Israel's Prostitution Problems

It is truly amazing that there is an estimated 700 massage parlor/brothels that operate in Israel.  What is even more shocking is that about 250 of them are directly located in Tel Aviv.  No one is trying to hide the sex-for-sale trade as it is a unconcealed and profitable industry.  What is even more eye opening is the fact that "Prostitutes claim that a fifth or more of their faithful customers are very religious Jews who they identify by their black kippas and other tradition garb" (Rosenthal, 383).  Sadly, prostitution is legal in Israel, but running a brothel or living off the earnings of prostitution are outlawed.

Two women standing on a street corner waiting for their next customer.
Source: onejerusalem.com

What is worse is that according to a recent Jerusalem Post article, the government is having a lot of issues dealing with teen prostitution.  More children than ever before are becoming victims of sexual exploitation in Israel and it is becoming a problem.  Reli Katsav, who manages a youth at risk and girls program at Elem: Youth at Risk says, " They are a hidden population and it is very difficult to find them, but based on our activities we suspect there are a few thousand children, some as young as 12, who are victims of commercial sexual exploitation or prostitution in Israel."  She feels that there is a need for improved sex education among youth, as well as a better prevention and prosecution by law enforcement.  While the main focus may be on younger girls, young males are also victims, especially when either of them come from an abusive background.  What is truly disturbing is the fact that "Another concerning trend was the falling age of children involved in prostitution. While the average age hovered around 14, children join the sex trade as young as 11. Also, the average age of the “clients” was dropping."  Towards the end of the article, it is mentioned that "While most of the focus has been on detecting young Israelis who fall victim to sexual exploitation and prostitution," there is still an issue concerning children of migrant workers, asylum-seekers and refugees, who are equally as vulnerable.  Because they are a weak population in society, they find themselves being sexual exploited.

This "advertisement" says enough about prostitution in the country.
Source: nowpublic.com

These immigrants tend to be lured in by sophisticated smugglers who promise them lots of money by being models, masseurs, and dancers, with housing provided.  The Russian mafia is at the head of the prostitution business and are recruiting women to work in Israel.  Tens and thousands of women from the former Soviet Union, along with its former satellite states, have entered Israel.  They are smuggled by all sorts of means, no matter what their age is.

Honestly, chapter 18 of the Rosenthal book presents some very disturbing facts about the prostitution business in Israel.  There is quite a bit of information to absorb from her very detailed descriptions of numbers and personal stories.  While I knew a decent amount about prostitution in general, she helped shed light on the subject.  My other source of which I found on the Jerusalem Post website, focused on something the Rosenthal book does not: teen prostitution.  The article is only a few weeks old (November 19), so its numbers are highly reliable. It was simple and got straight to the point.  There was no biased opinion, just authors that were concerned about the subject matter. 

The Druze Are a Peculiar Bunch

The Druze happen to be a unique group of people.  Druze are heavily religious and they believe their faith to be a new interpretation of the three monotheistic religions: Judaism, Islam, and Christianity.  One thing in particular that they believe in is reincarnation.  To them, "after a Druze dies, his or her soul enters the body of a newborn Druze of the same sex" (Rosenthal, 304).  While reincarnation may add to the mysteriousness of the Druze religion, it also has its dilemmas.  For instance, one can be an IDF soldier in one life, but can be reborn as a Lebanese who also becomes a soldier.  Some blame their fears on a past life.  There was a soldier who could not bear to be near tanks because he thought he was a soldier in another life who had been crushed by a tank.  One can only be born a Druze and it is impossible to convert in or out of the religion which is why the community has been together for so long. 

The Druze star. Source: www.mmouka.com

Then there is the issue of marriage.  Only a Druze can marry another Druze and because proselytizing is prohibited, technically no new members have been admitted to the Druze since their beginning in 1043.  Because more than a third of marriages are to a close relative (and even higher rates in more conservative villages), "rates of birth defects and retardation among Druze children are high" (305).  If one were to marry anyone other than another Druze, they would be excommunicated and thrown out of the village.  As the Druze's say, "It's better to marry a poor relative than a wealthy stranger".  In the unfortunate case of Ibtihaj Hassan, she probably would agree if she were still alive.  In her case, she divorced the Druze she was married with and than committed the sin of all sins: marrying outside the faith.  Years went by and she returned to the village where her brother ended up stabbing her to death.  It is a rare occasion but it opens the eyes to the world of religious fanatics. 

Ibtihaj was not the only woman to have to suffer.  Hiham Arayda believes that "to live as a divorced [Druze] woman is worse than being a widow, who is at least regarded with some pity".  A married Druze woman is expected to suffer violence to help keep the family together, and most of all not to divorce.  Those who are divorced are forced out of their homes and the couple may never see each other.  She also states "the villages today are large, and lack public  transportation, employment and public housing. The problems for a divorced woman in the village are greater than for women in the city, but they have no possibility of leaving. That's all they need." 

A group of Druze women. Source: www.allvoices.com

The majority of my information came from Chapter 14 of the Rosenthal book.  It contains some really insightful information regarding the Druze culture.  She does a great job on asserting their views and beliefs without being biased.  The stories she describes are also quite surprising.  My other source came from the Haaretz website.  It was a very interesting article that correlated with some parts of the Rosenthal chapter.  My knowledge of the Druze culture has dramatically increased.