due to mature subject matter, viewer discretion is advised. ♪ only slightly larger than the state of new jersey, israel is a country where the ancient world meets the modern. it is a nation of contrasts whose gleaming cities and resorts line one of the world's most volatile regions, where centuries-old conflicts can explode into unthinkable violence, and those same

conflicts are reflected in the nation's prisons. >> translator: i am a bedouin. you have to respect all of the customs, even if it means to die for the custom. >> a place where muslims are held with jews, where organized crime families, challenge correctional staff for authority, where knock is nothing is taken for granted. >> translator: there was an event where a motorcycle passed by and threw a grenade into the direction of one of the guard towers. >> now three israeli prisons open their doors to their cameras and we reveal unexpected sights inside. ♪

located on the mediterranean coast, tel aviv is the israeli version of the city that never sleeps. it's the nation's financial capital and draws millions of tourists each year. 30 miles to northeast, however, is a considerably less popular landmark. rimoni, israel's largest maximum security prison. >> translator: the prison holds about 1,200 prisoners. here we have criminals convicted of murder, robbery, rape and many serious things. that makes it a difficult place to manage. >> while state terrorists are segregated in other facilities,

rimonin only houses those convicted of violate crimes. as a result, security systems here are constantly evolving. >> translator: today we have the highest level of technology in israel, and the aim is to have the highest level in the whole world, and we are always improving and always progressing. >> rimonin's security system includes electrified fences, 700 surveillance cameras, a central system to control every door and gate in the prison, and an enclosed dog run where a canine corps patrols the perimeter 24/7. but a collection of confiscated shanks to rival that of any american prison proves there is little to stop inmates determined to commit violence. >> translator: there is a greater risk of violence here, more than in other prisons, because this population, all in one way or another, has blood on their hands from outside. >> translator: i think that if you're trying to pick an average, there's a fight every

week. in most instances, they do use some kind of object. it's either a shiv, or sometimes even a shaving razor. >> but there is another factor at rimonin that keeps staff at constant alert, a violate inmate population mixed with political and religious tensions of the middle east makes for a potentially insinnedry combination. >> translator: a few years ago there was an event when a motorcyclist through a grenade in the direction of one of the guard towers on the edge of the prison. we found out one of the inmates wasn't happy with the treatment he was receiving, so he gave the order to one of his henchmen to throw the grenade. >> translator: this month, there is supposed to be the declaration of a palestinian state. we have residents from the occupied territories here as well as arabs from israel, and something can develop between the arab and the jews and the wings. we have wings that are mixed with both minorities, and this can be the start of it.

>> while rimonin is always braced for violence, officials say they control it by not only accommodating religious and ethnic customs but by trying to make life relatively comfortable for its inmates. this palestinian muslim serving life for murder has done time at five other israeli prisons prior to rimonin. >> translator: when i came to this prison, i felt like i was in a hotel compared with where i had been previously. we have everything. nothing is lacking. we have a television, we have a radio, a cd player, dvds, fans, shelves. there's a cabinet where we put all our clothes, a shower. nothing is lacking. >> rimonin has two-man and six-man cells, all of which more resemble college dormitories than american prison cells. and while most american inmates are not allowed to bring personal items beyond wedding

bands or religious medallions with them, israeli inmates pack their bags before coming to prison. >> translator: you bring everything with you when you turn yourself in -- clothing, shoes, electrical appliances, cigarettes, hot plate, coffee, everything. you're allowed to bring everything. >> and for wahil abu ganin, serving 19 years for murder, the comforts of home go beyond material possessions. he shares his cell with three cousins and two others and has other family living on the cell block as well. >> translator: there are almost 20 of us here. it's normal. there is no problem with this. >> translator: there is no policy here that family members won't be together or that all the family members will be together. so long as it doesn't threaten the order and the rules, it could be that we'll let members of the same family serve time in the same cell block, sometimes even in the same cell, if we feel it contributes to the

inmate's security and to our security. >> translator: you feel like you're at home. here, we live together without all sorts of nonsense. >> translator: we take care of each other. >> while israeli citizens, they are muslims of arab ancestry, but they aren't just any ordinary family. >> translator: the arabs are organized around known crime families, gangs. someone who belongs to one of these families will be more dominant. he's influential. he gets a lot of respect from the other prisoners. wahil abu ganin is a very dominant prisoner who belongs to a very dominant family. >> when we walked into their cell, they greeted us, they offered us refreshments, which we are not allowed to accept. but for me, it was like being at the sopranos' house. it was just a very festive environment. it was a very social environment. but then you know that these

people are capable of murder. >> abu ganim freely admits to the murder that brought him to rimonim. >> translator: it was an assassination. my cousin was murdered. and in our family, it's a custom that if blood is spilled, it needs to be spilled on the other side also, and so the guy was killed. i'm a bedouin. my grandfather is also a bedouin. our customs are very strict. you have to respect all the customs, even if it's to die for the custom. [ speaking foreign language ] >>. >> translator: no, no, it's very hard, because with us, we respect the elders. that's basic. if they say a word, it's holy. the truth is, my family is certainly proud. i told you already, it's our custom.

>> inside rimonim, the abu ganims have gained a reputation as a formidable crime family. >> translator: when i came to prison, everyone knew our story, which family i belonged to. we have a background and we are a large family, a lot of members. there are almost 20 of us here. where we live, we have a very high status and everyone respects us. >> i felt like i was in failm, a scene like from "good fellows," all of them spending time together, cheerful, the whole family. they're cooking, they're proud, they have a lot of proud with what they did. >> translator: we try not to put two clashing families together. we separate them to eliminate problem. >> translator: they can't put two or three different families in the same cell block, because everyone feels that he's the top dog. that can escalate into a fight with very bad results, so it's preferable for them to put one

family in each cell block. they manage their own affairs and their people as needed. >> rimonim staff also sees a strategic advantage to keeping crime families together. >> translator: the moment that i have dominant prisoners in the cell block, i know, when needed, how to send them a message that they have to be straight and keep their people in line, and when there is a crisis, i use them as a mouthpiece to reach the rest of the population. >> but abu ganim maintains he plays a larger role in the prison than merely as a mouthpiece for officials. >> translator: at any second, there can be a problem between inmates, and that can turn into a fight. if there is an argument, they have to come to us. we adjudicate, and someone who breaks the rules -- gets punished. according to our language, according to the law.

i prefer not to say. >> commander shen has a different take on who maintains order in the cell block. >> translator: we are the ones who maintain order, not the prisoners. even though they may say otherwise, there's a very clear organization. there are rules for behavior for order that are very clear, and the prisoners know them. coming up, inside rimonim's religious wing. a former israeli soldier recounts his role in a military gang rape. >> translator: i held a cocked gun towards him. >> we discover the surprising benefit many israeli inmates enjoy. >> the idea of someone who had committed a violent crime and had a very long sentence being released for a few days was really surprising to us. >> and later, we head north for an exclusive look inside israel's only female prison. that's good morning, veggie style.

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located 30 miles outside the modern, bustling city of tel aviv, rimonim prison houses inmates from a variety of backgrounds and ethnicities. still, there are plenty of reminders that it is located in the world's only jewish nation, a place where religion is paramount. one such reminder, mizuza attached to every doorway. >> it is two pieces of parchment we believe it protects the door and the place you enter. people here have fought for them to be on their door posts. so we do our best in the prison to have one on every room and in every public place so that everybody who enters or exits will have this good feeling that there is somebody in the heavens who looks after him. >> while most american prisons have chapels and offer some form

of religious services, rimonim has an entire housing unit dedicated solely to the study and practice of judaism. >> translator: the religious wing is intended to provide an option for religious prisoners who request to, a, live a religious life on a high level, and b, to offer an inmate the opportunity to sit and study and to develop on a spiritual level, in order to offer him the tools for rehabilitation, not only during his imprisonment, but also after his imprisonment. >> inmates must apply to live in the wing and go through a probationary period to weed out those whose motivations are not religious. >> translator: the religious wing is a kind of sanctuary for a lot of the prisoners who do not get along with the regular inmates. so all of a sudden, they want the religious inmates because they are more easy-going. there are inmates who only want to come to the wing because it is a good place, it's quiet.

we only give this chance to those who deserve it. >> one of the inmates who has been accepted into the religious wing is yoni kirshblum. >> translator: once i had no idea about god and wasn't even willing to hear such a thing, that there was a god. >> he was originally sentenced to six years for being an accessory to a sodomy rape of another male soldier during basic training in the israeli army. >> translator: it took place at the zukim army base. a few friends who were part of the case with me grabbed this one guy, and i was actually the guard at the tent and the other guys did what they did to him, and i just, i held a cocked gun towards him. and in fact, i saw the incident and didn't prevent it. >> kirshblum began his sentence under house arrest, but he then committed robbery and was sentenced to an additional five years and sent to prison.

>> translator: as someone who is addicted to drugs, one of my things was a need for excitement. and today, in essence, the only excitement that i get here is through religion, through the torah, which gives me the tools that i need for life outside. >> in the religious wing, kirshbloom is shielded from the potential violence between jews and arabs that exist in other parts of the prison, but some inmates at rimonim have benefited from putting the conflicts of the outside world aside. >> translator: to resist someone because he's a jew, a muslim, a christian, it simply doesn't work inside. >> shari khaye sdnk palestinian. his cellmate is jewish. both are serving life sentences for murder. >> translator: we eat together, we play together, we work together. i love him a lot.

he is better than a biological brother. not everything you see on television works the same in prison, because in prison, we are disconnected from politics. we do not deal and concern ourselves with politics. but this is our life in prison. >> given the situation outside between palestinians and israelis, there's animosity, there is a conflict. i was actually surprised to see how they got together and actually became brothers. it was actually a pleasant surprise to see this. >> he says he discovered what a good friend khayed was 11 years earlier when both were housed in another prison. >> translator: i had an incident with a fellow jew. i stabbed someone who harassed me, and as punishment, they sent me to segregation. someone else came to mess with my things and shadi just stood there and insisted that nobody will touch my belongings. >> khayed even standed up to staff, a move that landed him in

segregation as well. >> translator: we stayed together in segregation for six months and what he did for me i don't think anyone else would have done. coming up, how the unusual relationship between israeli prison staff and inmates even extends to the kitchen. >> the officers were not at all concerned with the inmates tampering with their food. >> and -- >> translator: we usually improve the food they give us. >> a young man faces decades in rimonim for murdering his sister, a family honor killing. >> translator: she met someone through the internet and i didn't like that. what's in your? ♪ power surge, let it blow your mind. [ male announcer ] for fruits, veggies and natural green tea energy... new v8 v-fusion plus energy. could've had a v8.

t there. new v8 v-fusion plus energy. - one serving of cheese is the size of four dice. one serving of cereal, a baseball. and one serving of fruit, a tennis ball. - you know, both parties agree. our kids can be healthier... the more you know. bark bark. located just outside tel aviv, israel's rimonim prison employs some of the world's most technologically advanced security systems. but even those can't always beat the street's counts, picked up by inmates. >> sometimes i get to a place

that is no smoke. so they say don't smoke in here with a cigarette, so i say okay, and they think i throw it, but it's in my hand. >> his slight of hand skills have proven useful in other ways as well. >> sometimes, you know, i show officers in the jail that i took them mobiles and they didn't feel it and i gave it back. so when i bring it back, just, they laugh and they say thank you. they don't have another choice. >> but bakir is not in rimonim for pick-pocketing. he is serving a 30-year sentence for murder, yet still has an easy-going relationship with officers, whose cell phones he occasionally pilfers. >> having worked on "lockup" for a while now, the relationship that he had with the staff at rimonim was remarkable to me. there's still the division between the officers and the inmates, but there was just a friendliness about it. it was like watching two neighbors greet each other. they would shake hands. and in an american prison, we just don't see that. there's a lot more animosity

from the inmates towards the officers. >> one reason why is that even while rimonim inmates are considered to be among israel's most violent criminals, rehabilitation is a major goal of the prison. >> i think that one of the keys of understanding the israeli prison system and why inmates live so comfortably with each other, even in a maximum security prison like rimonim, is understanding the size of israel and the fact that israel is a really small country. those inmates one day are going to return to society, and the prisons don't release hardened, angry prisoners out there because they will have to live with each other, they will have to live within the small israeli society. >> translator: we treat the prisoners in a respectful manner. we treat them as human being. >> and nowhere is that respect and trust better demonstrated than in the staff cafeteria. corrections officers eat here every day, and the food is all

prepared by inmates. >> the officers were not at all concerned about the inmates tampering with their food. not single officer expressed fear. they had complete trust. and they even were complimentary of the food. >> inmates also cook the three daily meals provided to other inmates. but most rimonim inmates, including wadia abu amar, cook for themselves with the food they purchase from the canteen in kitchens located in each mousing unit, and in some cases, inside individual cells. >> translator: the food is reasonable, let's put it like that. we don't like everything. we usually improve the food they give us. they bring, for instance, turkey breast sometimes. we take it, make it with onion, mushrooms, vegetables, make it like a kind of stir-fry. i'm cutting with a piece of metal because we don't have

knives here. knives are forbidden, so we improvise. i don't want the deputy to see me. >> seeing abu amar and his friends cooking in prison made it feel more like we're in a fraternity house rather than a maximum security prison. he was always laughing and playing around with his friends in the cell. but when we asked him to speak about his crime, that brought us back to the reality that we are in a maximum security prison and we are dealing with a different set of cultural issues. >> abu omar is serving 27 years for murder. the victim was his sister and the crime was considered a family honor killing. >> he grew very serious. he told us it was the first time he has ever spoken about his crime.

"msnbc now." i'm veronica de la cruz. after wrapping up a meeting of g-8 leaders, president obama is at the nato summit.

and three act risks arrested accused of planning to bomb obama's headquarters in chicago. each have a $1.5 million bond. and the first named storm of the season has formed off the coast of south carolina. tropical storm alberto is packing winds of nearly 50 miles an hour. i'm veronica de la cruz. now back to "lockup." due to mature subject matter, viewer discretion is advised. israel's rimonim prison strives to rehabilitate some of the nation's most violent criminals, but their efforts must overcome the influences of a wide range of cultures. wadia abu omar is serving a 27-year sentence for murder, a family honor killing, which until now he has not publicly spoken about.

>> translator: i'm serving time for the murder of my sister. it's something that's hard for me to talk about. it's something very sensitive for me. >> abu omar says he shared a close bond with his sister, who at 22 was only a year older than he was when he killed her. >> when we asked him to speak about his crime, he grew very serious. his whole demeanor changed. he has to clear the room from his friends, he has to shut the door closed. he told us this is the first time he's going to speak about his crime in such details. >> translator: she met someone through the internet, and i didn't like that. i said if the man has good intentions and all that, let him come to our house, everything will be fine. she continued with it, and i opposed that until one day i raised my hand on her.

she went to the police and made a complaint. they took me, questioned me, and since then, she didn't return home. they took her to a shelter for battered women, and three years passed like that. >> but abu omar says his extended family felt his sister's actions shamed them, and that she deserved to die. >> translator: my uncles and all that, they put pressure on me. they decided that because of me, this problem happened and i need to do it, only me. i come from a bedouin family, and for the bedouin, is not allowed to disrespect the family honor. she disrespected the family honor. in order to return the honor of the family, it was necessary to kill her. because she talked with a guy and she also ran away from home.

>> it took months, but abu omar eventually located the shelter where his sister was staying and lured her to him. >> translator: i tried to set up the meeting with her in a quiet place with no people, and that's where i kidnapped her. and i killed her. >> abu amar says his actions still haunt him. >> translator: i miss her a lot. a lot. there isn't a night that i don't think about her. i have other sisters, charming, most of them married. they come with their children to our house, sit, happy. we have a warm and loving home.

she could have been there, too. >> today, abu omar is housed in the domestic violence therapy wing of the prison and is receiving treatment and dealing with the consequences of his crime. >> translator: when he arrived, he was a bit more introverted. now he seems like a different person, a person who is more open, talking, laughing more. >> translator: our main function is to watch over the prisoners that the court has decided to convict in accordance with our legal system, but this isn't the only thing we do. we also need the imprisonment to be secure, pleasant and in good conditions in order to return them to the community and society as changed people. >> and that commitment to rehabilitation is reflected in the name of the prison itself. rimonim is hebrew for pomegranate.

>> translator: it's a fruit that contains many seeds. it demonstrates unity, being together. there are positive prayers in judaism that say, may we have as many privileges as a pomegranate has seeds. the name was chosen after a strong fruit that symbolizes goodness, and with the hope that we will always symbolize goodness in this facility. >> rimonim is not the only israeli prison whose name holds a special meaning. there is only one prison in the entire nation that houses female inmates. its name is nevitirtsa which means oasis of strong women. >> the most striking thing about nevitirtsa is that it is the only female prison in all of israel and it has 215 beds. to give you perspective, the state of virginia has approximately the same population as israel and six times as many female inmates.

>> we have all types, long sentences, short sentences, minors, old women. everybody is here, every kind you can think of. murderers, sex offenders, drug dealers, white collar -- >> you have white collar criminals with someone who's committed murder? >> right. >> like rimonim, neve tirza also places an emphasis on rehabilitation, and in certain areas could be mistaken for a college campus. but to this inmate, who shares a six-person, one-bathroom cell, it's definitely prison. >> translator: it's a very small room. it's insanely hot here in the summer. there's only one fan, that's it. >> her cell was very homey. each of the inmates had their own sheets, they personalized

their own area. they even had a fish tank. >> she is serving a two-year sentence for stabbing her ex-girlfriend's new lover with a pen knife. >> translator: i have no idea how this happened. i think that everybody has that fuse that just waits to flare up. so if it happened to me, it can happen to anybody. >> benisti stands out among other inmates by her tattoos, forbidden by judaism. >> translator: i have this one, which was "say my name, bitch." that was from "american pie." that's a movie. i almost died laughing. i'm sally person like that, so i did the tattoo. >> benisti also stands out for her popularity with other inmates. she says she had never been in trouble with the law prior to coming to neve tirza, but was able to make herself at home here. >> translator: after about a month, i think, i became the queen of the wing.

i do a lot of things here. first of all, i have a job. i serve the food to people here, so you already have contact with everyone. i also help with the education. and i sing and dance. and as soon as i start dancing, everybody comes to me and says "teach me, teach me, i want to dance." and besides that, i'm a lot of fun. i'm funny. my prison time goes by like that, so i make it smooth for other people, too. >> neve tirza not only has a rec room for dancing, it has one other unusual facility, one we've never seen in any other prison, a petting zoo. >> what we found is that the treating of animals is something very therapeutic for them. some of them were victims, their parents victims, so that helps them deal with those issues.

people who have violent offenses learn how to be gentle and they learn how to respect a living creature. there's a dark room in there. there's a comfortable chair and an aquarium with fish that glow in the dark, and it's supposed to be a place for relaxation. >> translator: something inside of me really enjoys the silence, because for many, many years, i lived in a very difficult and emotional storm. >> valida sibet is serving 25 years for aiding and abetting murder. she and her boyfriend killed an elderly woman during a robbery. they were drug addicts and needed a fix. >> translator: i brought the rope that he used to tie her hands. i held her mouth with a shirt when he stabbed her. afterwards, i cleaned all the fingerprints. >> sibet has been in prison for more than nine years and says

she changed during that time and that the petting zoo has played a large role. >> translator: everyone connects to one of the animals. me, it's my bird. he reminded me of myself. he was really aggressive, just like i was when i came here. he used to attack. he just took out flesh from the girls. and with me, somehow, we found a common language and now we have a love affair. and the fact that i come and take care of them, it's a responsibility. >> sibet's progress in prison made her eligible for one of the most surprising privileges available to israeli inmates. they call it vacation, but it's actually a furlough program that allows inmates to leave the prison and stay with approved relatives up to several days at a time. sibet visits her sister. >> the idea of someone who had committed a violent crime and

had a very long sentence being released for a few hours or a few days was really surprising to us. but the focus in the prisons was on the idea of rehabilitation and the idea of prisons was to help reintegrate inmates back into society. >> translator: now i go out every 21 days. i have leaves of three days. i love every moment. i love taste, i love food, i love the experiences, the the smells, people. they look at me in a different way. they don't see a person with horns. they see me as a human being. coming up -- >> playpens, cribs for babies, strollers. they painted for us and drew for us and they really put in a lot of effort. >> motherhood in prison. and later -- >> translator: i've never heard you describe yourself as wrong. >> it's not like i stabbed her and left. >> a 73-year-old inmate tries to make sense of his crime inside one of israel's most unusual prisons. that's good morning, veggie style.

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♪ locked behind the gates and razor wire of neve tirza, the only women's prison in israel, are three people who are unquestionably innocent. >> right now, there are three children here. one of them was brought here with the mother when she was arrested. two of them were born here. the mothers were arrested pregnant and they gave birth here and they live here with the babies. >> at neve tirza, babies can stay with their mothers until they turn 2 years old. >> pregnant inmates are released to civilian hospitals to give birth, but then must return as soon as they are able.

maria simulovic is here with her 2-year-old son. >> translator: we don't feel that we're in prison here in this room. it's very different from the rest of the rooms. playpens, cribs for babies, strollers. they painted for us and drew for us, and they really put in a lot of effort. we're comfortable. it's pleasant for us. >> still, simolovic says being in prison is difficult. >> translator: the truth is, it really is heartbreaking. you look outside the window, you see even a tree, a car, noises that you're used to. they're not here. you're isolated. it's really, really painful, really. >> simolovic was one month pregnant when she committed the crime that led to her four-year sentence for assault with a deadly weapon. she stabbed a young woman, her former roommate, in the neck and face during a heated argument

about an ex-boyfriend. >> translator: i don't have the strength to explain it, really. it's long, it's complicated. in short, it was a case of jealousy. >> this is not simolovic's first involvement with prison. she was conceived in a russian prison during a conjugal visit between her parents. >> translator: my father was addicted to drugs his whole life and goes in and out of prison. when my mother gave birth, she was visiting him. her water broke. and when they went to the hospital, they let my father out of prison, and it was exactly like when i gave birth, two guards, my mother and my father. >> if she participates in therapy and maintains a good behavior record, simolovic could be out of prison in a little more than a year. until then, she must cope with being separated from her boyfriend, the father of her

child. >> translator: there is like no shoulder to lean on, you know, to tell him the child did this, did that, the child smiled. it's impossible to share. sometimes i think if he could see this, what he does or something like that. >> but the couple does have visits. >> translator: every two weeks, a half-hour visit, and once a month, 12 hours when we go together with a room with a double bed and then, you know. >> inmates who prove they are in established relationships may have one conjugal visit per month. >> translator: i'm a little bit stressed. of course. to go once a month for a conjugal visit is -- now, another half hour. i don't think so. all he cares about are breasts, just breast milk.

he still doesn't understand we're going to see daddy. poor guy, huh? he has to see all these things? he didn't do anything. he just came into this world. coming up -- after stabbing his wife, a 73-year-old first-time offender gets a visit from his family. >> translator: she was stabbed in the back and in the stomach. it's a nightmare for us. what makes a sleep number store different? you walk into a conventional mattress store, it's really not about you.

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rehabilitation is a major focus of israel's maximum security prisons, such as rimonim and neve tirza, both of which are located near the city of tel aviv. but in northern israel, near the sea of galilee, is another prison that officials say goes even one step further.

hermone might be a prison, but staff here refer to it in different terms. >> it's the largest therapeutic community in the country. >> arlene peretz, who immigrated to israel from the united states in 1980, is a social worker at jermone. >> because it's a therapeutic community, we look at the inmates kind of in a different frame of mind and we call them residents as opposed to inmates, because they're in a community where they should feel there's more respect for each other. [ applause ] >> the 600 men serving their sentences at jermon are divided into three residential therapeutic programs, depending on their offense. there are wings for alcohol abuse, drug abuse and domestic violence. and everyone is required to attend daily group therapy sessions. physical activity is also encouraged.

>> it was like being on a college campus. there was a lot of freedom of movement, very few heavy doors. if it weren't for the razor wire and the orange jumpsuits, you would never know you were in a prison. >> translator: but this prison, don't make a mistake, it is a prison, just like any other prison. there is a mantle of very strict security. we have fences, we have a canine unit. we have camera and television in closed circuit. we have patrols. we have a patrol on foot and we have an outside vehicular patrol. >> and even though hermon is entered around its therapeutic programs, officials here don't take them lightly. >> translator: the treatment is not easy. it requires from them not only courage, but also desire, motivation. many prisoners break down and prefer to go to a normal prison in order to not have to stay here and undergo these pressures, but those who complete the treatment are

usually the prisoners whom we will see manage to integrate well into society, and we do not see them returning to prison, and those are the prisoners we want. >> it might be a tough road for 73-year-old simone derino, who is six months shy of completing his four-year sentence. today is family day at hermon. and for derino, it's a chance to repair his relationship with his children and grandchildren. his family was traumatized after he stabbed his wife several times during an argument in which he was drunk. his wife survived the attack but is not here today. >> translator: i have to tell you that one of the things that's so special about family day is the opportunity to see all of you with a child in your arms, to see this family connection is simply critical. >> derino only recently entered the alcohol treatment program

run by orly huffin. >> translator: coming to terms with what you did isn't just about whether your family accepts you or doesn't accept you. it is whether you're able to stop and tell them i acted in a violent manner, i stopped and i drank. >> but i already said that. >> you think everything is all right if they sit next to you. they think it is nice. so at the meeting, we can go on and everyone will love me and everything will be okay. >> she says that the family's rehabilitation must begin with him accepting responsibility for his actions. it's been an uphill battle. >> translator: i've never heard you describe yourself as wrong. >> translator: it's not like i stabbed her and then left. >> what does that matter? you stabbed her. >> translator: i stabbed her, but i don't want to be responsible for her having to go to the hospital. >> translator: my mother is fine, thanks to god. >> rinat lasri is one of

derino's eight children. >> translator: she was stabbed in the back and in the stomach. everything is all right. she lives with me, but he is still my father and i have to support him because i know how he raised me and what he did for us and he did everything for us. he's a warm grandfather. he spoils his grandchildren, and it's very hard for him, but it's hard for all of us. it's an event that ruined the family. it's a nightmare for us. >> at his advanced age, it's difficult to say what derino's life will hold in store for him when he's soon released, but 34-year-old olik is optimistic about his future. he holds an inmate job at hermon's shoe factory. >> translator: it's a privilege to work here. >> kligman is serving 2 1/2 years for drug dealing and domestic violence against his girlfriend. >> oleg arrived in the community very much afraid with no

confidence. he only knew violence and had a reacting violence. he had no way of expressing his feelings. he didn't even know how to describe what he felt. it was kind of, i'd say very hollow inside, a lost soul. ♪ >> kligman says his therapy at hermon helped him discover the one thing he did love. >> translator: you could say that every moment with the guitar for me is joy, a holiday, i don't know. i think that it's medicine for the soul, and i'll have it for the rest of my life. i've discovered my feelings. when i came here, i was like ice. nothing moved me. today, today it's a new world, and that's because of this place and because of the group and the counselors and everyone. they s