This record is a partial extract of the original cable. The full text of the original cable is not available.

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 05 TEL AVIV 001338 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
 
DEPT G/TIP FOR: SALLY NEUMANN; NEA/RA: JOHN MENARD 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: KCRM PHUM KWMN SMIG KFRD ASEC PREF ELAB IS ISRAELI SOCIETY GOI INTERNAL
SUBJECT: ISRAEL: FIFTH ANNUAL TRAFFICKING IN PERSONS REPORT 
(3 OF 3) 
 
REF: SECSTATE 273089 
 
¶1.  (SBU) This is the third part of a three-part message 
responding to reftel.  Embassy point of contact is Jenifer 
Joyce, telephone number (972)(3) 519-7437, fax number 
(972)(3) 519-7484. 
 
------------------------------------ 
Protection and Assistance to Victims 
------------------------------------ 
 
¶A.  Does the government assist victims, for example, by 
providing temporary to permanent residency status, relief 
from deportation, shelter and access to legal, medical and 
psychological services? 
 
-- Sex Trafficking: On February 15, 2004 the government 
opened in Tel Aviv the first shelter for trafficking victims, 
established with funding from the U.S. government.  The 
shelter's maximum capacity is 50 persons.  The government 
reported that, as of January 3, 2005, 45 women and one child 
were housed in the shelter.  A steering committee for the 
shelter makes decisions on matters of policy and practice, 
and includes representatives from the Ministry of Social 
Affairs, police, Ministry of Public Security, Ministry of 
Justice, Ministry of Health, and the NGO Keshet, as well as 
the director of the shelter.  The Ministry of Public Security 
is in charge of guarding the shelter, providing protection 
for the women and accompanying them to court proceedings and 
District Attorneys' offices.  All women residing in the 
shelter receive legal, medical and psychological services. 
All victims residing in the shelter are entitled to receive 
temporary visas for their stay.  These visas are issued 
according to a procedure requiring the cooperation of the 
Ministry of Justice and the Ministry of the Interior.  The 
memorandum of agreement between the U.S. and Israeli 
governments provides that a "preference" be given to women 
who agree to testify against their traffickers, but police 
say they transfer to the shelter only those women who agree 
to testify.  A GOI official, however, said that some women 
who had not agreed to testify, but who represented 
particularly compelling humanitarian cases, were transferred 
to the shelter. 
 
The Ministry of Interior, in cooperation with the Ministry of 
Industry, Trade and Labor, has established a system of 
issuing work permits to trafficking victims residing in the 
shelter without limiting them to a specific job or field. 
This system is not available to trafficking victims who do 
not reside in the shelter.  Medical care is financed by the 
Ministry of Health and provided by a physician at the shelter 
and at Ichilov Hospital.  The country does not have specific 
victim care and victim health care facilities. 
 
-- Labor Trafficking: Foreign Workers, including any who have 
been trafficked, may be given a temporary stay of deportation 
if they have a complaint pending before the Crime Unit of the 
Immigration Administration, and they are released for 
employment purposes if they are testifying against a 
trafficker or employer who is being prosecuted.   Although 
such legal protections are in place, the government provides 
no shelter, psychological or medical services for such 
foreign workers. 
 
¶B.  Does the government provide funding or other forms of 
support to foreign or domestic NGOs for services to victims? 
 
Currently, the government provides no funding or other 
support to foreign or domestic NGOs for provision of services 
to victims.  Prior to the opening of the shelter for victims 
of trafficking in February 2004, police housed witnesses in 
police-funded hostels, but police sources say they have 
stopped this program and now send all witnesses who are 
trafficking victims for the purpose of prostitution to the 
shelter in Tel Aviv. 
 
¶C.  Is there a screening and referral process in place, when 
appropriate, to transfer victims detained, arrested or placed 
in protective custody by law enforcement authorities to NGOs 
that provide short or long-term care? 
 
NGO representatives are given access to detention facilities, 
where they can assist victims.  Any detained foreign national 
undergoes several screening and monitoring procedures.  The 
detainee is interviewed in the detention facility by a police 
officer and has a hearing before a representative of the 
Ministry of the Interior, but NGOs claim that interpreters 
are not always provided and the hearings are frequently 
conducted in Hebrew.  At the detention facility, a detainee 
is interviewed by the detention facility officer to ensure 
that he/she has valid travel documents, as well as by an 
inspector of the Ministry of Industry, Trade and Labor to 
determine whether he/she is owed money and to facilitate 
collection of that money.  In the case of minors staying in 
Israel illegally, the Immigration Authority refers them to 
NGOs or local social services for assistance and does not 
detain them.  Such procedures apply equally to TIP victims 
for prostitution or sexual exploitation and for labor, as 
both types of victims are frequently housed in the same 
detention centers.  NGOs aver that while these hearings are 
systematically conducted, the interviewers do not receive 
training on TIP and do not refer victims who have health or 
other problems for follow-up.  Victims are also not always 
referred to police officers, who could investigate the 
trafficking charges and obtain information from the victims 
before they are deported, according to NGOs. 
 
¶D.  Are the rights of victims respected, or are victims also 
treated as criminals?  Are victims detained, jailed or 
deported? 
 
NGOs report that victims of trafficking are often treated as 
illegal foreign workers and detained in facilities for 
illegal foreign workers and/or deported quickly.  They are 
not, however, indicted or prosecuted as criminals.  The GOI 
acknowledges that some victims of trafficking are not 
identified as such and are deported. 
 
-- Sex trafficking: Many sex trafficking victims are deported 
soon after discovery, unless the victim is willing to testify 
against her traffickers, according to GOI and NGO sources. 
Sex trafficking victims who are willing to testify against 
their traffickers are released from detention (where most 
victims are held, pending deportation), housed in the 
trafficking victims' shelter, and provided full board and 
pocket money.  The government says that during 2004, 108 
women identified as victims of trafficking for prostitution 
were transferred to the shelter.  The police sent the 
majority of these women directly to the shelter upon 
discovering them as a result of police investigations, e.g., 
during raids on brothels.  The government reported that 40 of 
these women were transferred to the shelter from detention 
facilities run by the Immigration Administration.  The 
government says that some women identified by NGOs as special 
humanitarian cases were also referred to the shelter, even if 
they did not agree to testify. 
 
-- Labor trafficking: Most labor trafficking victims are 
deported for violations of immigration laws, but are not 
prosecuted.  In most cases, according to GOI and NGO 
contacts, the government subsidizes the workers' airline 
tickets home.  If the worker files a criminal complaint 
against an employer in which he or she must testify, that 
worker may be generally released and allowed to work 
temporarily pending conclusion of the trial, according to the 
GOI.  NGO contacts aver that this rarely happens.  More 
typically, they say, the worker is either detained pending 
conclusion of the trial or is deported so quickly that he/she 
does not have an opportunity to testify. 
 
-- Are victims fined? 
 
Victims are not fined, according to both NGOs and the 
government. 
 
-- Are victims prosecuted for violations of other laws, such 
as those governing immigration or prostitution? 
 
Victims may be detained and deported for violating 
immigration laws, but are not prosecuted.  Prostitution is 
not specifically prohibited by law, although the activities 
surrounding prostitution are illegal.  Victims of trafficking 
for prostitution are not prosecuted. 
 
¶E.  Does the government encourage victims to assist in the 
investigation and prosecution of trafficking? 
 
Police say that they often try to convince victims to 
testify.  NGOs say, however, that the police often fail to 
identify many trafficking victims as such, with the result 
that most trafficking victims are deported before they are 
given the chance to testify, and valuable information is 
permanently lost.  The police reported that 904 foreign women 
were detained on charges of protitution in 2004, and that 796 
women picked up for prostitution were deported in 2004 
without testifying.  (Note: Available data does not indicate 
in what year those women deported from the country were 
actually detained on charges of prostitution.)  During 2004, 
108 victims testified, as compared to 81 victims who 
testified in 2003.  NGOs claim that many trafficking victims 
are deterred from cooperating with the investigation and 
prosecution of trafficking because if they agree to testify, 
they must often wait in detention (for victims of labor 
trafficking) or in the shelter (for victims of sex 
trafficking) until the conclusion of legal proceedings. 
 
-- Can victims file civil suits or seek legal action against 
the traffickers? 
 
As a matter of law and policy, victims have the right to 
initiate civil suits against traffickers.  These include 
suits filed in labor courts for violations of labor law and 
civil suits regarding violations of contracts and torts. 
NGOs, however, say that victims who seek legal action face 
obstacles.  Many victims do not have access to legal 
representation and therefore do not know about their options 
to file suit.  The necessity of remaining in Israel to 
conclude such a lawsuit deters many from filing an action in 
the first place. 
 
One NGO reported that no civil suit brought by a victim of 
sex-related trafficking has been carried through to a 
judgment, although several are pending.  Criminal courts, 
however, reportedly have awarded financial compensation to 
victims in sex trafficking cases. 
 
The Kav La Oved NGO reported that it has provided legal 
representation to labor trafficking victims and other foreign 
workers who have suffered physical or economic abuse at the 
hands of employers.  Its representatives claim to have won 
cases for about 300 foreign workers a year in recent years, 
with judgments for all their clients combined totaling 
$500,000 to $1 million a year. 
 
-- Does anyone impede the victims' access to such legal 
redress? 
 
No, although NGOs point out that many victims are deported 
before they have the opportunity to seek legal redress. 
 
-- If a victim is a material witness in a court case against 
the former employer, is the victim permitted to obtain other 
employment or to leave the country? 
 
Victims who are material witnesses in court cases receive 
visa extensions from the Interior Ministry and are permitted, 
in some instances, to obtain other employment, although NGOs 
say these are rare occurrences.  The lawyer for that 
worker/witness must appeal for an administrative ruling to 
allow the worker to seek other employment.  These cases are 
decided on a case-by-case basis, and take into account the 
length of time the worker has been in country and will need 
to stay to complete his/her testimony.  If the worker leaves 
the country, he/she will need to re-enter the country with a 
valid visa, which deters most victims from leaving or, if 
they do, from returning. 
 
-- Is there a victim restitution program? 
 
No government-run victim restitution program exists, but 
victims may seek redress in the court system. 
 
¶F.  What kind of protection is the government able to provide 
for victims and witnesses?  Does it provide these protections 
in practice? 
 
The police report that they provide physical and legal 
protection to approximately 100 witnesses in trafficking 
cases per year.  On July 25, 2002, the State Attorney and the 
Commissioner of Police appointed an Inter-Ministerial 
Committee, headed by the former District Attorney of 
Jerusalem, to develop a witness protection plan.  Although 
the Inter-Ministerial Committee issued a recommendation in 
September 2004 that the government establish an authority to 
protect witnesses, the lack of financial resources has 
prevented it from coming to fruition, according to the GOI. 
-- How many shelters does the government run or fund (in full 
or in part)? 
 
The government runs one 50-bed shelter for victims of 
trafficking for prostitution.  The government does not have a 
comparable shelter for victims of labor trafficking.  Prior 
to the opening of the shelter for victims of trafficking in 
February 2004, police housed witnesses in police-funded 
hostels, but police sources say they have stopped doing this 
and now send all witnesses who are trafficking victims for 
the purpose of prostitution to the shelter in Tel Aviv. 
 
¶G.  Does the government provide any specialized training for 
government officials in recognizing trafficking and in the 
provision of assistance to trafficked victims, including the 
special needs of trafficked children? 
 
Yes, inspectors of the Enforcement Division of the Ministry 
of Industry, Trade and Labor are given general investigative 
skills training and specific training concerning the 
enforcement of labor laws.  Attorneys from the Ministry of 
Industry, Trade, and Labor and the Ministry of Justice 
carried out two workshops in 2004 for inspectors of the 
Enforcement Division dealing with techniques for identifying 
serious infringement of foreign workers' rights and cases of 
trafficking in persons, as well as the special steps to be 
taken in such cases.  The police also conducted several 
workshops and lectures.  Guest speakers delivered 20 lectures 
on trafficking to police in 2004.  A workshop focused on the 
trafficking of women was held February 15-19, and another one 
on August 1-5, 2004, for investigators in governmental 
departments that investigate trafficking cases.  No 
specialized training exists regarding trafficked children, as 
no evidence exists of such trafficking in Israel.  NGOs say 
that inspectors with the Ministry of Trade, Industry and 
Labor are doing a better job than in previous years at 
investigating allegations of trafficking and labor law 
violations, and that the training they receive is adequate. 
NGO representatives charge, however, that the Ministry has 
too few inspectors, and that not all of them receive the 
trafficking training. 
 
-- Does the government provide training on protection and 
assistance to its embassies and consulates in foreign 
countries that are destination or transit countries? 
 
Israel is a destination country, not a source country.  In 
source countries, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has begun 
an informational campaign to distribute informational 
brochures to potential victims of trafficking.  Israeli 
embassy and consulate staff distribute these informational 
brochures to visa applicants whom they suspect might become 
trafficking victims. 
 
-- Does it urge those embassies and consulates to develop 
ongoing relationships with NGOs that serve trafficked 
victims? 
 
Currently, there are no efforts to develop such relationships 
with trafficking NGOs in source countries, according to 
government and NGO contacts. 
 
¶H.  Does the government provide assistance, such as medical 
aid, shelter or financial help, to its repatriated nationals 
who are victims of trafficking? 
 
Israel is not a source country for TIP, so it does not have 
any repatriated nationals who are victims of trafficking. 
 
¶I.  Which international organizations or NGOs, if any, work 
with trafficking victims?  What type of services do they 
provide?  What sort of cooperation do they receive from local 
authorities ? 
 
The International Organization for Migration (IOM) and the 
American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee (AJJDC) have 
been actively involved in anti-trafficking activities.  The 
AJJDC has given courses to victims/residents in the 
trafficking victims' shelter in Tel Aviv.  Its 
representatives have also met with NGOs to define the 
programs necessary to combat trafficking.  The Hotline for 
Migrant Workers provides assistance to victims in several 
areas: legal representation and counseling, assisting in 
coordinating their return to their countries of origin, 
aiding the victims to receive medical services, providing 
books and clothing, and maintaining consistent contact with 
the police and the Ministry of Justice.  The NGO "Isha 
Laisha" (Woman to Woman) has continued its role in the north 
of Israel, providing assistance to victims there and alerting 
government agencies regarding special problems.  Kav La Oved 
has been very active, particularly in helping trafficking 
victims for labor from China, by providing translation 
services and legal assistance. 
 
 
 
 
 
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