Restorative justice
The evening opened with the words of prof. Rassem Khamaisi, the Head of the Jewish- Arab center who talked about the connection between the Restorative justice and the Koran. The incoming President of the Haifa District Court the Honorable Judge Dr. Ron Shapiro gave a guest lecture. He described how the criminal legal system generally focuses on one tool almost exclusively. A punishment in response to social crime. The severity of the punishment reflects how severely society views the act committed by the accused. There are hardly any references in the criminal procedure relating to the victim or his needs, which are often only an apology or responsibility rather than punishment. The Restorative justice, which was designed to address these and other needs of victims of crime, while providing an opportunity to criminals to repair their ways, is receiving an ambivalent attitude from the courts in Israel. Some take the restorative justice process very lightly in consideration before sentencing; others see it as an indication of the rehabilitation of the defendant or the willingness of the victim to forgive. Dr. Shapira gave several examples of judgments given in references to restorative justice processes. In the conclusion, Dr. Shapiro emphasized the importance of referring to the restorative justice as a treatment tool and the need to add treatment tools to the law, like the restorative justice to the courts responds basket.