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| Female Israeli Pimp |
According to the Haaretz article on the proposed bill to criminalize prostitution, supporters of the bill believe that criminalization of prostitution will decrease the numbers of sex trafficking and smuggling of sex slaves from eastern Europe. They hope that, one day, they can eliminate prostitution all together. While these are, unarguably, goals that everyone can and should be on board with, they may not occur so simply as they would hope. The article also mentions some of the oppositions to the bill. Opponents argue that because prostitution has existed for all of time, it will continue to exist despite all efforts. They maintain that the only way to improve the livelihood of sex workers is to improve the options and assistance that are available to them. Criminalization will only further harm the sex workers by creating more underground prostitution, decreasing the access to clean and safe facilities for the workers and their clients.
This Haaretz article is reliable as it includes commentary from both sides. This is usually an indicator that the author, Sharon Pulwer, has done her research and interviews several prominent figures. This also shows that the author does not want to include her own influences and opinions in the article but I feel that her focus on the positives of the bill hinted at her personal stance on the issue.
The Task Force on Human Trafficking and Prostitution says in its white paper on Trafficking in Israel that thousands of women are trafficked into Israel every year and that almost all of the victims are from the former Soviet Union where women will do anything to escape poverty. These women are treated like slaves and are forced to work in disgusting conditions. The task force call for increased action from Israel on combating human trafficking such as increasing border and immigration reform and educating military and police how to better spot trafficking and trafficking victims. The white paper does not mention complete criminalization though, possibly implying that believe it is not a viable solution and that many other actions should be looked at first.
The task force is reliable for providing accurate statistics since inaccurate ones would only hurt their cause but we do need to take in to account that they are a lobby group. Lobby groups are created to promote a specific agenda so anything they post should be noted to contain an agenda and options on the issue at hand.
Many of these women enter Israel on tourist visas hoping to find work to support them and their families back home. These women are then deceived by pimps and brothel procurers into the sex trade industry. Because these women are there on travel visas they are not allowed to work legally and become stuck in the prostitution industry as sex slaves. Although their prostitution is not illegal, their working status is, landing many of these women in prison. They are afraid to testify against their pimps as they fear the lives of their family and themselves are at risk, choosing to instead stay in prison. (Rosenthal, 389)
An issue that is not discussed much is that many police choose to be very lenient with charging pimps and brothels in exchange of receiving tips and other information on more serious and dangerous criminal activity. Because much of the prostitution in Israel and all over the world is run by the Russian mafia, there is a lot of information that can be shared. Much of the organized criminal activity in Israel started around the time after the Soviet Union was dismantled. This led to many from that region to immigrate into Israel bringing ties to the Russian mafia with them. The Russian mafia in Israel today can be attributed with controlling most of the organized crime.
I believe that the main cause of the human trafficking problem in Israel is their Immigration policies. They allow far too many people to enter their country and especially those from eastern Europe. If they want to fight the growth of the sex trade market they need to start cutting of the source of their "product", the women. Most of these women are brought over from the former Soviet states and it has only increased as Israel has lifted their visa requirement from that area.
This Haaretz article is reliable as it includes commentary from both sides. This is usually an indicator that the author, Sharon Pulwer, has done her research and interviews several prominent figures. This also shows that the author does not want to include her own influences and opinions in the article but I feel that her focus on the positives of the bill hinted at her personal stance on the issue.
The Task Force on Human Trafficking and Prostitution says in its white paper on Trafficking in Israel that thousands of women are trafficked into Israel every year and that almost all of the victims are from the former Soviet Union where women will do anything to escape poverty. These women are treated like slaves and are forced to work in disgusting conditions. The task force call for increased action from Israel on combating human trafficking such as increasing border and immigration reform and educating military and police how to better spot trafficking and trafficking victims. The white paper does not mention complete criminalization though, possibly implying that believe it is not a viable solution and that many other actions should be looked at first.
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| A Prostitute Waiting For a Client |
Many of these women enter Israel on tourist visas hoping to find work to support them and their families back home. These women are then deceived by pimps and brothel procurers into the sex trade industry. Because these women are there on travel visas they are not allowed to work legally and become stuck in the prostitution industry as sex slaves. Although their prostitution is not illegal, their working status is, landing many of these women in prison. They are afraid to testify against their pimps as they fear the lives of their family and themselves are at risk, choosing to instead stay in prison. (Rosenthal, 389)
An issue that is not discussed much is that many police choose to be very lenient with charging pimps and brothels in exchange of receiving tips and other information on more serious and dangerous criminal activity. Because much of the prostitution in Israel and all over the world is run by the Russian mafia, there is a lot of information that can be shared. Much of the organized criminal activity in Israel started around the time after the Soviet Union was dismantled. This led to many from that region to immigrate into Israel bringing ties to the Russian mafia with them. The Russian mafia in Israel today can be attributed with controlling most of the organized crime.
I believe that the main cause of the human trafficking problem in Israel is their Immigration policies. They allow far too many people to enter their country and especially those from eastern Europe. If they want to fight the growth of the sex trade market they need to start cutting of the source of their "product", the women. Most of these women are brought over from the former Soviet states and it has only increased as Israel has lifted their visa requirement from that area.
