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July 10th, 2017 
Awake Goy Child Sex Human Trafficking in Israel – TelAviv Jerusalem
Sexual Trafficking in Israel
January 11 was Global Human Trafficking Awareness Day. The statistics are overwhelming. Sexual trafficking makes up a significant percentage of these numbers. No country is immune. It happens in Germany. It happens in Thailand. It happens in the United States and the United Kingdom. It happens in Israel.
The exact numbers of sexually trafficked persons, including children, varies from organization to organization. Sexual trafficking is now the world’s second top crime, tied with the illegal sale of guns and arms. The drug trade is number one.
Individuals are taking personal steps to get involved and lobby for change. Some are coming out of the faith-based arena. One of them is Peggy Sakow, the U.S. Outreach Coordinator for Temple Emanu-El-Beth Sholom, a Canadian Reform congregation. The synagogue has partnered with the Israeli group ATZUM, and their Task Force on Human Trafficking (TFHT). Jointly, they have launched a North American letter writing campaign directed to prominent cabinet ministers of the Israeli Government. It urges the leaders to pursue tougher measures against human trafficking and sex slavery in Israel.
Sakow, who definitively identifies herself as an “abolitionist,” was in New York City on January 7, the day before she was scheduled to leave for Israel. She is traveling as part of a group that is advocating for the passage of a bill drafted in 2008, but not yet approved. It is The Prohibition of the Use of Paid Sexual Services Law, which is now languishing in the Israeli Knesset. It calls for criminalizing the clients of the sex industry, with punishment consisting of six months’ imprisonment—or an education program for first-time offenders.
The legislation is based on the “Nordic model“ (laws which have been enacted in Sweden, Norway, and Iceland), which targets the demand for paid sex. The Swedish law has a ten-year success record. Framed within the context of gender equality and an explicit human rights perspective, Sakow told me that after passage in those countries, “demand had dropped by 45 percent.” On the buying of sex, Sakow said, “Where there’s men, there’s trafficking. It has nothing to do with religion.”
Norma Ramos, Executive Director of the Coalition Against Trafficking in Women, commented by telephone on what the passage of the bill would mean. She said, “It would be a beacon of hope. It would represent a huge human rights stand in that part of the world, signaling the seriousness with which Israel takes ending human trafficking.”
Founding director of ATZUM, Rabbi Levi Lauer, has noted that the human trafficking industry in Israel is a $500 million dollar industry. Sakow, speaking in the context of Jewish activism, told me, “We are commanded to do this. We have a partnership with Israel.” She e-mailed me the Temple Committee Against Human Trafficking booklet, written by Rabbi Leigh Lerner. In it, a range of points brought up in the sexual trafficking conversation is addressed within the context of Jewish law. They include:
• Gender equality
• Prostitution as a human rights abuse constituting violence against women and girls
• Victimization through deception and kidnapping
• The inability of victims to free themselves
• Prostitution as a “choice of no choice”
• Human traffickers, pimps, men who buy sex—and criminality
• Disputation of prostitution as a victimless crime
• The relationship between pornography and prostitution
Tackling trafficking in Israel from another angle is the Boston-based filmmaker iLan Azoulai. Currently working on the documentary Holy Ghetto, he spoke with me at length by telephone on how his commitment to this cause evolved.
Three years ago, Azoulai was part of a film project detailing the sexual traffic flow from Nepal to India. He was shocked to learn about young women and girls being lured into leaving their homes for what they anticipated would be a “better life.” It seemed like a news story from a far away location. The revelation that confronted him when he visited Israel on his annual trip was that he now recognized his hometown neighborhood of southern Tel Aviv as “a major hub for slavery, drugs, and trafficking.”
Azoulai decided to track down the truth behind the women living on the streets and those who were being forced into prostitution. He connected with an American running a shelter for homeless women in prostitution and volunteered at the facility. Many of the women he met there had been illicitly brought to Israel, primarily from the territories of the former USSR. Several were facing deportation by the state of Israel, despite the fact that they have children who are considered citizens.
The story line of Holy Ghetto centers around three women who are trafficking victims. Two were introduced to Azoulai through secret sources. The narrative of the third includes her addiction to drugs. Israel’s policy is to deport women who have been trafficked into the country after they receive one year of rehabilitative services. They are then sent back to their countries of origin— despite whatever dangers await them. Azoulai is closely monitoring the potential ruling of the Israeli Supreme Court on the fate of these women and their children.
Having spent over $40,000 of his own money, Azoulai is trying to raise the additional $300,000 he needs to finish his account—which he believes will bring light to a woefully under-reported story. His goal is to make a final trip to Israel to finish shooting on key scenes and interviews, and to be present to cover the judicial hearings that are integral to the narrative. Once that is completed, he will face the hurdle of post-production expenditures. Despite the obstacles, Azoulai believes that raising awareness is at the root of having the public understand this vast international problem.
Why is sexual trafficking such an epidemic? Ramos emphasizes, “You can’t end sex trafficking without ending commercial sexual exploitation, which is the end point of sex trafficking.
As Rabbi Lerner points out in the final section of “Jewish Teachings on The Crime of Human Trafficking,” where he posits that the demand for paid sex fuels human trafficking for prostitution:
“Everyone knows that it is a sin, a crime against religious ethics and law, to steal. But not everyone knows that in the matter of theft, Judaism also holds the receiver responsible. If no one were willing to receive stolen goods, crimes of theft would drop markedly. It’s a function of the free market.
Comparably, if no one bought sex, virtually no sex would need to be for sale. Human trafficking for prostitution would come to a near standstill. Those who buy sex must reckon with the fact that their presence in that “market” gives unscrupulous and violent men cause to dominate, enslave, and abuse women and children, moving the enslaved across the country or across borders in order to profit from willing buyers of sex.”
This article originally appeared on the website mgyerman.com.
Human trafficking in Israel
The U.S. State Department’s “Trafficking in Persons Report, 2012” and “Trafficking in Persons Report, 2013” raised Israel’s rank to Tier 1 after having ranked Israel Tier 2 between 2007 and 2011.[1] (A Tier 1 ranking is the highest rating given to a government that “has acknowledged the existence of human trafficking, has made efforts to address the problem.” The State Department reports: “The Government of Israel continued to improve its strong protection of trafficking victims over the reporting period.”[2]) The State of Israel ratified the Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, especially Women and Children on 23 Jul 2008 .[3]
Human trafficking in Israel includes the trafficking of men and women into the country for forced labor and commercial sexual exploitation. Low-skilled workers from China, Romania, Africa, Turkey, Thailand, the Philippines, Nepal, Sri Lanka, and India migrate voluntarily for contract labor in the construction, agriculture, and health care industries. Some, however, subsequently face conditions of forced labor, such as unlawful withholding of passports, restrictions on movement, non-payment of wages, threats, and physical intimidation. Many labor recruitment agencies in source countries and in Israel require workers to pay recruitment fees ranging from $1,000 to $10,000—a practice that makes workers highly vulnerable to trafficking once in Israel, and in some cases, situations of debt bondage. Israel was also a destination country for women trafficked from Russia, Ukraine, Moldova, Uzbekistan, Belarus, China, South Korea and possibly the Philippines for the purpose of sexual exploitation. In 2008, NGO had noted an increase in the internal trafficking of Israeli women for commercial sexual exploitation, and reported new instances of trafficking of Israeli women abroad to Canada, Ireland, and England. African asylum seekers entering Israel illegally are also vulnerable to trafficking for forced labor or prostitution.[4] Large numbers of Eritreans had been trafficked into Israel.[5]
In 2007, the government increased the number of convictions for sex trafficking offenses, and conducted a campaign to prevent forced labor.[4] Israel also continues to provide victims of sex trafficking with shelter, legal aid and protection assistance. NGOs claim that “the shelters are insufficient to treat the scale of trafficking victims who were not officially identified in Israel, particularly among migrants and asylum seekers arriving from the Sinai”.[6] In 2012 it was reported that “the number of women affected continues to decline since the passage and implementation of Israel’s 2006 anti-trafficking law.”[1]
The construction of the 245 mile Israel–Egypt barrier in 2013, is credited with further eliminating human trafficking into Israel, by closing the primary route by which trafficking of people into Israel had occurred.[7]
Contents
Prosecution
The Government of Israel has made uneven progress in prosecuting and punishing trafficking offenses. Israel prohibits all forms of trafficking in persons through its Anti-Trafficking Law that came into force on October 29, 2006, which prescribes penalties of up to 16 years’ imprisonment for sex trafficking of an adult, up to 20 years’ imprisonment for sex trafficking of a minor, up to 16 years’ imprisonment for slavery, and up to 7 years’ imprisonment for forced labor. These penalties are commensurate with those for other grave crimes, such as rape. In 2007, the government convicted 38 individuals for sex trafficking—four more than in 2006—with sentences ranging from six months to 15 years’ imprisonment and fines.[4]
In addition, 16 prosecutions for sex trafficking were in process as of 2008, and another 15 cases were pending appeal. Israel made some efforts to investigate and punish acts of involuntary servitude; in 2007, the government prepared three indictments for forced labor and one indictment for slavery. In addition, three criminal cases of fraud/deceit of foreign workers involving five defendants were pending prosecution or appeal as of 2008. Israel reported no prosecutions, convictions, or punishments of government officials complicit in trafficking in 2007.[4]
In Feb 2013 the newspaper Haaretz successfully sued the Tel Aviv District Court to reveal the name of a major sex trafficker who became a police informer, David Digmi.[8]
Protection
The Government of Israel has improved its protection of trafficking victims, but the protection of victims of forced labor remained relatively weak. The government operates a shelter largely for victims of sex trafficking with the support of a local NGO. Notably, though Israel lacks a specific shelter for victims of labor trafficking, government authorities sometimes refer victims of forced labor to the shelter for sex trafficking. Victims in this shelter receive medical treatment, psychiatric and social services, stipends, and temporary residency and work permits.[4]
The government mandates legal aid to all trafficking victims and employs formal procedures to identify victims of sex trafficking and refer them to a shelter.[9] Foreign workers who file complaints regarding criminal offenses are not arrested, are generally placed in alternative employment, and are granted immigration relief. Victims of trafficking receive legal alternatives to their removal to countries in which they may face hardship or retribution, including the issuance of temporary visa extensions.[4]
The government encourages victims of sex trafficking to assist in investigations against their traffickers, but it does not actively encourage victims of forced labor to do the same. Victims not housed in the government shelter, including victims of internal trafficking, do not receive the same level of protection services from the government as victims located in shelters.[4]
Prevention
Israel has made efforts to prevent trafficking in persons. The Immigration Police has run a radio campaign warning employers not to exploit migrant workers. The Ministry of Education and the Authority for the Advancement of the Status of Women has also conducted awareness campaigns in the school system that included seminars for administrators and teachers on sex trafficking. This program focused on the role of the school system in reducing demand for commercial sexual services.
The construction of the Israel–Egypt barrier in 2013, is credited with a further eliminating human trafficking into Israel, by closing the primary route by which Bedouin smugglers trafficked people into Israel.[7]
The 2011 documentary film “The Price of Sex” ( priceofsex.org) was screened at the Jerusalem Cinematheque on 8 Mar 2013
NGO Report: Israel Fails to Crack Down on Human Trafficking
Government agencies aren’t cooperating enough and more sex workers are arriving from Eastern Europe than before, the report by Hotline for Refugees and Migrants says.
Human rights organizations are identifying far more victims of human trafficking than the state, a rights group says in a new report.
According to the report, prepared by the Hotline for Refugees and Migrants, about 80 percent of trafficking victims from the asylum-seeker community were identified last year by human rights organizations rather than state agencies. The Hotline itself identified 28 African asylum seekers as trafficking victims who had suffered torture in the Sinai Peninsula en route to Israel.
At the organization’s urging, the state recognized 19 of them as trafficking victims, and four were released from Saharonim Prison.
The report adds that last year saw a rise in the number of women who came to Israel on tourist visas from Eastern Europe and were put to work in the sex industry.
It says 11 such women, after being arrested on suspicion of engaging in prostitution, were deported by the Population, Immigration and Border Authority without any coordination with the police or examination of the circumstances that brought them to Israel.
Even though the administrative tribunals that deal with such cases have harshly criticized this lack of coordination, there have been no signs of any improvement, the report says.
Over the past decade, Israel worked hard to improve its handling of human trafficking in order to earn a Tier-1 ranking on the U.S. State Department’s Trafficking in Persons Report, Hotline says. And as long as Israel was trying to improve its ranking, state agencies were careful to coordinate in an effort to end human trafficking. But in recent years, cooperation between the population authority and the police has deteriorated, the report says.
As a result, women arrested for prostitution are sometimes deported even before police have questioned them to find out whether they were trafficking victims, making it impossible for the police to find the traffickers.
The recent decision to allow visa-free travel from Ukraine and Moldova made it harder to monitor human trafficking from those countries, the report says.
The report notes that for the past few years, the Justice Ministry has run courses for both judges on administrative tribunals and prison staffers on how to identify victims of trafficking and torture. Still, Hotline activists have repeatedly identified trafficking victims who were missed by prison staffers and tribunal judges.
“The numbers show that the perception of trafficking as something that has been eradicated in Israel has prevented the authorities from taking action against the new face of this phenomenon,” Hotline director Reut Michaeli said in a statement.
“The characterization of women working in prostitution as offenders who have to be deported, not as survivors who need rehabilitation, is problematic and reminiscent of the late 1990s and early 2000s, a period when the trafficking of women in Israel was at its peak.”
The Justice Ministry said it only heard of the report when asked about it by Haaretz and wanted to study it before responding. Nevertheless, it added, the ministry department that coordinates the fight against human trafficking has overseen fruitful cooperation between all the relevant parties, including state agencies, the Knesset, Israeli NGOs and international organizations.
It said this cooperation had been underway since the department’s establishment in 2006 so that “human trafficking has been significantly reduced in a manner that has gained international recognition.”
The police similarly said they hadn’t received the report and therefore couldn’t comment, adding they had no idea what the statistics were based on. But they said they were fighting trafficking resolutely in close cooperation with other state agencies and with scrupulous attention to the rights of both suspects and victims.
The population authority said that as soon as someone is identified as a trafficking victim, he or she is treated as per the regulations.
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