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🇮🇱 Israel /Crime & Justice

Daughter of Former Prisoners Now Serves in Israel Prison Service Uniform to Support At-Risk Youth

From Jerusalem Post · () English

Translated from English, summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.

At a glance

In-depth Named sources Context piece
  • Sari Shriki, 19, volunteers with the Israel Prison Service, working with at-risk youth through a national service program.
  • Shriki grew up in a youth facility due to her parents' addiction and incarceration, facing a difficult childhood marked by frequent visits to her father in prison.
  • Inspired by her own challenging upbringing, she chose a path of service, aiming to make a positive impact and avoid the struggles she witnessed.

Sari Shriki, a 19-year-old from Eilat, is serving as a national service volunteer with the Israel Prison Service, dedicating her time to supporting at-risk youth. Her personal history is deeply intertwined with the prison system, as both her parents experienced lengthy incarcerations due to addiction.

My relationship with my father was very tenuous at a certain point, because he was in prison, and that was very difficult for me.

— Sari ShrikiShriki describes the impact of her father's incarceration on her childhood.

Removed from her home at a young age, Shriki and her twin sister were placed in a residential youth facility. Her relationship with her father was particularly strained due to his frequent prison sentences. A pivotal moment occurred in seventh grade when her father was detained again, forcing her and her sister to undertake long bus journeys to Eilat for weekend visits on their own.

After receiving an exemption from mandatory military service at 18, Shriki sought a meaningful way to contribute to her country. She decided to join Israel's national service framework, Sherut Leumi, which led her to the Prison Service. The placement held significant personal weight, as she had never visited her father in prison before and her first experience entering a correctional facility was for her own interview.

We started doing all those long trips to Eilat by ourselves, by bus, there and back. It was a tough time growing up.

— Sari ShrikiShriki recounts the challenges of maintaining contact with her father during her childhood.

Reflecting on her journey, Shriki expressed the profound impact of her choices. "It would have been so easy for me to run away and go down the path of drugs, to become an addict myself, and yet I chose the opposite path," she stated. "I managed to grow from it and to tell myself in the mirror: I got through this, I had a choice to make, and I chose the right path."

I said, all right, I’m not going to just sit at home. I will look for something meaningful. I wanted to wear a uniform, to contribute and give of myself to the country.

— Sari ShrikiShriki explains her motivation for seeking a service role after her military exemption.

Through the Temura track, a program for young people from at-risk backgrounds, Shriki is now working within the system that once defined her childhood, aiming to offer a different future to others facing similar challenges.

I had never been in a prison before in my life. Everything I knew about it was from movies. When I came for the interview and walked into the facility, it was a real shock. I told myself how lucky I was that I had chosen differently.

— Sari ShrikiShriki describes her initial reaction upon entering a prison for her volunteer interview.
DistantNews Editorial

Originally published by Jerusalem Post in English. Translated, summarized, and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.

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