Human Trafficking in Israel

In an otherwise undeveloped region, Israel stands out as a modern, market economy nation. It is a country where high tech is king, and this prosperity not only makes life attractive for those in the immediate countries but across the world. Some come in guest worker programs, eager to make extra money to send back home. They come as far as places like the Philippines or Thailand. With the Second Intifada, it was almost a requirement to bring in foreign workers. (Rosenthal, 372)


But this influx of foreign labor also led to a darker phase of human trafficking that was previously unheard of in Israel. Some of this is due to prostitution, which is legal in Israel, although brothels and pimps are not. (Rosenthal, 372) But it is also due to the need of labor, and above all greed.


Prostitution is nothing new in Israel. Many of Israel’s prostitutes before the 1990's were Israeli, and more Mizrachi than Ashkenazi. (Rosenthal 373) Many did so to support families. For a while the situation was manageable and more or less not an issue. But the dissolution of the Soviet Union  caused massive changes to not only Israel as a whole but the nature of vice in that country.

A massive amount of Soviet Jews, nearly a million, entered the country. While not all were Jews, they all had some sort of ties to their former countries. But a different kind of immigrant, the Russian Mob, also came. (Rosenthal, 374) To them Israel was a virtual paradise, untouched my organized crime. With absolutely no competition, and a weak government response (this was during Olso), the Mafia set up shop. Soon prostitution became a 'Russian' job, and many girls were not even Israeli anymore.

Of course this disrupted the business of the Israeli prostitutes, who saw their former clients rushing to the blondes. (Rosenthal, 373) But a more serious thing occurred besides a change of clientele. With the brothels came crime also associated with the Mafia: money laundering, drugs, pimping, and of course human trafficking. (Rosenthal, 378) All this was unknown to most Israelis, and even today its response is seen by the international community as not strong enough.

Yet it seems Israel does not want to stop it. The police are intimidated by the infamous Russian Mafia, who are known to make people 'disappear', regardless if they are government employees. But it is also the government itself who is complacent. Many officials visit the "massage parlors" and "health clubs". (Rosenthal, 370) Visas to Ukraine were suspended in 2007, facilitating the flow of women.

Whether its the poor foreign worker looking for a decent job, or the desperate Eastern European with children, Israel is seen as a great place to make money. It is estimated that anywhere between 1,000 to 3,000 foreign workers are prostitutes, but that over 20,000 are "subjugated to forced labor". But they must pay the traffickers $1,000 to $10,000 just to make the trip. Many women are duped into thinking that they will get jobs as maids or secretaries. They go to Egypt to enjoy a "vacation", only to be told that they 'owe' the mob now and smuggled across the border. (Rosenthal, 375) Instances of rape by their Bedouin handlers are not uncommon.

In Israel, they are treated like slaves, and in many cases they really are. Such crime is by now normal in the West, and while Ben-Gurion may have said that Israel will become a normal country when prostitution and drugs are common, it by no means justifies such things. In an age of intense media scrutiny, the last thing Israel needs is a bad reputation with human trafficking. But on a humanitarian note, these poor people, prostitutes and workers alike, are enslaved in a system which there is little to get out of.


It is my hope that not only will the police do their job, but that the government steps in and stops allowing such gross violations of human rights. If they really want they can keep prostitution, but the Mafia must be kicked out and these slaves freed, into the literal promised land. But it is big business in Israel, estimated to make over $62 million off of prostitution alone.

I find these sources very useful in getting me statistical facts on the situation. It is often under reported and when such revelations come up it makes the job of those concerned, like the Unites States and United Nations, much easier. Fox News of course is a well known news source . These sources also help fill in some of the blanks the Rosenthal book does not fully address. But it is my ultimate hope that such abuses end not just in Israel but worldwide.

Israeli Christians: A Minority in a Minority?

When one thinks of Israel in a religious sense, the image of the three great monotheistic religions come to mind. Christianity, Judaism, and Islam all in one spot, and not always agreeing. (Rosenthal, 305) Worldwide, Christianity is the largest religion, followed by Islam, and with Judaism being the smallest. It is the complete opposite in Israel, the situation completely reversed. The Christian community in Israel is largely Arab, and by Israeli standards successful. They are by far much closer and much more Westernized than their Muslim brethren. (Rosenthal, 309) Yet it is not without its problems, whether it Jews thinking them as the same as the Muslim Arabs, or the Muslims targeting the "other" Arabs in their midst.

So who are these Arab Christians? Citizens of Israel (we're not talking about the Palestinian Christians), they live in villages and mixed cities through the country. They live in an awkward position. Being Arab means distrust on the Israeli side. To get on the Jews' good side, some wear crucifixes to show that they are the "good" Arabs. (Rosenthal, 309) Yet as Arabs, they face to some extent even more distrust from the Arab Muslims, who continuously target and harass them.

A piece of graffiti on a wall illustrates what many Arab Muslims want: "After Saturday comes Sunday". This means after they deal with the Jews the Christians are next. (Rosenthal, 308)

Another problem Sunday brings to Christians in Israel is that it is the first day of the week their; its when work and school begins. This of course conflicts with the Christian Sabbath. But when work begins or ends is trivial compared to the frustration Christians have with the Jews. Many do not know about the Christian holidays, and many must explain to their bosses why they want the day off if a holiday comes up. (Rosenthal, 310) In contrast with the United States, even secularists and/or atheists know what Easter and Christmas is or when it is celebrated.

Yet they experience a uninque version of  the Arab-Israeli Conflict. Inter-Arab conlfict plays out along many lines, tribal and ideological amoung them. But it also can be religious. Many times this would lead to violent confrontation. Using extorition, threats, and violence, many Arab Christians are under seige by their own people, fleeing the violence and chaos.

When excavations uncovered what were the remains of Saladin's nephew in Nazareth, Muslims wanted to build a mosque on that site immediately. (Rosenthal, 312) It would have been one of the largest mosques in the world. The only problem was that it was right next to the Church of Annunciation, which would have been eclipsed by the proposed mosque's minarets. Aside from the actual church being in its way, the religious implications were strong: Islam is superior, and that it must conqueror the other holy sites. This offended many people, including the Pope himself, who was already worried about the deteriorating situation in the Middle East for Christians. It took the Israelis to stop the mosque's construction and to diffuse this situation. (Rosenthal, 314) Most confrontations between the Christians and Muslims are not of this size, but largely proportional to its own unique situation. The idea of evicting the Christians in the municipality achieves the same goals, even a more humble version of it.



Even so, not all Christians are Arab. Many in fact represent their church's country of origin ethnically (i.e. Ethiopian, Armenian). This can lead to tensions between churches thats origins are non-Arab when their flock is. The Greek Orthodox Church in Israel for instanse has an all Greek hierarchy. This exculsionist additude towards the Arabs leads to some refereing themselves as "Arab" Orthodox. (Rosenthal, 310)

In the Holy Land, almost every version of Christianity has some sort of physical presence. Some versions of Christianity have their own individual church, and are located in areas where the issue of significance to Christianity is not an issue (a church in Haifa as opposed to Nazareth). Yet certain churches are too important to let one sect have full control of. One such church is the Church of the Holy Sepulchre.Here awkward arrangements sometimes lead to fights. (Rosenthal, 307)

I feel that the news article gives a good impression of what Israeli Christians face and deal with. Much of it parallels the Rosenthal book, which is also a very useful source of information. It is very neutral and does not easily sway to some political agenda or ideology. It is an honest look at who they are and what they feel must be done.