Prostitution in Israel

Policy regarding sex trafficking and prostitution has changed dramatically in Israel over the last two decades. In the early 2000s, both non-trafficked prostitution and sex trafficking were widely tolerated in Israel, and the US State Department rated Israel one of the worst countries in the world for human trafficking. In the subsequent decades, Israel began to enforce laws and education against sex trafficking, and banned the purchase of sex - trafficked or not - in 2020, under the Nordic Model.

Prostitution (the exchange of sexual acts for money) was legal in Israel until December 2018, but organised prostitution in the form of brothels and pimping was prohibited. Legislation passed in the Knesset on 31 December 2018 that criminalises the "clients" of prostitutes came into force in May 2020, and was regulated since July 2020 under the Israeli Abolition of Prostitution Consumption Law, where fines will be cast for consumption of prostitution services from an adult. This legislation makes Israel the tenth country to adopt the "Nordic model". The Ministry of Social Affairs and Social Services estimates there to be 14,000 prostitutes in the country.

The main centre of prostitution in Israel is Tel Aviv. It has been estimated that 62% of the brothels and 48% of the massage parlors in the country are in Tel Aviv. The traditional red-light district of the old bus station area was subjected to a number of raids and closures in 2017, and the area is subject to gentrification.

Prostitution has existed in Israel since Biblical times, and has been practiced by both women and men. People were advised never to become prostitutes or place their daughters in the trade, as it was viewed as "shameful profession".

In the early 19th century, Jewish Women in Eastern Europe were upended by economic collapse. Many of these women were forced or coerced into prostitution or the sex trade, as it was the only viable means of self-support.

By World War I, prostitution was well established in Tel Aviv, Haifa, Ramla, and most other cities. Brothels were owned by both Jews and Arabs. British soldiers added to the demand for prostitution in the 1930s and 1940s. Tel Aviv was considered to be the centre of the sex trade in the Middle East.

Prostitution was legalized in Israel in 1949 under the Prostitution and Abomination Act, although homosexual prostitution was not legalized till 1954. However, in 1962, indoor prostitution, but not street prostitution, was prohibited, and is controlled by the Israeli Criminal Law 1966, Sections 199–202. However, indoor prostitution has continued to thrive. It was not perceived as a major problem till the 1970s, (Cnaan 1982), and prostitution policy has been described as "benign neglect". A 1975 inquiry (Ben-Eato) recommended legalization, but this was not implemented. (Cnaan 1982)

In the 1990s, as in other countries, trafficking in women became a political issue in women's movements in Israel, who engaged in political lobbying for legislative action. In 2003, Israel passed a law that would allow the state to confiscate the profits of traffickers, but watchdog groups claim it is rarely enforced.