Spiritual Jewish Criminology

Yitzhak Ben Yair is a researcher and lecturer at the Zefat Academic College, located in the north of Israel. The overarching objective of his academic endeavors and research is to acquire a comprehensive understanding of criminology through the lens of religious texts and spiritual traditions. With this understanding, he aims to bridge theory and practice by developing concepts that can be translated into therapeutic tools and rehabilitation methods for offenders, incarcerated individuals, those struggling with addictions, at-risk youth and etc. The anticipated outcome of this work is to enhance the psychological well-being of these populations and reduce harm to them and others. In recent years, his research interests have encompassed forgiveness therapy. Yitzhak Ben Yair has completed a postdoctoral fellowship at the Department of Educational Psychology, University of Wisconsin-Madison, under the guidance of Prof. Robert Enright. During this fellowship, he studied the efficacy of an innovative program that integrated modern forgiveness therapy techniques with traditional Jewish elements. This program was designed to treat individuals grappling with addiction in Israel, drawing inspiration from the spiritual principles of Judaism.

Natti Ronel is a full professor in the Department of Criminology at Bar-Ilan University, Israel, where he formerly served as the department head. Additionally, he is a clinical criminologist with extensive experience in consultation and providing private and group treatment for individuals facing various distressing issues, including addiction, violence, criminal behaviour, and victimization. These topics also form the focus of his research and writing. In recent years, Natti has led a research team in developing the perspective of Positive Criminology, an extension of Positive Psychology with a criminological emphasis. He has also pioneered positive victimology, offering a fresh outlook on assisting survivors of violence and crime. Currently, his primary focus is on the advancement of Spiritual Criminology and Victimology, aiming to integrate spiritual wisdom into the study of modern social and behavioural sciences. Over the years, Natti also developed GraceWay—a spiritual approach to counseling and personal transformation. He has published several scientific papers and authored two books on this topic: "The Twelve Tools: From Dependence to Independence Through Spiritual Change" and "Free From Dependency - The Grace of Letting Go".