victim?

Who is looking out for Israel’s helpless citizens? The story of Sharon, a woman on the autistic spectrum, suggests that precious few official organizations if any. Sharon was taken to hospital because of a sudden deterioration in her condition, but the requisite tests were not carried out for years. When she was finally hospitalized, she was found to have contracted a sexually transmitted disease. This, and other findings, raised suspicions that she had been raped. Nonetheless, a police complaint was closed with alarming alacrity, and an investigation was only launched following an approach from Shomrim. As if that were not enough, the institute where Sharon was treated did not even look into the incident. A Shomrim investigation.

February 2, 2022

Want to understand the neglect that leads to Bedouin crime? Start with the dogs

In Israel of 2021, lethal packs of wild dogs are roaming free across the Negev, terrifying locals. One toddler was mauled to death and an elderly woman was badly injured. These feral animals thrive on the carcasses and garbage that are readily available in unregulated dumps across the Negev. This might sound like the script for a dystopian Netflix show, but it’s very real – and residents have no answer for the wild dogs or the authorities, which have failed them time and time again. A Shomrim investigation.

December 17, 2021

Colombia in Israel: Shomrim exposes the cannabis map of Israel’s Wild South

Endless fields of weed: Across the Negev, even in the shadow of some of the largest IDF bases, Bedouin criminals are making the desert bloom with hundreds of cannabis greenhouses – and the money they raise is funding a rampant crime wave in southern Israel. Shomrim joined a Green Patrol operation to document the daily helplessness and powerlessness. A special Shomrim report.

December 12, 2021

The Un-rehabilitated: "It’s true – if you've got money, you can buy your freedom faster"

Read the following statistic carefully: 70 percent of the prisoners released from Israeli jails do not go through any kind of rehabilitation process. Of those that do, just one in five is handled by the Prisoner Rehabilitation Authority, which has an annual budget of 60 million shekels. For the 10 percent who have the financial wherewithal, there are unsupervised, private rehabilitation programs, which help shorten the period of incarceration. Little wonder that Israel’s recidivism rate is more than 40 percent.

October 26, 2021

How alienation and lack of opportunity are pushing Arab youths into the arms of criminals

Crime is rampant in the Arab sector of Israeli society, claiming the lives of dozens of young people a year. To make matters worse, criminals are becoming cultural heroes among many youths. School principals look on in desperation as boys and girls slip through their hands, drawn by the promise of fast cash that a life of crime offers. “You hear them talk about being offered 700 shekels just to fire a gun; all they have to do for the money is put on a helmet and shoot. It’s easy money for a few minute's work.”

September 20, 2021

Every year, thousands of Israelis are left without rights by the courts

It may sound bizarre, but any Israeli citizen could wake up one morning to discover that the court has appointed a conservator and stripped them of their independence. In 97 percent of the cases, this happens without them even knowing that there’s a request or have a representative in court. This is what happened to Y., an independent 100-year-old woman; the first thing her conservator did was to cancel her credit card and block her bank account. You may think that this is a rare and extraordinary case, but tens of thousands of conservatorship requests are filed in Israel every year. A special Shomrim report.

August 26, 2021

Why do the time if you didn’t do the crime?

Israel’s overstretched justice system thrives on admissions of guilt and often uses subterfuge to get suspects to confess. The less severe the crime, the more likely a suspect is to falsely confess. Innocent people are paying the price

December 28, 2020

Cops in crisis: How politics is subverting the Israel Police

Ministerial interference, foot-dragging over the appointment of a permanent police chief, loss of legitimacy in the eyes of the public: These are some of the problems which have led senior officers to warn that the force is facing the severest crisis in its history

November 24, 2020

How Many Innocent People are Doing Time?

In the 72 years since Israel was established, only 33 requests for retrials have been accepted. Their struggles are part of larger story: a criminal justice system that avoids examining its own mistakes

August 23, 2020

The Next Battlefront is Mental Health

This is only the beginning of a big mental health crisis with double the number of Israelis suffering from depression and anxiety

April 12, 2020

No Man's Land: Israel's Nursing Homes Have Turned Into Death Traps

Only 35,000 of the one million Israelis over the age of 65 reside in assisted living facilities, but they account for 20% of the total number of coronavirus mortalities. A lack of appropriate preparation by the Ministry of Health combined with confusing directives have turned assisted living facilities and nursing homes into the most dangerous places in the country. "You young people should take into consideration that when you are old, the country will also write you off."

April 5, 2020

“Edelstein’s behavior is undermining and maybe even destroying democracy.”

Professor Daniel Friedmann, who served as justice ministerin Ehud Olmert’s government and accused the judicial system of damaging governance, hopes that the Supreme Court will intervene in the Knesset Speaker’s decisions.

March 27, 2020

Brute force on Balfour Street

Police insist that their response to the recent wave of protests has been proportionate. A Shomrim analysis of crowd־control measures, however, highlights a range of questionable tactics

July 30, 2020

We Know Where You Drove Last Summer

An unregulated, unsupervised and officially nonexistent surveillance system – which police claim is a vital crime-solving tool – is worrying civil rights observers and data-protection advocates in Israel