Chen Shalita

Articles

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The Circles of Trauma: ‘For Eight Months, All I Could Smell was the Stench of Decay’

They collected hundreds of bodies from Gaza-border communities and the Nova music festival; they cleaned the blood from cars, swept up the ashes and saw things no one should have to endure. Over a year later, ZAKA volunteers are picking up the pieces within themselves and their families. ‘I couldn’t look my children in the eye or touch them.’ Shomrim presents testimony from the circles of trauma and the complex process of healing that they are undergoing with the same courage that they displayed during the horrors of October 7. A special project

November 7, 2024

Mixed Jewish-Arab Schools are at Breaking Point and the Education System isn’t Functioning

‘They told my son that all Arabs are terrorists and murderers. Instead of helping, the teacher said – in front of everyone – that they are right’ ■ ‘I told my daughter not to get involved in any discussion, because there is no one there to defend her’ ■ ‘The principal hinted that it might be in the girl’s best interests to move to a different school’ ■ The incidents at a Be’er Sheva high school are part of a trend: In mixed Jewish-Arab cities, schools have become increasingly polarized political arenas, with no responsible adult in sight. A Shomrim investigation.

October 10, 2024

Normalizing Evil: Who Benefits from the Toxic Attacks on Hostage Families?

Here’s a glimpse of what relatives of Israelis taken hostage by Hamas endure—both from people on the streets and from the nation’s leaders: ‘It’s good they murdered your children,’ ‘May God send you and your daughter to die in Gaza,’ and ‘You are destroying the country.’ Shomrim takes a sobering look at 10 months of Israeli hostility, its impact on the ceasefire deal, and the political forces it serves. A special report at a fateful time for the Israeli hostages

August 19, 2024

Kingmakers No More: ‘Netanyahu Has Created a Honeytrap; They’ve Got Nowhere To Go’

Up until the 2009 election, the ultra-Orthodox parties were at the center of the Israeli political map, taking advantage of their position to get as much funding as possible and to fortify the position of the yeshivas. Since then, however, they have become an integral part of the right-wing bloc and they now find themselves without any bargaining chips on the most important issues to their voters: the draft law and funding for the yeshiva. ‘Dery realizes for the first time that the connection with the right can also be a burden,’ say Shas insiders. Is the alliance over?

July 14, 2024

Is the Alliance Over? How the Ultra-Orthodox Draft Law is Tearing The National-Religious Camp Apart

A cartoon depicting a yeshiva student sitting on a stretcher alongside an injured soldier, telling him that ‘Torah study is dedicated to your recovery,’ published recently in the national-religious camp’s flagship newspaper, gave voice to the fury that has built up toward ultra-Orthodox society since October 7, given the high number of knitted skullcap-wearing soldiers killed in combat. Is this the turning point that will dismantle the political alliance between the two camps? Shomrim takes a deep dive into the issue that has divided the right

June 18, 2024

The Children, the Parents and the Siblings of October 7: They Were Not Kidnapped, but Their Lives Were

Parents who grew old overnight; children experiencing acute anxiety and bursts of rage; entire families struggling to find the energy to leave their beds in the morning; reliance on tranquilizers and sleeping pills; and an overwhelming sense of guilt. The courageous rescue of two Israeli hostages from Rafah provides a glimmer of hope, but the families of those still left behind are being devastated by anxiety, leading to disastrous consequences. ‘Nothing is okay, and nothing is under control’. Shomrim shedding light on the trauma and challenges faced by the families of the hostages.

February 15, 2024

The Physicians of October 7: ‘One Day, We’ll All Break Down. Now is Not the Time’

Four months since Hamas’ barbaric attack, medical teams in Israel are still trying to pick up the pieces. "We have never had a war like this,’ ‘People arrived straight from the battlefield with sand and infusions,’ ‘The most frightening thing is recognizing a patient,’ ‘There were extreme physical reactions, trembling, dizziness, vomiting.’ Shomrim spoke to doctors from the front lines of the hospitals, the pathology institute and the sperm bank, asking them how they deal with such horrific trauma. A special report

February 1, 2024

Bringing the Trauma Home: How to Interview Young Hostages Who Have Just Been Freed From Hell

Following the emotional welcome, familial gatherings, and medical examinations, numerous released Israeli hostages were subjected to a security interview. Investigators faced the challenge of striking a delicate balance between extracting potentially life-saving information from those hostages still in Gaza and the recognition that a poorly phrased question could reignite trauma, resulting in enduring emotional harm. This dilemma is explored in a special Shomrim report.

December 7, 2023

The Nightmare After the Nightmare: How the Israeli Government is Using the War to Undermine Free Speech and Privacy

Hacking into private cameras, arbitrary bans on protests, pressure on media outlets, unfettered access to a biometric database that was supposed to be deleted, arrests for posts on social media and plans to revoke citizenship without due process. Since the start of the war, Israeli citizens’ freedom of expression and privacy have been undermined by emergency regulations and orders. Even if some of these measures are needed during conflict, they certainly have no place when it’s over. A Shomrim report

November 23, 2023

Israel’s Fragile Coexistence Has Been Set Back Decades

School cleaners have been told to wait until after the students leave. Arab teachers are worried about coming to school in central Israel. And mutual suspicion between Jews and Arabs in the healthcare system has never been higher. There have been no violent incidents in Arab society since the October 7 atrocities, but the crisis of trust with Jewish society is so deep that it may be irreparable for years to come.

October 23, 2023

‘The Conception That The Conflict Can Be Contained is Obsolete’

There is no way to bypass the Israel-Palestinian conflict, ‘even if we can go shopping in Riyadh.’ We cannot count on technology, because ‘it’s no solution in an ideological war.’ Likud will collapse, because ‘everything that Likud promised over the years turned out to be a total failure.’ And what will Israel look like the day after? ‘After the war, we will rebuild the State of Israel in many respects.’ Senior Yom Kippur War researchers on the collapse of the Israeli conception on October 7, 2023

October 16, 2023

Families of Israeli Hostages in Gaza aren’t Waiting for the Government to Act

A legal team representing the families of dozens of Israelis being held hostage by Hamas in the Gaza Strip is raising money for what they believe will be a long and expensive campaign to secure the release of their loved ones. Their strategy hinges on leveraging global pressure on Hamas and the nations backing it, with valuable insights drawn from the previous campaign aimed at securing the release of Gilad Shalit.

October 12, 2023

The Dilemma around the Israeli Hostages Casts Doubts About National Priorities and Solidarity from Decision-Makers

Approximately 130 Israelis, spanning various age groups from children to the elderly, have been forcibly abducted and transported to Gaza. The families of these abductees are struggling to cope with the government's perceived lack of action. Consequently, civil-society organizations, some of which played pivotal roles in securing Gilad Shalit's release from Hamas captivity, have stepped in to address this vacuum. In discussions with Shomrim, these organizations elucidate potential courses of action and offer unwavering counsel to the affected families: refrain from speaking of your loved ones in the past tense, avoid remaining silent, and discontinue reliance on the government.

October 10, 2023

A Lot of Torah and Very Little Dialogue: Bezalel Smotrich’s Plan to Radically Change the Character of Israel

Women? "Get married and have a lot of children for Israel’s sake.’ Arabs? ‘You are here by mistake because Ben Gurion did not get the job done.’ LGBTQ+? ‘Imagine if the disabled were to demand that everyone cut off their own leg.’ Reform Judaism? ‘There should be no room for a public space adapted to the Reform approach’. The Finance Minister of Israel, Bezalel Smotrich, has been talking a lot about ‘brotherly dialogue’ but a comprehensive survey of his positions, as expressed in interviews, articles and social media, paints a picture that is far from reflecting any kind of faith in dialogue

September 21, 2023

Analyzing Justice Minister Yariv Levin's Meeting Patterns During Ongoing Judicial Reform

Revealing Minister Levin's Extensive Engagements Amidst the Reform Agenda. Eighteen long meetings with Simcha Rotman, the head of the Knesset’s Constitution Committee; several meetings with members of the Kohelet Policy Forum; briefings and interviews with right-wing media outlets; and a dozen meetings with the director of the Pardons Department in the Justice Ministry. In contrast, not one single meeting with the head of the Israel Bar Association, a handful of meetings with the attorney general and increasingly sporadic meetings with Israel’s chief justice.

July 27, 2023

Never Mind English and Math: Ultra-Orthodox Schools are Teaching Alternative History

With secularism and Zionism as the root of all evil, textbooks in ultra-Orthodox society are rewriting Israeli history so that it is harnessed to religious faith: The IDF won its wars thanks to ‘wonders and miracles, the second Intifada broke out because of civil weddings, and you can forget about asking where was God when the Holocaust had taken place. The Education Ministry isn’t even in the picture. Published also on Mako website (Hebrew), Followed by Kan Public Radio (Hebrew)

June 2, 2023

The Ministry with no Minister: How Yariv Levin is Dismantling the Justice Ministry from Within

Senior civil servants are being kept in limbo, their contracts unrenewed. There is an atmosphere of ‘cleaning the stables’ and chasing out ‘leftists.’ And there’s been an 80 percent drop in legal memoranda and a 50 percent fall in government-sponsored legislation. Yariv Levin chose to serve as minister for judicial overhaul and not justice minister – and the legal system is paying the price. Since the start of the Netanyahu trial, there has also been a sharp decrease in corruption cases investigated because if you don’t investigate, you can’t get into trouble. A Shomrim report

May 2, 2023

Conflict of Interest: Netanyahu and Bitan Voted, the Speaker Gave an Evasive Statement

Lawmakers who are in a conflict of interest can vote in the Knesset only if they make a due diligence statement about their case. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu voted on the legal overhaul without making such a statement. The speaker of the Knesset made a statement for the record, saying that “the attorney general claims that the PM is in conflict of interest.” Netanyahu has already signed a conflict-of-interest agreement on this very matter – and this is not a claim, it’s a fact. A Shomrim follow-up

February 19, 2023

Torah First: The Judicial Revolution No One is Talking About

Israeli headlines have been dominated by the proposed legal reform of Justice Minister Yariv Levin, but below the radar, buried deep in the coalition agreements, Likud has agreed with its partners to enact an equally dramatic revolution, which would split the Israeli judicial system and grant rabbinical courts the same powers as any other court. ‘You don’t need to be an expert to recognize that there’s more chance now of the legislation being passed.’ A special Shomrim report

January 12, 2023

Healthcare Racism: Exposing the Illusion of Coexistence in Israeli Hospitals

If there is one place you could be forgiven for thinking would be immune to the symptoms of the Israel-Arab conflict, it would be the healthcare system. The struggle against the coronavirus pandemic even strengthened the sense of solidarity. But then came the 2021 war in Gaza, the riots in mixed Jewish-Arab cities, and, most recently, the suspension of Dr. Ahmed Mahajana from Hadassah Hospital – all of which began to expose something that had been kept hidden for years. A special Shomrim/Calcalist report exposes the racism in hospitals: Not only between patients and medical teams but among the staff as well

December 29, 2022

Revealed: How Sheba and the Health Ministry Bungled the Mistakenly Implanted Embryo Affair

No court order and no discussion in the hospital’s ethics panel; it now turns out that the genetic tests given to the parents of Sophia – the ‘disputed Assuta embryo’ – were improvised and misguided. Sheba in response: ‘A byproduct of the tests is genetic linking to the mother.’ Health Ministry: ‘All of the tests were done legally’

November 11, 2022

Ultra-Orthodox Zionists: Will this Election Expose a Tacit Change in Haredi Society?

Opinion polls are predicting many floating voters in the ultra-Orthodox community will vote for the far-right Otzma Yehudit party reflecting the processes and changes that are taking place, deep below the surface, within ultra-Orthodox society. A combination of increased nationalism, anger at the leadership in the aftermath of the Meron disaster and their handling of the coronavirus pandemic, as well as outrage over the exposure of sexual harassment scandals, is leading many Haredim to look for a political alternative to their aged representative in the Knesset. ‘The traditional Haredi issue is on the agenda in any case, and someone will take care of it,’ explains one ultra-Orthodox Jerusalemite. ‘I won’t vote for United Torah Judaism again; I’ll vote for someone else who has similar views to me – and that’s Ben-Gvir.’ A Shomrim analysis

October 3, 2022

War on Attrition: Tens of Thousands of Children Could Become ‘Hidden Dropouts’ – and the Education Ministry Has No Data

The State Comptroller issued a dire caution, professionals in the field waved warning flags and MKs demanded answers. But the Education Ministry insists that high-school attrition is waning. Where does the discrepancy come from? The ministry is not considering the ramifications of the coronavirus pandemic or hidden dropouts – children and youths who are registered at school in name alone. A special Shomrim report looks at the root causes of attrition, which is threatening the futures of tens of thousands of Israeli children and youths.

August 15, 2022

Shooting in the Dark: Israel Refusing to Divulge the Number of Citizens Carrying Guns

The Public Security Ministry has been boasting about a 20 percent drop in the number of Israelis with a firearms license over the past decade – but is only counting one of the two categories of permitholders. The ministry is even keeping the full figures from the Knesset’s Public Security Committee and its Research and Information Center. Various experts believe that the motivation behind this policy is a desire to hide the increase in the number of permits issued in Israel and the resultant spike in suicides and domestic violence. Shomrim has filed a freedom of information request. An exposé

July 8, 2022

Missing Links: Every Year, 20 Israelis Disappear Without a Trace

Sapir Nahum, the 24-year-old Israeli woman whose body was recently discovered 11 days after she disappeared, is far from being a rare case. Shomrim has obtained the real figures regarding the number of missing persons in Israel: some 4,500 missing person files are opened every year, and close to 600 have remained open since the establishment of the state. Their families face complete chaos, with many descending into a financial tailspin and their bank accounts being foreclosed – but the bills and debts continue to mount up. The weakest sectors of society, who have no voice and resources, are helpless; the law does not provide any solution, and the State Comptroller has been asked to weigh in on the police's inadequate handling of the problem. A police response: "We see the issue as a mission.". A Shomrim investigation with Mako

June 17, 2022

Shomrim report: What happens when local officials waste our money?

Unbeknownst to many Israelis, an Interior Ministry committee has the authority to impose fines on mayors and civil servants who improperly use municipal taxes. However, a Shomrim investigation has found that there is no correlation between the extent of the waste and the severity of the fines – which, in any case, are often reduced or remain unpaid for years. Despite a scathing report by the state comptroller, nothing has changed.

March 7, 2022

Bench press: The path to a judge’s job revealed

The case of Eti Craif, who was appointed to serve as a judge on the Netanya Magistrate’s Court – despite not making the cut when she came up before the Judicial Training Committee – has shone a light on the path that people take before being appointed to the bench in Israel. In a special report, Shomrim reveals for the first time what goes on behind the appointment process: the trick questions, the behind-the-scenes pressure, the group dynamics and why are only one-third of the candidates Arabs? “Many people just don’t understand what’s wanted of them,” says one judge on the panel. Another senior lawyer assets that “Eti Craif is right when she says you need connections and acquaintances.”

February 10, 2022

“When I get the content from one of my client’s cellphones, I know him better than he knows himself”

The use of personal information stored on the cellphone of Nir Hefetz – as well as the phones of Yonatan Urich and Ofer Golan, two of Benjamin Netanyahu’s former aides – provide yet further proof of how legislation and rulings in Israel lag far behind technology. Whether or not it ends in a plea deal, the trial of the former prime minister shows that, when a court allows police to look on our computers and cellphones, it gives them carte blanche to pilfer whatever information they want. Moreover, the police often use that information far beyond the scope of their investigation. “This is a far greater violation of privacy than a wiretap or a physical search.” A Shomrim follow-up.

January 17, 2022

If it’s not Nir Hefetz, no one cares: In Israel, the law doesn’t apply in the interrogation room

Maltreatment – including denying sleep, drugs and medical attention. Threatening to ‘drop a bombshell’ that will cause great distress to family members. Humiliation, lies and – incredibly – rats and fleas. The high-profile arrests of Nir Hefetz, Shaul Elovitch and Moshe Hogeg have shone a light on some of the methods police investigators in Israel use to extract confessions from suspects. Unless you happen to be the head of a crime family, in which case the officer will bring you coffee and cake. Where is the line between acceptable and unacceptable deception? In Israel, there is no line. Unlike the United States or the United Kingdom, there are no laws protecting suspects’ rights. A special Shomrim report.

December 23, 2021

Citizens under surveillance: "Instead of the police doing its job, citizens are surveilling each other"

We are constantly being filmed: On the beach in our swimsuits, at the gas station, on the road, and while we’re looking for a parking spot. Drones are photographing us from the skies and the lobby of every building now has closed-circuit cameras. Sometimes we know we’re being filmed, but most of the time we’re blissfully unaware. Citizens have barely any access to the filmed material or to the ever-growing databases that record where we’ve been and exactly when we were at any given moment. The public space has never been as exposed and every citizen is considered a suspect until proven otherwise.

December 15, 2021

The ongoing battle for the Ethics Committee: What’s Netanyahu’s trial got to do with it?

After five months and despite an opposition boycott, the speaker of the Knesset has announced the establishment of the Knesset’s Ethics Committee and sent letters to MKs Gila Gamliel (Likud) and Yaakov Margi (Shas). They, however, continue to drag their feet. Could that be because, as long as the Ethics Committee doesn’t convene, Benjamin Netanyahu is free to continue raising as much money as he wants to fund his legal defense?