Summary of law reform necessary to achieve full prohibition

Corporal punishment is prohibited in all settings, including the home.

Current legality of corporal punishment

Home

Corporal punishment is prohibited in the home. In 2000, the Supreme Court ruled against all violence in childrearing (Natalie Bako v The State). The “reasonable chastisement” defence was removed from criminal law the same year. Another Supreme Court judgment ruled that corporal punishment is an illegitimate and unsound method of punishment (Criminal Case 511/95 State of Israel v Jane Doe, 97 (3) Takdin-District Ct. 1898). Judge Dorit Beinish, in a majority decision, stated (section 29 of verdict): “The child is not his parents’ property; he may not serve as a punching bag even if the parent honestly believes that he is implementing his obligation and right to educate his child. The child depends on his parent, needs his love, his protection and his soft touch. Using punishment that causes pain and degradation violates his rights as a human. It violates his body, his feelings, his dignity and his normal course of development.”

Schools

Corporal punishment is prohibited in schools under the Students’ Rights Law (2000). A Supreme Court ruling in 1994 declared that “corporal punishment cannot constitute a legitimate tool in the hands of teachers or other educators” (The State of Israel v Alagani), applicable to both state and private schools.

Penal system

Corporal punishment is prohibited as a sentence for crime and as a disciplinary measure in penal institutions.

Alternative care

Corporal punishment is prohibited in day care settings by clause 6 of the Regulations of Supervision of Daycare Institutions (1965, 1968). It is also prohibited in residential institutions and other forms of childcare. The Supreme Court rulings (see above) apply.

Prevalence research

None identified in the last ten years.

Recommendations by human rights treaty bodies

Committee on the Rights of the Child

“The Committee welcomes:

c) the prohibition of corporal punishment in homes, schools and other institutions….

“The Committee welcomes the many efforts of the State party to prevent and combat all forms of violence and abuse within the family, in schools and in other institutions which care for children, but is concerned at the apparently limited impact of these efforts owing to, among other things, the lack of a comprehensive strategy and adequate resources.

“The Committee recommends that the State party establish a national and comprehensive strategy to prevent and combat violence and abuse within the family, in schools and other institutions caring for children, which should include, among other things:

1. establish a national and comprehensive strategy to prevent and combat violence and abuse within the family, in schools and in other institutions caring for children, which should include, among other things, a study to assess the nature and extent of ill-treatment and abuse of children, and design policies and programmes to address these practices;
2. carry out public education campaigns about the negative consequences of ill-treatment of children and promote positive, non-violent forms of discipline as an alternative to corporal punishment….”

(9 October 2002, CRC/C/15/Add.195, Concluding observations on initial report, paras. 3(c), 38 and 39 (a and b))