Image by Getty Images

By Naomi Zeveloff January 25, 2017

Israeli torture methods include slapping prisoners, shouting at them and forcing them to squat against a wall handcuffed for long periods of time, according to a Haaretz report that provided a rare look into torture in the Israeli prison system.

Haaretz was witness to a conversation among interrogators that yielded new details about how interrogators use torture to gain information from prisoners, usually Palestinians. In December 2015, Jewish terror suspects in a high profile arson case that killed a Palestinian family also said they were tortured.

Torture, or “special means” as the Israeli security establishment calls it, has long been shrouded from the public eye. As the report noted, usually torture accounts at the hands of Israeli interrogators come from those on the receiving end of torture.

Forwarding the News

Thoughtful, balanced reporting from the Forward and around the web, bringing you updated news and analysis each day.

Terms(Required)

I agree to the Forward's Terms of Service and Privacy Policy

Email(Required)

In the conversation to which Haaretz was witness, interrogators also described back-bending, when a suspect is bent backward over a stool with his arms and legs cuffed. Another method is cuffing a suspect’s hands behind his back and forcing him to raise them to shoulder height.

Israel’s High Court outlawed torture in 1999, but a subsequent attorney general later allowed its use with restrictions. According to Haaretz, the use of torture is now on the rise in Israel.

Contact Naomi Zeveloff at [email protected]

The Forward is free to read, but it isn’t free to produce

I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward.

Now more than ever, American Jews need independent news they can trust, with reporting driven by truth, not ideology. We serve you, not any ideological agenda.

At a time when other newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall and invested additional resources to report on the ground from Israel and around the U.S. on the impact of the war, rising antisemitism and polarized discourse.

Readers like you make it all possible. Support our work by becoming a Forward Member and connect with our journalism and your community.

This is a great time to support independent Jewish journalism you rely on. Make a gift today!

—  Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO

Support our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.

$90 $180

$360

Other amount