Sari Shriki grew up with prison as part of her family story. Now, at 19, she enters prison each day in uniform, serving as a national service volunteer with the Israel Prison Service.
Shriki, originally from Eilat, was born into a family marked by addiction and incarceration. Both of her parents served lengthy prison sentences, according to the Israeli Volunteer Association, which placed her in the IPS through its Temura, or “Transformation,” track for young people from at-risk backgrounds.
Removed from her home at a young age, Shriki was placed with her twin sister in a residential youth facility, where she spent much of her childhood.
“My relationship with my father was very tenuous at a certain point, because he was in prison, and that was very difficult for me,” Shriki said.
A turning point came in seventh grade, when her father was detained again. Until then, he had been the one taking her and her sister from the youth facility to Eilat for weekend visits.
She refused to give up those visits
“One day I was supposed to travel home for the weekend, and my father wasn’t answering his phone,” she recalled. “My mother didn’t tell us anything. In the end, the director of the facility told me I would have to start traveling on my own, because my father had been detained.”
Shriki said she refused to give up those visits.
“We started doing all those long trips to Eilat by ourselves, by bus, there and back,” she said. “It was a tough time growing up.”
At 18, Shriki received an exemption from military service. She said she tried to challenge it, then decided to find another way to serve the country.
“I said, all right, I’m not going to just sit at home,” she said. “I will look for something meaningful. I wanted to wear a uniform, to contribute and give of myself to the country.”
That search led her to Sherut Leumi, Israel’s national service framework, and eventually to the Prison Service.
The placement carried personal weight. Shriki had never visited her father in prison. Her first time entering a prison was for her own interview.
“I had never been in a prison before in my life,” she said. “Everything I knew about it was from movies. When I came for the interview and walked into the facility, it was a real shock. I told myself how lucky I was that I had chosen differently.”
Shriki said the first time she put on the uniform, she cried.
'It would have been so easy to become an addict myself, and yet I chose the opposite path'
“It would have been so easy for me to run away and go down the path of drugs, to become an addict myself, and yet I chose the opposite path,” she said. “I managed to grow from it and to tell myself in the mirror: I got through this, I had a choice to make, and I chose the right path.”
The Temura track is run by the Israeli Volunteer Association for young people from at-risk backgrounds who are known to welfare services. Participants serve in volunteer placements and meet once a week for group support and preparation for adult life.
Adir Tamir-Saada, Shriki’s coordinator, said the program gives participants a framework that matches their needs.
“These kids really need that support, and for the service to fit them,” Tamir-Saada said. “Beyond their volunteer placements, they come in once a week for a group day of emotional support and preparation for real life. It’s a chance to talk about addiction, sexuality, and dealing with finances before they head out on their own.”
Shriki said the weekly meetings have helped her during her service.
“It helps, and it’s a bit of a break from the service, all of us girls getting to be together,” she said. “There’s the support of the coordinator from the Israeli Volunteer Association, who’s always there to listen to us.”
Use hardship as a source of strength
Shriki is expected to continue for a second year and hopes eventually to build a career in the security services.
Asked what message she would give to young people growing up in difficult circumstances, Shriki said they should use hardship as a source of strength.
“Don’t take on the negative, no matter what you see around you,” she said. “Most of all, even when it’s hard, even when there is something bad, take that very thing and turn it into growth. Grow from it. Don’t let it pull you under.”
Yaron Lutz, executive director of the Israeli Volunteer Association, said Shriki’s story reflected the purpose of the Temura track.
“Sari’s story is living proof of the power of choice,” Lutz said. “The Temura track at the Israeli Volunteer Association was created for young people just like Sari, to give them the support network, the tools, and the belief in themselves that they deserve, and to enable them to turn the challenges of their past into a driving force for action, contribution to the country, and their own personal growth.”
The Israel Prison Service said its workforce includes people from all walks of life.
“Human dignity and equal opportunity for all give us the privilege of helping every person discover the spark within them and turn it into a great light,” the IPS said. “Our strength as an organization lies in our people.”