During the last 30 years the most dramatic changes in the sex industry world wide was
its becoming a global industry in most of the countries and its banalization. Israel was
not spared mainly due to the following reasons. In the last 15 years the Israeli society
underwent dramatic changes, which facilitated the development of the current situation.
Rapid modernization of the country, the loss of traditional cultural values without
creating new system of cultural references, the influence of modern techniques of
communication such as T.V. and Internet and the development of materialistic values
made possible the banalization of the idea of prostitution. The pornographic industry
also appeared in the last two years. This is a supplementary reason to worry about a
further development of the trafficking in human beings for the sex industry. There are
quite few elements that contribute to this situation.
The main reasons for the fast development of Trafficking in persons and prostitution
in Israel are:
A massive wave of immigration from the former Soviet Union, which destabilized
the fragile social structures of the country.
The development of public and private aggression due to harsh security problems,
The infiltration of groups of International organized crime as well as the lack
of interest of the authorities in the social problems.
Non-existing projects concerning education on sexuality and gender equality.
Women are trafficked into Israel from Russia, Ukraine, Moldova, Uzbekistan, Lithuania,
Belarus, Brazil, Colombia, Estonia, Latvia and others. The economic situation in these
countries is catastrophic. Women are ready to do any kind of job in order to be able
to bring money back to their families that will allow them to survive. Criminal organized
groups are taking advantage of the situation and organize the trafficking. We estimate
that 70% of the cases the women are aware of the fact that they will be selling their
bodies in prostitution but they are not aware of the harsh conditions that await them
when they arrive to Israel. About 30% are bluntly deceived and do not realize that they
will end in prostitution. The traffickers promise them that they are going to work as
waitresses, cooks, models, au pairs or medical massage. The regular entries to Israel
through seaports and airports are recently heavily guarded, which is why so many women
are trafficked through the Egyptian border in places where there is no control.
Immediately after entering Israel most of the trafficked women are directed towards
locked apartments or brothels. According to many testimonies, which were assembled by
the Hotline for Migrant Workers and "Isha Le'Isha", many of them are going through
intimidation, repeated rapes, their papers are confiscated and they are sold in auctions.
Often they are forced to prostitute themselves without getting any money until they
reimburse their "debts " of transportation and sale. In many cases once they are done
they are sold to another pimp and have to reimburse the new "debt". Many women are
threatened that if they complain to the police they will be locked in jail for life
as they are in Israel illegally. Since they have no knowledge of their rights and no
knowledge of the language, they are afraid to do any move that might put them in a
harsher situation. Some of them end in private locked up apartments with no possibility
of escape, some are sold again and again from brothel to brothel until they are used
up and constitute a burden for their "employers" and are handed over to the police. During
the last two years the police in several districts has changed its policy towards the
illegal resident women that they find while they raid the brothels (See chapter 4). Until
last year the procurers, pimps and traffickers - were arrested for a couple of days,
but then, with the help of mighty lawyers and financial bail, they were liberated until
their process. During the last year we witness a change of police and prosecution
procedures towards them, as the legal directive in these cases calls for the arrest of
traffickers, procurers and pimps until the end of the investigation. Until July 2000
the law did not have a particular article refering to trafficking in women so that
files until mid 2000 were opened on the grounds of different felonies like: Managing
and brothel keeping, Pimping, incitement to prostitution, abduction etc. According to
a police report in 1998 - 377 files were opened among which none was opened on the
grounds of trafficking in women. in 1999 - 522 files among which none was opened
on the grounds of trafficking in women. In 2000 - 410 among which only 1 was opened on
the grounds of trafficking in women. In 2001 - 427 files were opened while 40 files
were opened until the end of 2001 on the grounds of trafficking in women based on the
new law. This represents growth of 3900% (See details in Chapter 3).
There are no exact statistics of the size of the phenomenon since these are outlawed
activities, which develop underground. A report of AP during 1998 states that during
the last 10 years, about 10,000 women were trafficked to Israel for prostitution and
according to another report, which was written by Martina Vandenberg from Global
Survival Network, the figure of 3,000 women per year can be considered. . According
to the data published in the report of the Parliamentary investigation committee on
Trafficking in Wome(December 2002) the number estimated of trafficked women each year
is 3,000. In Tel-Aviv alone there were 250 brothels and escort agencies and about 400
brothels in Israel in other locations. According to the same report the sex industry
represents up to 1 billion Dollars per year. The amount paid by a customer in these
brothels is about $30.- and the amount which is received by the woman, if she receives
it, is about $4.-. In the known places they work 12 hours a day for 6-7 days a week
and obliged to receive 15 clients per day. According to an article "The Old Profession"
that was published on March 2003 in the review of the Police " Marot Mishtara" ( Ploice
visions) by Police Commander Anat Bashan we have evidence collected through the citations
of several police officers: " In Natania and Petach Tikva alone ( two midlesized towns in
the center of Israel) work 300 escort girls, almost all of them are illegal residents from
Moldova. Very few are local Israeli "claims Police Commander Ami Eshed , an Information
Officer from the Sharon district. Also in the north, according to Rapak Shmuel Bekor "
there are tens of brothels and most of the girls are " imported" from the countries of
eastern Europe, Lately we notice increase in the number of Israeli escort girls as well
as in the number of brothels in which Israeli girls work. Street prostitution exists too
and is noticeable especially in the Haifa area and in the Industrial area of Zvulun".
According to Chief Super Intendant Yoram Asis, Head of the vice division in the Tel-Aviv
district "In Tel Aviv alone there are about 300 brothels and escort services especially
in the central station and in the south of the city and more then 3,000 prostitutes not
including those who work from their houses." "Machon Toda`a" notes that apparently the
change in the Public Prosecution Directives 2.2 ( see chapter II Page 12) was not
implemented in the Police or at the Units that should apply it as Chief Super Intendant
Asis stresses the fact that the Prosecution Directives instruct the Police not to raid
brothels that are not nuissance to the public or that are not perpetrating any other
felony " Chief Super Intendant Assis even claims that " If to every brothel will be
opened a criminal file the prostitution phenomenon will not be treated effectively".
"Machon Toda`a" notes that this remark is questionable when Chief Super Intendant Assis
is completely aware of the fact that most of the brothels contain "imported" women.
Super Intendant Yoram Asis also claims that the reason " for the reluctance of the
victims of trafficking to testify against their traffickers is the threats that their
families are subject to in the countries of origin. But according to the data collected
by the "Hotline for Migrant workers" ( Page 27 ) it is clear that still around 30% of
the victims of trafficking are not even asked whether they wish to testify or not. How
can the citations of SuperIntendant Asis co-exist with the words of Super Intendant
Boker that claims that " Most of the owners of the brothels are senior criminals,
that divide the country (Israel) to regions of control and everything is decided by them"?
