Criminalizing Prostitution in Israel: A Method of Assistance or Pure Penalization?

Prostitution in Israel

There is a lot of debate over whether or not the policy regarding prostitution in Israel is fine the way it is. However, there are many who believe prostitution should be made a crime and other policies should be instituted. Based on my research, there is more evidence in support of the idea to criminalize prostitution. Before I go further into that, it is important to understand what the current policy is exactly and what it is people are trying to change about it. In addition, I will provide information about specific organizations and information sources that help to provide more information on this topic.

According to Atzum, a social justice organization in Israel, Israel’s current policy allows adults to participate in the buying and selling of sex. They are not, however, allowed to solicit sex from minors, “pimp”, traffic, own a brothel or advertise sex. Those actions will result in legal punishments including time in prison. Atzum was established in 2002 with the sole purpose of fighting against injustice in Israel. The word “Atzum” is comprised of three different words: Avodat (work), Tzedakah (justice), B’Mishpat (judgement) – all contributing to Atzum’s mission to create change and pursue justice in Israel.

Those who are in favor of better structuring this policy are strong advocates of the Nordic Model. According to the Task Force on Human Trafficking and Prostitution, Iceland, Norway and Finland have experienced a significant decrease in prostitution activity since establishing the Nordic Model. The Nordic Model would place more of an emphasis on the health and wellness of sex workers while penalizing those demanding sex for commercial use.

In an article titled, “Israel Wants to Completely Criminalize Paying for Sex”, Haaretz correspondent Sharon Pulwer discusses the proposed legislation in the Knesset regarding criminalizing prostitution in Israel. She mentions early on in her article that there is a large amount of support for this legislation among members of the Knesset. Sharon Pulwer has covered a multitude of topics during her time with Haaretz. They include terror attacks, politics, religious issues and more. Her coverage of anti-prostitution legislation is part of the vast array of information she is able to report on.

Pulwer mentions several different people involved in the inter-ministerial committee handling this legislation. Inter-ministerial committees are established to look more closely at laws and legislation such as the ones regarding prostitution. Another example of the work done by an inter-ministerial committee is an assignment regarding bill on divorce refusal. Pulwer mentions that the inter-ministerial committee assigned to the prostitution legislation is made up of members from a wide range of other ministries that deal with health, finance, public security, etc.

Some of the statements included in Pulwer’s article come from ministry members. Shuli Moalem-Refaeli, a member of the Knesset, confirmed that everyone on this particular inter-ministerial committee had a good understanding of the current prostitution level of activity. Moalem-Refali has served on various committees related to health and wellness, sexual harassment, trafficking, and more. Another statement made in Pulwer’s article is from the Head of Health Ministry’s Levinsky Clinic and Health Ministry representative on this committee, Yael Gur. Her statement provides insight as to how this piece of legislation will affect female prostitutes, financially, early on. Pulwer also mentions Efrat Sherabi, deputy head of services for the individual and family welfare at the Social Affairs Ministry. Sherabi, also serving as a member of this inter-ministerial committee, sheds some light on the fact that prostitution is a main source of income for a rather large majority of prostitutes in Israel. She follows this point with the idea that there must be some alternative to a prostitute’s form of income. All of these voices are found in the sections of Pulwer’s article focusing on the information of the proposed legislation and how it could benefit the lives of sex workers.

When discussing those against the proposed legislation, Pulwer uses statements from one voice: Hagit Lernau, deputy head of the Public Defender’s office and member of this inter-ministerial committee. Lernau claims that this legislation will not put an end to prostitution and, if anything, it will lessen the amount of police protection that they are given. She adds that this legislation is a “problematic approach.”

Puwel offers a sufficient amount of detail on the proposed legislation, current statistics regarding prostitution, and activity taking place in the inter-ministerial committee responsible for the bill. While the section referring to the opposition of the bill does offer insight into the other side of this story, there is only one voice used as opposed to the earlier article sections that use a plethora of voices. It is possible that the author chose to only give that much information on the opposition to persuade readers, or it shows that there was not enough information to present in regards to people opposing the bill.

Each piece of data in Puwel’s article begins with “According to…” but the source is very vague. For example, there is no website or information link attached to the data source that could support the given data. While the facts presented seem reliable, it does make it a bit difficult to fact check and learn more about the data.

Puwel’s article is vastly different from an article published on the Times of Israel website. Author Marissa Newman sheds some light on the idea that Israelis are very much against the proposed legislation in her article, “In anti-prostitution battle, Israel takes a trick out of Europe’s book.” In comparison to Newman’s article, Puwel’s article sets a much more neutral tone regarding the issue. Puwel’s article focuses on the issue in a more political sense while Newman’s article has a very personal tone due to her use of statements from actual prostitutes in Israel.

At the top of Puwel’s article is an image of a prostitute in Israel with the caption “A prostitute on the street. Exposed to exploitation, disease and violence.” Her article itself is very politically focused but this caption hints at an attitude more in favor of the proposed legislation.

Donna Rosenthal’s book, “The Israelis”, includes a chapter titled, “Hookers and Hash in the Holy Land.” It provides lots of personal, historical and statistical evidence supporting the criminalization of prostitution in Israel. Rosenthal provides data regarding the increasing rates of venereal disease and AIDS transmissions in Israel. She follows this with a statement from a sixteen-year-old rehab escapee who holds a rather careless attitude toward who she provides sexual services to. Rosenthal may have included this statement to show how relaxed the policy is and how it could potentially affect the health and well-being of the prostitutes themselves (Rosenthal 372 in the 2008 edition).

Rosenthal also presents evidence on past attempts to push for more penalization of human trafficking. She explains that many women’s organizations have protested against the very laid-back attitude of the police regarding treatment of prostitutes. They have even gone the length as to show politicians first hand what living in a brothel looks like through giving them tours. In addition to all of those attempts, they continue to push the Knesset for a more structured approach to the penalization of human trafficking (Rosenthal 376-377 in the 2008 edition).