In preparation for the forum of senior jurists in the field of white collar and penal law, Adv. Sharon Kohane, a partner and head of the White Collar department at our firm, participated in an article for Calcalist,in which she related to relevant issues on the sector’s agenda. 

Inter alia, Adv. Kohane referred to the governance problem in the Negev, and to the question of whether increasing penalties for criminal offences by legislation or legislation amendments, may assist the State in contending with such or other governance issues, and said that “‘Governance is not summed up solely as providing a sense of security, but by the government’s all round ability to provide proper and measurable answers and services to the population in general, in a manner that enables its advancement in all areas. It would appear that for decades the Israeli government gave no consideration to governance in the Negev in the wider sense of the word: it did not establish employment centers, schools and educational institutions, did not develop tourism, did not regulate settlements and develop infrastructures and did not take care of security and law enforcement.  We have recently been seeing more and more results of this policy, expressed through multiple criminal transgressions and a severe sense of insecurity. However, these negative phenomena have not sprung up within a vacuum. Therefore, if the State of Israel wishes to strengthen governance, it most certainly has to take action to increase enforcement and punishment, whether through legislation and law amendments or through the law courts.  This is, however, only one aspect of said governance; focus must be made, simultaneously, on establishing and regulating settlements alongside reinforcing the education system, employment, transportation and tourism, by providing extensive incentives in order to attract as much of the population as possible. A correct combination of these actions, even if it does not completely wipe out criminal activities, should reduce them substantially, thereby strengthening the sense of security for all residents”. 

For the full article: Calcalist >>