City in Focus: Tel Aviv
PRAYER BRIEFING
Israel has always been a nexus of controversy, and the issue of human trafficking is no different. After a dubious promotion to a Tier 2 status in 2002, (indicating that though it does not yet fully comply with minimum anti-trafficking measures, it is making significant strides) many wondered whether the Trafficking in Persons report by the US State Department had the power necessary to result in real change. That was in 2002, but the current 2009 report, issued in June, still maintains Israel’s Tier 2 status. The negative trends in trafficking include police visiting brothels as clients, as well as the laws that treat trafficked women as criminals by deporting them. In the last two years, however, Israeli anti-trafficking agencies have made breakthroughs by rescuing a greater number of victims trafficked from other nations. Unfortunately there is evidence that these women have been replaced by victims of domestic trafficking.
Tel Aviv is gaining notoriety as a destination for these latest trends in domestic trafficing. Typically pimps are able to lure Israeli girls into prostitution with “lover boy” tactics, and then keep them enslaved through a variation of bonded labor: by targeting a girl between the ages of 12 and 15 who already exhibits a degree of vulnerability, a pimp is able to offer her love and protection. From there, he deliberately gets her addicted to dangerous drugs (such as heroin) and then forces her to pay off her drug “debt” through prostitution. As with other instances of bonded labor, this debt is astronomical and there is no hope of her paying it off. What’s worse is that because of Israel’s nuanced trafficking/prostitution laws, law enforcement often cannot capture traffickers before they have actually trafficked a victim; pimping and other sex crimes are not illegal which makes preemptive law enforcement quite difficult. And as Tel Aviv draws more and more young tourists with its growing party atmosphere, swelling both the demand for purchased sex and the ruse of “legal” prostitution, now more than ever is the hour to contend for the abrupt halt of trafficking in this city.
Ministries
Door of Hope www.thedoorofhope.net
The Door of Hope is a shelter to prostitutes and street women. Door of Hope provides food, clothing, and shelter to women who know nothing more than prostitution and drug addiction. This ministry is a beacon of light to women enslaved to a dark lifestyle in more ways than one.
Prayer Points
- Pray that God would revive Tel Aviv and destroy Human Trafficking in all of its forms.
- Pray that the fear of the Lord would descend on this city and bring conviction to traffickers, johns, pimps, and all participants in the sex trade.
- Pray that the church in Tel Aviv would have a message of power and healing to all involved in the commercial sex trade industry.
- Ask God to raise up righteous law enforcement officers and criminal justice workers who will turn the tide of trafficking through enacted and enforced legislation.
