Infamous inmate

tali fahima 298.88 (photo credit: Ariel Jerozolimski)
tali fahima 298.88
(photo credit: Ariel Jerozolimski)
The 200 women serving sentences in Neveh Tirza are all criminal, and not security prisoners, aside from one notorious woman - Tali Fahima. After establishing and maintaining a close relationship with top Al-Aksa Martyrs Brigades terrorist Zakaria Zubeidi, Fahima was sentenced to three years in prison for contact with a foreign agent while intentionally trying to harm state security; transferring information to the enemy for its benefit; and violating a legal order. The scandalous nature of her crimes and her vocal outrage at the "occupation" has gained her infamy and a reputation for being an extreme left-wing activist. She was placed in Neveh Tirza out of fear that she would be killed if sent to a jail with Palestinian security prisoners. Despite her traitorous crimes, Fahima insists she is not a "Jew-hater" or an "Arab-lover." "Do you want to hear my side of the story?" she asks from her cell, where she is sitting with three of her cellmates. "Usually people don't even want to hear my story, they just immediately judge me and think whatever they want because of what I did. "But it's not like I would ever marry an Arab. I would only marry a Jew." The outspoken Fahima, clad in white shanty clothes and her trademark spectacles, admits that prison life is "difficult," and is awaiting an upcoming hearing in December to determine her release date.