Israeli police are helping, rather than hindering, the trafficking in women by frequenting brothels and in some cases befriending pimps, according to a new report released Sunday by advocacy groups.

The report also accused the judiciary of not doing enough to stop trafficking in spite of actions taken in the last two years to crack down on traffickers and to move Israel off the US State Department's black list regarding the sex trade.

"When police officers visit pimps as customers they are endorsing trafficking in women," the report stated, adding that such actions undo some positive steps taken by the police. "A policeman can't visit a prostitute in the morning and arrest her at night," stated the report, compiled by the Hotline for Migrant Workers, the Adva Center, and Isha L'Isha, the Haifa Feminist Center.

Of the 106 people women interviewed, "44 percent testified that policemen visited the brothels as customers, 13% gave accounts of friendships between policemen and pimps, and three women reported seeing money change hands between pimps and policemen," the report said.

The comprehensive look at trafficking in women relies on interviews with victims conducted in 2001-2002. It was distributed in advance of a special Monday session by the Parliamentary Inquiry Committee on the Trading in Women, headed by MK Zahava Gal-On (Meretz).
Police spokesman Gil Kleiman refuted the report's allegations against them, saying: "We reject outright any general statement or innuendo by voluntary organizations based on anonymous interviews. The publication of these statements borders on irresponsibility. The Israel police in the last two years has made great steps forward in combating the transportation for women for prostitution and or white slavery," Kleiman said.

The police, particularly those patrolling the Egyptian border, a well-known point for smuggling women into the country, "have taken the fight against the transportation of women for prostitution very seriously and dealt with it in an effective manner," Kleiman said. "These kinds of general statements stain the good name of the Israel police, which has done so much in the last two years to combat and arrest those criminals who are responsible for the transportation of women," Kleiman said.

He added that as a result of their work, in 2002 Israel was taken off the US State Department's black list of countries with poor records on this issue.

But Yossi Dan of the Adva Center noted that Israel was still on a list of countries that fail to combat the problem well, and do not comply with minimal criteria enforced by American law even though they have taken steps to improve.

He credits external pressure and the threat of economic sanctions as motivating factors in forcing some action on the matter.

The report acknowledged those improvements, noting that only one file on the trafficking in women was even opened by police in 2000, compared to 351 in 2002. But it still took issue with the actions of police and others regarding the sex trade.

The report cited a story told by a prostitute. "Two clients came. One of the pair picked me and took me a room. After half an hour, his friend knocked on the door and yelled for him to come out. He got dressed and said to me, "Come honey, you are under arrest."

At first the prostitute thought he was joking. She was charged with being in the country illegally and was deported. She didn't file charges against the policeman stating, "I've already seen what the police here are worth."

Out of those interviewed, 33% complained that police came to brothels to check documents without ever asking if the women were being held against their will. Even worse, according to the report, was the story of a prostitute who managed to escape from a brothel only to be brought back by a police officer.

The report argued for better protective services for victims, better treatment on the part of judicial authorities, and stiffer sentences for traffickers.

According to the report, most traffickers benefit from plea bargains and are sentenced to two years or less, even though they can be jailed for up to 16 years. Victims are given "no legal advice or psychological support" by the state.

According to the report, "The women are still viewed in most cases as criminals rather than victims; there are still cases in which women who have chosen to testify against the traffickers are incarcerated.

"Prosecution witnesses have no protection while they are waiting to testify and they are expelled immediately after giving their testimony," the report stated.

The report also noted most of the women did not work as prostitutes in their home countries. It said that 72% of the women were smuggled into Israel over the Egyptian border and that 78% were non-native Israelis, mainly from the former Soviet Union.

All the women said they were forced to service customers seven days a week, for 13 hours a day.
Forty percent of the women reported being locked up in brothels, 33% reported that violence was used against them by pimps and customers, and 8% reported being starved.