The Israeli criminal justice system in action—Is justice administered differentially?

Abstract

IsThis study focuses on two major junctures in the Israeli criminal justice system, the preadjudication stage and the trial stage. The data are gathered from records accumulated during the period 1980 through 1992. For each year between 1980 and 1992, a random sample of 3637 persons, who had their first police contact during that year, was drawn from the computerized central file at Israeli Police Headquarters. A total of 40,007 individuals, with a total of 97,000 records, constituted the study population. The results identify which criminal records were most likely to be terminated prior to adjudication and which records, once adjudicated, were most likely to conclude in conviction. Major emphasis was placed on the issue of nationality--being an Arab or a Jew--while the effect of other variables, such as the type of offense and the time period, were controlled. The criminal justice system was found to be less discriminating at the early stages of the criminal process, but as the offender moved along the process, the chances that nationality would play an important part increased.

Law, Politics, and Violence Against Women: A Case Study of Palestinians in Israel

“…Over the years, many Palestinians abandoned their homes and families to become refugees in adjacent Arab countries (Palumbo 1987). This legacy affected not only the way Palestinians perceived Israeli officials and policies, but also the way Israelis (formally and informally) perceived and treated the Palestinians who remained in their midst (Cohen 1989;Hasin 1997;Fishman & Rattner 1997;Rouhana & Ghanem 1998;Zureik 1979;Zureik, Mughrabi & Sacco 1993).…”

Arab Threat and Social Control: An Exploration of the Relationship Between Ethnic Attitudes and Punitiveness Among Israeli Jews

“…Israeli Arabs account for roughly 20% of the Israeli population but are largely overrepresented in the country’s criminal justice statistics (Central Bureau of Statistics, 2010a; Cohen & Palmor, 1985; Hassin, 1986; Hassin & Kremnitzer, 1988; Korn, 2003; Sherer, 1991). Studies note that this group faces worse sentencing outcomes than the Jewish majority (Cohen & Palmor, 1985; Fishman & Rattner, 1997; Fishman & Soroka, 1980; Rahav et al, 2015; Sherer, 1991) and have generally poorer relations with law enforcement (Hasisi & Weitzer, 2007). Even more so than Black and White populations in the United States, “intergroup conflict between Israeli Jews and Arabs is rooted in strife and rivalry,” with ethnic discrimination, political tensions, and hostilities consistent throughout history (Devers et al, 2012, p. 248).…”

Rates of incarceration and main trends in Israeli prisons

“…Although the bias is not unambiguous and calls for additional research, it seems that Arab offenders are more likely to receive prison or suspended prison sentences than Jewish offenders are, and less likely to be put on probation (Cohen and Palmor, 1985;Hassin and Kremnitzer, 1988). A more recent study (Fishman and Rattner, 1997) has found that Arabs have a greater chance of being discriminated against as their cases move along in the criminal justice system. In all offence categories, Arabs have a higher chance of conviction than do Jews.…”