A majority of teenagers who commit minor crimes will no longer be arrested or sent to jail, but will be dealt with through alternative means, if a revolutionary bill approved this week by the government receives Knesset approval.

The bill is meant to introduce into Israeli law the principle of "healing justice" - mending the damage to the victim and community, and obligate the offender to take responsibility for his actions and undergo rehabilitation.

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Under the bill sponsored by MK Dov Khenin (Hadash), only teens suspected of crimes that carry punishments exceeding five years (sex and drug offenses, or aggravated violence) would be arrested.

The bill was submitted to the previous Knesset by MK Issam Makhoul (Hadash) and Ophir Pines-Paz (Labor), but was rejected by the government. The Knesset is expected to pass a preliminary reading of the bill today.

There are several mediation projects for teenage offenders in Israel, but the proceedings are not anchored in law, so they are often unrecognized by the courts.

Under the bill, a teenager who has committed a crime would meet with the victim of the crime, if both agree to this, and hear about the damage caused, try to understand, ask forgiveness, and even pay compensation. Family and community members are usually brought into such mediation proceedings to support both sides.

The existing law recognizes only one alternative proceeding - non-prosecution, in which a teen pleads guilty, receives a warning, and the case is closed. But not only is this avenue devoid of any rehabilitation process, it is used in a discriminatory fashion, according to a study conducted by the Myers-JDC-Brookdale Institute, in cooperation with the police. For example, non-prosecution is offered to 70 percent of Jewish teens, and only 43 percent of Arab teens.

The bill sets clear, uniform criteria for eligibility for either non-prosecution or mediation.

Besides mediation costing a great deal less than the cost of going to trial, Khenin views the proposed law as a crucial tool for reducing crime in Israel.

"All the research shows that locking up teenagers is a sure way to create criminality," Khenin said. "The time has come to adopt more progressive methods."

The most progressive model has been implemented for more than a decade in New Zealand, where over 80 percent of proceedings against minors suspected of criminal offenses are referred to mediation.