In the 1990s, Israel became a hub for widespread human trafficking. The sex industry revolved around hidden apartments, brothels, and escort services in central cities, where trafficked women were exploited and enslaved. Most had no knowledge they would enter the sex trade and had no clear sense of their fate. They came from Eastern Europe and other nations—drawn by the prospect of better income than at home.
A Promise Unfulfilled: From Soviet Support to Post-Collapse Vulnerability
Under the Soviet system, women benefited from relatively strong social supports—state-run childcare open from morning to evening, free higher education with scholarships, and automatic job placement—that fostered their participation in society. But following the Soviet collapse in 1991, these structures vanished. Economic collapse, inadequate laws, and diminishing social services left women particularly vulnerable. Many female-dominated jobs lost value, parenting support systems collapsed, and women bore increased financial burdens while still fulfilling traditional roles, fueling family breakdowns, rising divorce rates, and economic despair, especially among single mothers—about 40 percent of whom fell below the poverty line in the 1990s.
Crime, Corruption, and the Rise of Trafficking
In the wake of the USSR’s dissolution, organized crime and governmental corruption surged. Returning veterans from regional wars often became criminal enforcers. Trafficking networks capitalized on this, exploiting familiar language and shared cultural ties to lure women westward. With abrupt exposure to Western lifestyles—especially for women from remote villages—many lacked the tools to recognize or resist deceptive recruitment tactics.
Entering the Mirage of Sexual Trafficking
During the 1990s, Israel’s sex industry took root in concealed apartments, brothels, and escort services across central cities—structures that ensnared trafficked women unaware they were entering sexual exploitation. Many were deceived by promises of higher earnings and safe conditions.
Slow Recognition and the Shift in Policy
Up to 2003, Israeli authorities largely ignored trafficking. That year, a parliamentary inquiry marked the first public exploration of societal perceptions of trafficking—not as a human rights violation, but rather a “migrant labor problem,” an ethical issue rather than a rights infringement. Only afterward did governmental efforts—such as prosecuting traffickers, supporting victims, and prevention—begin to take shape.
Staying Behind: Stateless Mothers and Legal Injustice
Between 2002 and 2008, many trafficked women either returned home or left Israel. Those who remained—particularly single mothers or women with children from Israeli fathers—found themselves excluded from citizenship despite their children qualifying. Even after escaping prostitution, many fell into violent relationships and lacked legal protections. This exclusion intensified discrimination, especially for mothers whose children were Israeli citizens.
A Vicious Recycling of Exploitation
While deportation policies temporarily reduced trafficking inflows, domestic demand remained high. A grim cycle emerged: former victims became brothel operators, coercing other women into sex work. This “victim-to-manager” model perpetuates a brutal circle of exploitation.
Legislative Gaps and Enforcement Failures
Despite Israeli claims of fighting trafficking, efforts fall short. Although the 2006 Anti-Trafficking Law criminalizes trafficking, slavery, and forced labor—with penalties reaching up to 16 years’ imprisonment—its practical enforcement is hampered by loopholes, such as failing to adequately define coercion, deception, or force, allowing many traffickers to evade prosecution.
Voices from the Field
Naama Goldberg, director of the Israeli NGO Lo Omdot MeNegged (“We Won’t Stand Indifferent”), clarifies that “prostitution” refers to women working in their home countries, while “trafficking victim” denotes those deceived or forced into exploitation abroad. She states that most trafficking to Israel now occurs through deception rather than physical force. She also notes an uptick in survivors arriving post-Ukraine war—from Arab, Jewish, Ukrainian, and Russian communities—lured by promises of being “high-end escorts” with affluent clients, only to face daily exploitation by around ten men and far lower earnings. “There’s no way to do sex work without violence or degradation,” she explains.
The Invisible Web: Social Media Recruitment and Urban Normalization
Traffickers increasingly use social platforms—Instagram, Telegram—to target vulnerable women with misleading job offers, warm video chats, and free flight promises. Some accept these offers under family pressure, unaware of the reality awaiting them.
In cities across Israel, sex trafficking has moved off the streets. In Tel Aviv, it now unfolds openly in residential buildings, normalizing the phenomenon. Emma, a building manager near Ben Yehuda Street, recounts elderly residents terrified by constant comings and goings, rumors of forced prostitution, and even spousal coercion.
Organized Networks and Legal Response
Trafficking rings in Israel appear to be run by complex networks, often led by Russian-speaking residents. Recently, indictments were filed against a family organizing the trafficking and exploitation of Israeli and foreign women. Previously, Dina Dominitz, the Justice Ministry’s anti-trafficking coordinator, warned of criminal groups bringing Ukrainian, Moldovan, Belarusian, Russian, and Georgian women into Israel under the guise of tourism for prostitution. According to Israel’s Justice Ministry data over 2017–2021, 325 victims were officially recognized—71 percent women; 40 percent suffered sexual exploitation, and 44 percent endured slavery-like conditions.
Continuing Challenges and the Cost of Impunity
Despite laws penalizing sex buyers, enforcement remains weak. Police tolerance in southern Tel Aviv and poor law application have undermined progress—highlighted in reports presented to the Justice Committee.
A System Resistant to Change
Recruitment is brazenly marketed via social media and websites: tempting images of upscale locales like Eilat’s Red Sea, Herzliya’s yachts, and Tel Aviv’s clubs, combined with promises of $65,000 monthly salaries and luxurious apartments. Some boast an 80 percent success rate for border entry, claiming they “have no trouble with the police”—even sharing women’s social media chats confirming easy crossing. Yet Israel’s most accessible entry point—the Jordanian border—has become a major trafficking route from Eastern Europe and Latin America, promising glamorous jobs but delivering labor in coercive and impoverished conditions.
Following heightened security at Ben Gurion Airport, crossing has become unpredictable and stressful, with some women detained for days, phones confiscated, and messages, photos, and videos scrutinized to assess travel purpose.
Harrowing Tales from the Ground
Women recount violent assaults and pervasive crime in Bat Yam, notorious internationally as a Russian-language prostitution hub. Many arrived with tourist visas and intentions of consensual sex work but instead faced trafficking, theft, violence, and extortion. Port city Eilat similarly emerged as an entry point where traffickers exploit job postings—even from reputable sites—to lure victims.
Official Neglect: The Dark Shadow Behind Rights Rhetoric
Israel—despite its legal powers and resources—has displayed contradictory and inadequate responses to trafficking. Years of neglect, poor enforcement, and insufficient victim support have enabled traffickers to refine their operations. Superficial measures have failed to stem the cycle of exploitation, inflicting profound human and social damage on vulnerable migrant women. Israel’s failure to defend fundamental human dignity starkly contradicts its global human rights posture.
From: farhikhteganonline
