UN Commission on Human Rights, 60th session
15 March – 23 April 2004
National NGOs report to the annual UN Commission on Human Rights: Evaluation of National Authorities activities and Actual facts on the Trafficking in Persons for the purpose of prostitution in Israel
By
Leah Gruenpeter Gold Nissan Ben Ami
(members of the International Abolitionist Federation)
On behalf of
Awareness Center
(Machon Toda`a)
Representative of the IAF in Israel
April 2004
Awareness Center
P.O.Box 22197
Tel – Aviv 61221, Israel
Tel: +972-3-6045128
Fax: +972-3-6045128 Email:
Awareness center - Machon Toda`a would like to thank the following Israeli Non Governmental Organizations for the data and information they provided and that enabled this report:
Hotline for Migrant Workers
33 Hachashmal St.
Tel – Aviv 65117, Israel
Tel: +972-3-5602530
Fax: +972-3-5605175
Email:
ELEM :Youth in Distress - Israel
Dorit Friedman, Program Director Tel: 972-56-390707
Zion Gabay, Director General Elem
c/o Elem: Youth in Distress – Israel
Kehilat Saloniki #7
Neot Afeka, Tel-Aviv 69513, Israel
Tel: 972-3-6470049, Fax: 972-3-6470319
ISHA L`ISHA – Haifa Feminist Center
118,HA`AZMAUT Street
Haifa 33727
Tel: +972-4-8530159, Fax:+972-4-8511954
Email:
Kol Ha-Isha – Feminist Center Jerusalem
Adv. Ina Soltanovich
Iman Qassis
Nadia Klein
38 Ben Yehuda St.
P.O. BOX 37157
Jerusalem 91371
Tel : +972-2-6222455, Fax: +972-2-6256187
Email:
The Association of Gay men, Lesbians, Bisexuals and Transgender in Israel (GLBT Israel)
10, Nachlat Binyamin street Tel Aviv 61290
Tel: +972-3-5167234, Fax : +972-3-5167724
National NGOs report to the annual UN Convention on Human Rights: Evaluation of National Authorities activities and Actual facts on the Trafficking in Persons for the purpose of prostitution
April 2004
ContentsPages
Introduction4
First Chapter: An overview – Actual context 6
Second Chapter: Overview of Legal Dispositions12
Third Chapter: Situation in Israel- Overview and Facts20
Fourth Chapter: Measures taken by national and local authorities40
Fifth Chapter: Activities of NGOs 44
Sixth Chapter: Concluding remarks45
Seventh Chapter: Recommendations46
Annex 1:Addresses of participating organizations
Annex 2: List of verdicts against traffickers in 2003
Introduction
This report is the fourth annual report done by Machon Toda`a ( Awareness Center) , an Israeli NGO representing the International Abolitionist Federation, on trafficking in women and prostitution in Israel. This report is the result of continuous research of Machon Toda`a - Awareness Center with the assistance of other Israeli NGOs (see list of NGO`s in page 2 of this report).
Legally speaking, the State of Israel can be considered as an abolitionist country that signed and ratified the UN Convention of December the 2nd, 1949. Until 2001 in fact, the State of Israel was leading a policy of laissez-faire that drove to a kind of reglementarism. Since then a considerable change of attitude of the authorities towards the phenomenon of Trafficking in women has occured. Unfortunately prostitution per se is still not perceived as a problem by the authorities. This situation is also reflected by the attitude of the media. The tendency is to see trafficking in women as a serious crime that needs to be erradicated whereas prostitution, mainly local, is still considered as a victimless crime.
During November and December 2002 two important reports were issued by decision makers. During November 2002 the ”Inter-ministerial committee to study and combat the trafficking in women” headed by Super-intendant Avi Davidovitch issued a report that includes many proposals how to tackle the phenomenon. Unfortunately these proposals are still not fully implemented. (see Chapter 4). During December 2002 the Parliamentary investigation Committee, headed by MK Zehava Galon from the Merez party has issued an interim report that provides an operative proposal based on the legislative issue. Though the proposals of this report are not fully implemented yet we can perceive that the authorities in charge of the implementation of the proposals have finally taken the right direction and are developping a coherent strategy to bring an end to the laissez-faire era. (Main points of the reports were developed in Chapter 5 of the 2003 report – Measures taken by National and Local Authorities)
These reports mirror the fact that more and more NGOs are challenging the laissez faire policy. The abolitionist philosophy, though still largely unknown, has been adopted last year by some members of Parliament but due to a radical change in the balance among parties in the newly elected Parliament we find ourselves again confronted with new law proposals to legalize prostitution. Nevertheless, during the last three years a huge progress has been made to adopt the recommendations of the UN convention regarding trafficking in persons, especially women and children.
Among the NGOs that are promoting the abolitionist agenda are the Hotline for Migrant Workers, Isha Le`Isha (a feminist center in Haifa), Kol Ha-Isha (a feminist Center in Jerusalem), ELEM (an NGO handling prostitution of minors), The Israeli Women Network as well as other small organizations and individuals.
The Hotline for Migrant Workers is a non-partisan, non-profit organization established in August 1998, whose purpose is to protect the rights of migrant workers and of victims of traffcking in women in Israel. The Hotline is an NGO that has a direct contact with the victims of trafficking in human beings and provides them with legal aid and representation.
Isha Le`Isha (Feminist center Haifa) is a non-profit organization established back in the 80`s. It is initiating projects regarding the victims of trafficking in human beings in the north of Israel.
Kol Ha-Isha is the only grassroots non-profit organization in Jerusalem dedicated to developing and promoting a feminist model of social change, established in 1994. The organization is currently promoting the idea that prostitution is in itself a violence against women and is promoting public awareness in Jerusalem.
ELEM is a non-profit organization established in 1983 and is specialized assisting minors in distress.
The Israel Women`s Network (IWN)is Israel’s foremost advocacy group for women’s rights. IWN is a unique, non-partisan organization of women who are united in their determination to improve the status of women in Israel, despite differing political opinions, religious outlooks and ethnic origins. Established as a non-profit voluntary body in 1984 by a group of women professionals, IWN seeks to change the social context and norms, which currently prevent women from assuming their rightful place as equal partners in a just and democratic society.
The Israel Women’s Network, 9 HaBonim St, Ramat Gan, 52462 Israel
Tel: +972-3-6123390Fax: +972-3-612-3991
Email:
Machon Toda’a – Awareness Center is representing the abolitionist philosophy in Israel and is creating a network of NGOs to propagate this philosophy in the country. The organization is the official representative of the International Abolitionist Federation in Israel.
First Chapter: An Overview - Actual context
Prostitution is a result of social and gender inequality, and this situation worsens during wartimes.
In times of war, prostitution and pornography offer the bodies of women and children as a gift to soldiers to entice them to sacrifice their lives for the war. Male culture has glorified death on the battlefield, and men are unaware of the real role that they play in this situation. It is high time that we reveal that prostitution, pornography and war construct a deadly downward spiral.
-Wherever there is war, conflict, social chaos and poverty, criminal organizations find “human merchandise” to be sold for sexual exploitation.
-Male culture encourages men to sexually abuse the bodies of women, children and also of other men, unconsciously while remaining unpunished. Women are also being invited to become consumers of prostitution and pornography.
-The multi-billion dollar “sex industry” does not take into account gender differences or sexuality. It stretches the limits of what we can consume, ever expanding itself in order to get richer.[1]
The history of prostitution in Israel emphasizes this statement.
During the first world war, when there was widespread hunger in what would become in 1948 the State of Israel, it was known that there were prostitutes in Jerusalem, Jaffa, Haifa, Ramla and other cities. Even before the war, under the Ottoman Empire, there were brothels in Jaffa that were owned by Arabs, and a portion of them were also owned by Jews.
In the beginning of the 1920’s brothels were operating between Tel Aviv and Jaffa, that had been in existence for several years, and documents show that they were not closed by the new British Mandate. During the same time period, brothels existed in the outskirts of the city of Tel-Aviv close to Jaffa, near Carem Timanim, Manshia, Neve Shalom, and on the road between Jaffa and Tel Aviv. The phenomenon of prostitution became more visible and widespread in the end of the 1930’s with the increase of army forces and police in the area in response to the Arab rebellion, and even more in the 1940’s during the Second World War. Tel Aviv became the holiday city for Middle East forces, and prostitutes could be found not only on the outskirts of the city, as they were before, but also in the center of the city, along the boardwalk, on the beach, brothels, apartments, cafes, streets and public parks. Management of the brothels was against the law according to the British Mandate so brothels were opened and closed intermittently. Some of the prostitution took place in places of entertainment including bars and dance halls that had connecting rooms which could be rented for the night or by the hour. Some hotels had rooms that were reserved for prostitutes and their clients. There were several complaints thatprostitutes operated within their apartments or in rented rooms. During this time period most of the residents of the city lived in rented apartments. Prostitutes that worked in their apartments worked alone or organized as a group. The clients came to the prostitutes through middle-men that provided the needed information.
Cafes sprang up in Tel Aviv to meet the needs of Jewish immigrants mostly from Central Europe, and also Eastern Europe, and later in response to the needs of soldiers that came to spend their holidays. Cafes were also a meeting place between women in prostitution andtheir clients. There were also assumptions that some waitresses in these cafes also practised prostitution during or after their normal working hours with the encouragement of the café`s owners.
Often there were middlemen that made connections between the prostitutes and their clients. Sometimes they recruited young girls to be prostitutes. Amongst the middlemen were taxi drivers who for a fee let prostitutes use their taxis, and made their cars available to transport customers to the prostitutes.
Clients for prostitutes, based on complaints that were filed, included foreigners, British soldiers and policemen. During the war years clients were Greeks, Poles, Americans, Australians, and South Africans. In addition to military customers there were Arab clients that came with regular frequency. It is interesting to note that the complaints from the time of the British Mandate do not mention Jewish customers, although there is no reason to believe that they avoided using the services of prostitutes.[2]
After World War II and with the creation of the State of Israel waves of immigration reached the country. In each wave of immigration some women and girls had to turn to prostitution in order to survive.
In 1950 the State of Israel signed and ratified the “UN Convention for the suppression of the trafficking in persons and the exploitation of the prostitution of others” from December 2nd, 1949. Though this Convention prevented legalization of prostitution in Israel, its social aspects were not implemented by the authorities and the question how to deal with prostitution was not aborded by the Israeli authorities till 1977.
In 1975 the Minister of Justice appointed a committee headed by Judge Hadasa Ben-Ito to check the issue of prostitution in Israel and to issue conclusions and recommendations. The report of the committee was published in 1977. The committee recommendations were not implemented.
27 years after this Committee handed over its recommendations , inspite of the dramatic changes both in the world and in Israel in the situation of prostitution due to the globalization of the sex industry, MK Reshef Chen from the ultra liberal party “SHINUI” has decided to resurect these recommendations which were not implemented.
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 15-20 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 a 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 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:
1. A massive wave of immigration from the former Soviet Union, which destabilized the fragile social structures of the country.
2. The development of public and private aggression due to harsh security problems.
3. The infiltration of groups of International organized crime as well as the lack of interest of the authorities in social problems.
4. Lack of implementation of 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 in about 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 upon arrival 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 in 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 (The situation of the Egyptian border will be developped in Chapter 3 ). Immediately after entering Israel most of the trafficked women are sold and directed towards locked apartments or brothels.
Trafficking in women to Israel was overlooked until several reports were issued. In 1997 the report of Martina Wandenberg from the Global Survival Network with the IWN threw light on the issue for the first time. Three years later Amnesty International has decided to write a report on trafficking in women worldwide though in fact they issued a report only on trafficking in women to Israel. In their report they have completely separated trafficking and prostitution and as their recommendations were taken seriously by the Israeli authorities, the Israeli parliament has decided to establish an Parliamentary Investigation committee on trafficking in women for prostitution purposes. At the same time the government decided to establish an intergovernemental committee to examine the ways to tackle the issue of trafficking in women for prostitution purposes. When the US Department of State issued the first TIP report in 2001 the situation in Israel was so bad that the country found itself in Tier 3 and was threatened with economic sanctions unless the Israeli authorities would tackle the issue seriously. Unfortunately this TIP report ignored the link between trafficking and prostitution, which led the Israeli authorities to concentrate on the fight against trafficking in women while neglecting the fight against organized prostitution per se. The Parliamentary Investigation committee of MK Zehava Galon decided at a very early stage of its existence to refuse the recognition of organized prostitution as an acceptable option but this stand is still opposed by several MKs that participate in the same Committee. Nevertheless during the last two years there is a major change of attitudes towards the phenomenon of trafficking.
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. Until 2002 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. Since 2002 we could witness a change of police and prosecution procedures towards them, as the legal directive in cases of trafficking 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 such as brothel 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%. In 2002 – 351 files were opened against traffickers and in 2003 we see a considerable change of attitude with the creation of a specific police force called “ETGAR” that is dedicated to the issue of trafficking. A law proposal that MK Zehava Galonis promoting in the Knesset already enables thepolice to close brothels even though the law has only passed as preliminary reading. In 2003 as a result of the new policy 500 brothels were raided and closed, 330 investigations opened against brothel managers, 44 cases of trafficking are dealt by the “Yamar” (Central Unit of the Police), 119 persons were detained until the end of their trial, 119 women agreed to be witnesses, 521 women have been sent back to their country of origin, the names of 70 persons linked to the organized crime were forwarded to the IMPA - The Israel Money Laundering Prevention Authority – a Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) was established in the ministry of Justice on January 2002 headed by Adv. Yehuda Sheffer. Finally a shelter for trafficked women was opened on the 15th of February( see chapter 3). Training sessions to police officers started during February and will continue as well as training sessions to public prosecutors.