Israel: Stop Protecting Tel Aviv's Pimps
TEL AVIV, ISRAEL -- (from an editorial in YNet News by, Yuval Ben Ami):
Now is time to raid Tel Aviv brothels, shut them down
A few months ago I stood in the sludge of cigarette butts and empty beer bottles near Tel Aviv's central bus station, amidst a screaming crowd. I was a party to a protest aimed at sounding the alarm regarding the extent of human trade in Israel.
Every year, thousands of women arrive here to see their rights being stripped from them along with their passports. They are fully exploited, regularly raped and threatened, forced to engage in prostitution day and night, and at times receive nothing from the money given to them by the client.
The protest passed through the streets while attracting little attention among passerby and shoe store owners. At one point it reached the corner of Levinsky and Rosh Pina streets, where a neon heart declares the existence of a brothel.
At that point, the rally leaders chose to stop and use a megaphone to speak to the prostitutes, pimps, and customers inside. The two police officers who secured the protest stood next to the brothel's door while protecting both those inside and outside.
The police officers performed the task they were given that day very well, and still, the sight was depressing – cops who are familiar with the law are standing at the entrance to a building, where it is clear that endless crimes are taking place: Exploitation, rape, violence against women, and who knows what else. They did not open the door and did not do a thing.
The night before I saw two police detectives at the nearby Florentin neighborhood charging at a young guy who dared light up a marijuana cigarette at a public place and screaming at him that should he fail to get rid of it, he'll find himself with a police record. Yet this time – nothing. Not even a warning.
It was clear that even after we leave, a well-armed police unit would not be storming the site. I have no doubt it is teeming with action at this very moment.
That's ok, I comforted myself, after all there's logic to those things – these pimps are used as police informers. We cannot just storm their business as long as the intelligence system relies on them. Top officials obviously did a sophisticated calculation here: Maintaining the brothels will provide more security to a larger number of people than raiding them and shutting them down.
THE EDITORIAL CONTINUES AT ynetnews.com
Now is time to raid Tel Aviv brothels, shut them down
A few months ago I stood in the sludge of cigarette butts and empty beer bottles near Tel Aviv's central bus station, amidst a screaming crowd. I was a party to a protest aimed at sounding the alarm regarding the extent of human trade in Israel.
Every year, thousands of women arrive here to see their rights being stripped from them along with their passports. They are fully exploited, regularly raped and threatened, forced to engage in prostitution day and night, and at times receive nothing from the money given to them by the client.
The protest passed through the streets while attracting little attention among passerby and shoe store owners. At one point it reached the corner of Levinsky and Rosh Pina streets, where a neon heart declares the existence of a brothel.
At that point, the rally leaders chose to stop and use a megaphone to speak to the prostitutes, pimps, and customers inside. The two police officers who secured the protest stood next to the brothel's door while protecting both those inside and outside.
The police officers performed the task they were given that day very well, and still, the sight was depressing – cops who are familiar with the law are standing at the entrance to a building, where it is clear that endless crimes are taking place: Exploitation, rape, violence against women, and who knows what else. They did not open the door and did not do a thing.
The night before I saw two police detectives at the nearby Florentin neighborhood charging at a young guy who dared light up a marijuana cigarette at a public place and screaming at him that should he fail to get rid of it, he'll find himself with a police record. Yet this time – nothing. Not even a warning.
It was clear that even after we leave, a well-armed police unit would not be storming the site. I have no doubt it is teeming with action at this very moment.
That's ok, I comforted myself, after all there's logic to those things – these pimps are used as police informers. We cannot just storm their business as long as the intelligence system relies on them. Top officials obviously did a sophisticated calculation here: Maintaining the brothels will provide more security to a larger number of people than raiding them and shutting them down.
THE EDITORIAL CONTINUES AT ynetnews.com
posted by Sarah G. at 10:52 AM
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