|
Human trafficking in Israel described by police as a literal "meat market"
By Ellis Shuman
August 18, 2004
Justice Minister Yosef (Tommy) Lapid said this week that there are as many as
3,000 prostitutes in Israel today, many of whom have been "imported" into the
country against their will.
In a statement released to mark the fourth annual, locally-organized "Fight
Human Trafficking" day, Lapid wrote that most of the women were tricked into
coming to Israel from their homes in the countries of the former Soviet Union.
The women are no better than slaves to the men who control them, Lapid said.
Many of the women were recruited by the Russian mafia, transported to Egypt,
and then smuggled across the border into Israel by Bedouins, who are also
involved in efforts to smuggle illegal weaponry, contraband and drugs, media
sources reported. In Israel, the women are "sold" to the operators of brothers
and so-called "health clinics," where they work long hours for minimal pay, in
nearly slave-like conditions.
"It's a kind of meat market. It's very brutal - most of this kind of auction,"
said Gadi Eshed of the Israel Police.
Some of the women work as many as 18 hours a day, seven days a week, and they
are fully at the mercy of the pimps who brought them to Israel with false
promises, Maariv reported.
In the past, Moldova was the leading source of Israeli prostitutes, but
recently, it has been replaced by Uzbekistan, Lapid noted. Other major sources
are Ukraine, Russia and Belarus.
In its report, the Jerusalem Post noted that in 2001, "the U.S. State
Department ranked Israel in the third tier, as a country that lacks minimal
standards for dealing with the problem of trafficking in humans. Since then,
Israel has been promoted to the second tier, among countries that do not
maintain minimal standards but are taking significant steps to improve the
situation."
According to a Fox News report, the "imported" women are forced to work off
their $4,000 to $10,000 price tag. "Traffickers spend about $21 million a year
to get the girls into Israel. Each prostitute can earn them more than $200,000
annually; the take for one year of smuggled women is about $62 million."
Many efforts are being made to combat Israel's human trafficking problem,
including efforts by private organizations.
The Israel Women's Network initiated the first study on the phenomenon of
trafficking of women in Israel in November 1997. As part of a coalition of
organizations fighting the problem, a number of recommendations were made,
including:
The State of Israel will examine the dangers these women face in returning to
their country of origin and if necessary will grant them a fugitive status or
find them an alternate country to immigrate to.
The state will establish a safe shelter for the trafficked women, whether they
testify or not.
Copyright 1999-2004, AsianSexGazette.com. All rights reserved. No
content may be reproduced in whole or part without written permission.
Please contact us via the link below for re-print and syndication policies.
|
|
Sex-trade
panel: Go after johns, too
8-18-2004
Isreal
to extend permits for women trafficking victims
7-8-2004
Israeli
Minister calls for institutionalizing prostitution
7-6-2004
Israel's
sex trade
3-16-2004
|
