Inside Rimonim News Today

Stef. a move that landed him in segregation as well. >> translator: we stayed together in segregation for six months. and what he did for me i dont think anyone else would have done. coming up, how the unusual relationship between israeli prison staff and inmates even extends to the kitchen. >> the officers were not at all concerned about the inmates tampering with their food. >> and -- >> translator: we usually improve the food they give us. >> a young man faces decades in rimonim for murderi...

Friendliness about it. it was like watching two neighbors greet each other. they would shake hands. in american prison we dont see that. there is a lot more animosity from the inmates to the prisoners. >> one reason why is that even though rimonim inmates are among israels most violent criminals, rehabilitation is a major goal of the prison. >> i think that one of the keys of understanding the israeli prison system and why inmates live so comfortably with each other even in a maximum security pr...

Contains many seeds. it demonstrates unity, being together. there are positive prayers in judaism that say may we have as many privileges as a pomegranate has seeds. the name was chosen after a strong fruit that symbolizes goodness and with the hope that we will always symbolize goodness in this facility. >> rimonim is not the only israeli prison whose name holds a special meaning. there is only one prison in the entire nation that houses female inmates. its name is neve tirza, which means oasis...

Things was a need for excitement. and today, in essence, the only excitement that i get here is through religion, through the torah, which gives me the tools that i need for life outside. >> in the religious wing, he is shielded from the potential violence between jews and arabs that exist in other parts of the prison. but some inmates at rimonim have benefited from putting the conflicts of the outside world aside. >> translator: to resist someone because he is a jew, a muslim, a christian, it s...

>> we have all types. long sentences, short sentences, minors, old women. everybody is here. every kind of crime you can think of, murderers, sex offenders, drug dealers, white collar. >> you have white-collar criminals with someone who has committed murder? >> right. >> like rimonim, neve tirza also places an emphasis on rehabilitation. and in certain areas could be mistaken for a college campus. but to inmate shome, who shares a six-person, one bathroom cell it is definitely prison. >> transla...

The truth is, my family is certainly proud. i told you already, its our custom. >> inside rimonim, the abu ganims have gained a reputation as a formidable crime family. >> translator: when i came to prison, everyone knew our story, which family i belonged to. we have a background, and we are a large family, a lot of members. there are almost of 20 us here. where we live, we have a very high status, and everyone respects us. >> i felt like i was in a film, in a scene like from "goodfellas," all o...

>> today, abu amar is housed in the domestic violence therapy wing of the prison and is receiving treatment and dealing with the consequences of his crime. >> translator: when he arrived he was a bit more introverted. now he seems like a different person, a person who is more open, talking, laughing more. >> translator: our main function is to watch over the prisoners that the court has decided to convict in accordance with our legal system, but this isnt the only thing we do. we also need the i...

Good feeling that there is somebody in the heavens to look after him. >> while most american prisons have chapels and offer some form of religious services, rimonim has an entire housing unit devoted to the study and >> translator: the religious wing is intended to provide an option for religious prisoners who request to, "a," live a religious life on a high level, and "b," to offer an inmate the ability to sit and study and develop on a spiritual level in order to offer him the tools of rehabil...

They manage their own affairs and their people as needed. >> rimonim staff also sees a strategic advantage to keeping crime families together. >> translator: the moment that i have dominant prisoners in the cell block i know when needed how to send them a message that they have to be straight and keep their people in line. and when there is a crisis, i use them as a mouthpiece to reach the rest of the population. >> but abu ganim maintains he plays a larger role in the prison than merely a mouth...

Concerned about the inmates tampering with their food. not a single officer expressed fear. they had complete trust, and they even were complimentary of the food. >> inmates also cook the three daily meals provided to other inmates, but most rimonim inmates, including wadi abu amar, cook for themselves with the food they purchase from the canteen in kitchens located in housing units and in some cases inside individual cells. [ speaking a foreign language ] >> translator: the food is -- reasonabl...