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

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 TEL AVIV 001652 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
 
DEPT FOR G/TIP: GAYATRI PATEL; NEA/IPA: WES REISSER; 
NEA/RA: JOHN MENARD 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PHUM KWMN SMIG KFRD ASEC PREF ELAB IS KCRM GTIP ISRAELI SOCIETY
SUBJECT: GOI SEEKS NGO INPUT ON NEXT STEPS IN FIGHT AGAINST 
TRAFFICKING 
 
REF: TEL AVIV 1391 
 
¶1.  (SBU) SUMMARY:  The GOI inter-ministerial 
anti-trafficking committee decided at its April 26 meeting to 
press for rapid passage of the draft anti-trafficking bill, 
and to address specific concerns raised by three leading NGOs 
critical of the GOI's anti-trafficking efforts.  The 
committee invited the three NGOs to attend their meeting, 
where NGO representatives presented a "wish list" of 
anti-trafficking measures, including clarification of items 
in the draft bill, prosecution of foreign workers who assist 
labor traffickers, and formalization of the process for 
issuing visas to victims of sex trafficking.  The USG 
anti-trafficking award has reportedly strengthened its 
recipient, Rachel Gershuni, in her attempt to lead efforts to 
address the issues raised by NGOs (reftel).  COMMENT:  GOI 
officials took an unusual step by formally inviting NGO 
representatives to present their ideas at a high-level, 
inter-ministerial meeting, and by acting immediately to 
implement NGO recommendations to increase training of judges 
and police, and to formalize visa adjudication procedures for 
sex trafficking victims.  END SUMMARY AND COMMENT. 
 
--------------------------------------------- --- 
GOI ANTI-TRAFFICKING COMMITTEE INVITES NGO INPUT 
--------------------------------------------- --- 
 
¶2.  (SBU) MFA Director of International Organizations Daniel 
Meron told poloff April 26 that the inter-ministerial 
anti-trafficking committee invited to its April 26 meeting 
representatives from the Hotline for Migrant Workers, Kav 
LaOved (Workers' Hotline), and Isha L'Isha (Woman to Woman) 
in order to, as Meron terms it, "go over all pending issues, 
to see where we stand."  He said that the committee discussed 
"how to make sure the Knesset bill goes through quickly." 
 
¶3.  (SBU) De Facto Anti-Trafficking Coordinator Rachel 
Gershuni told poloff that NGOs presented to the committee a 
"wish list" of anti-trafficking measures.  The NGO 
representatives who attended the meeting -- Uri Sadeh, field 
coordinator for the Hotline for Migrant Workers; Yuval 
Livnat, legal counsel for Kav LaOved; and Tali Eisenberg, 
legal counsel for Isha L'Isha -- told poloff that they made 
the following points. 
 
----------------------------------------- 
NGOS RECOMMEND NEXT STEPS FOR THE GOI... 
----------------------------------------- 
 
...IN THE FIGHT AGAINST LABOR TRAFFICKING... 
 
¶4.  (SBU) Yuval Livnat of Kav LaOved and Uri Sadeh of the 
Hotline for Migrant Workers said that they urged GOI 
officials to take the following steps: 
 
-- Clarify the definition of "trafficking" in the draft 
anti-trafficking bill. 
 
NGOs worry that traffickers may claim that the practice of 
dismissing workers shortly after they arrive in Israel in 
order to collect commission fees constitutes "trafficking for 
commission fees," which the Knesset bill does not explicitly 
outlaw, instead of "trafficking for labor," which the bill 
does outlaw. 
 
-- Prosecute foreign workers who facilitate trafficking. 
 
NGOs said that Israeli employers increasingly use foreign 
workers to serve as "middle men" to collect fees from and 
intimidate other foreign workers.  The Israeli National 
Police (INP) have focused on investigating and prosecuting 
Israeli employers, but neglected to pursue foreign workers 
who facilitate the trafficking of their co-nationals.  NGOs 
aver that the police currently lack the linguistic and 
cultural fluency necessary to understand the illegal activity 
that occurs within foreign worker communities. 
 
-- Increase investigation and prosecution of passport 
confiscation by employers. 
 
NGOs reported that the crime unit of the Immigration 
Administration (IA) rarely investigates employers who 
illegally confiscate only one passport; IA investigators 
focus, instead, on employers who confiscate two or more 
passports.  This practice renders domestic workers 
particularly vulnerable to exploitation.  In addition, NGOs 
noted that the IA generally informs employers before it 
conducts inspections, and encouraged the IA to conduct more 
surprise inspections in the future. 
 
...AND IN THE FIGHT AGAINST SEX TRAFFICKING 
 
¶5.  (SBU) Tali Eisenberg of Isha L'Isha and Uri Sadeh of the 
Hotline for Migrant Workers said that they urged GOI 
officials to take the following steps: 
 
-- Formalize the process for issuing visas to victims of sex 
trafficking. 
 
NGOs reported disappointment that the decision-making process 
for approving residency and work visas for trafficking 
victims continues to lack transparency, consistency, and 
criteria. 
 
-- Train the military and police forces that protect the 
Israel-Egypt border on trafficking issues. 
 
Now that the GOI has significantly increased the number of 
soldiers and police guarding Israel's southern border with 
Egypt, NGOs say that it is imperative to train the new forces 
to search for, identify, and handle trafficking victims. 
 
-- Increase the training of judges. 
 
NGOs report that not enough of Israel's judges have received 
formal training about trafficking in persons. 
 
------------------------------ 
THE GOI REPORTS ITS NEXT STEPS 
------------------------------ 
 
¶6.  Rachel Gershuni reported that the committee decided to 
take the following steps to address NGO suggestions: 
 
-- Organize more training for judges. 
 
Gershuni said that the committee decided that she should 
schedule a meeting with the director of the judges training 
institute in Haifa to urge him to incorporate an 
anti-trafficking module in the formal curriculum for the 
continuing education of Israel's judges. 
 
-- Approach the commander of the border police about training 
his personnel on trafficking issues. 
 
Gershuni said that the committee decided that she should 
approach the commander of the Israeli border police to see if 
he will permit his policemen to receive the same training on 
trafficking issues that leaders of the Israeli Defense Forces 
(IDF) have agreed to provide to IDF soldiers. 
 
-- Identify GOI points of contact for NGOs and trafficking 
victims. 
 
Gershuni reported that the committee provided to the NGO 
representatives at the meeting additional, individual points 
of contact at Ben Gurion airport, the Israeli National 
Police, and the Immigration Administration.  She said that 
the committee encouraged NGOs to contact these individuals to 
protest mistaken deportations of trafficking victims, or to 
investigate allegations of abuse of foreign workers. 
 
-- Formalize procedures for issuing visas to trafficking 
victims. 
 
Gershuni said that she secured on April 10 agreement to 
formalize visa adjudication procedures from the senior 
official responsible for creating and implementing this 
policy, Yisachar Katsir, director of the Population 
Administration in the Ministry of the Interior (MOI). 
Gershuni said that she worked with MOI officials to draft the 
formal procedure for Katsir's review, and that Katsir said 
that he aims to approve the final draft by the end of May. 
 
¶7.  (SBU) Gershuni also reported that she will be meeting May 
1 with the deputy director general of the Ministry of 
Justice, Moshe Shilo, to resolve technical delays in the 
official appointment of an anti-trafficking coordinator, and 
to discuss the date for an anti-trafficking seminar 
tentatively scheduled to take place during the summer. 
 
--------------------------------------------- ----- 
USG AWARD STRENGTHENS ANTI-TRAFFICKING COORDINATOR 
--------------------------------------------- ----- 
 
¶8.  (SBU) Uri Sadeh of the Hotline for Migrant Workers told 
poloff that the Department's anti-trafficking "hero" award 
has increased Rachel Gershuni's influence within the GOI. 
"She has had problems in the past with people in the 
government who consider her a pain," Sadeh said.  "This is 
the first time I've seen them visibly proud of her.  Please 
draw as much attention to this award as you can."  Gershuni 
confirmed that the award has strengthened her position as 
unofficial coordinator, making it easier for her to persuade 
other government officials to cooperate with her.  "I plan to 
use this award for all it's worth," she said. 
 
********************************************* ******************** 
Visit Embassy Tel Aviv's Classified Website: 
http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/nea/telaviv 
 
You can also access this site through the State Department's 
Classified SIPRNET website. 
********************************************* ******************** 
JONES