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Carol X Weakley  10/20/2006 03:56:29 PM  From  DB/Inbox:  Carol X Weakley

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UNCLAS        TEL AVIV 04155

SIPDIS
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    ACTION: POL
    INFO:   IPSC RES ECON DCM DAO AMB PD AID ADM RSO IMO
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RR RUEHC RUEHXK
DE RUEHTV #4155 2930452
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 200452Z OCT 06
FM AMEMBASSY TEL AVIV
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 7083
INFO RUEHXK/ARAB ISRAELI COLLECTIVE

UNCLAS TEL AVIV 004155 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: ELAB GTIP PHUM IS KCRM KJUS
SUBJECT: ISRAEL PASSES NEW TRAFFICKING IN PERSONS LAW 
 
 
¶1.  (SUMMARY)  The Knesset approved October 17 a law to 
strengthen and broaden penalties for human trafficking, an 
objective that Post has been advocating for and that the 
Olmert government strongly embraced.  MK Zehava Gal-On 
(Meretz) drafted the law, which was supported by the 
government and passed in a unanimous vote.  The law broadens 
the definition of trafficking in men, women and children to 
include labor and other forms of exploitation; establishes a 
fund consisting of property confiscated from traffickers and 
fines assessed to them; and increases to 20 years the maximum 
prison term for human trafficking, similar to other serious 
crimes such as rape.  The media quoted Gal-On as saying "We 
are talking about an innovative, revolutionary and 
precedent-setting law that deals harshly with traffickers of 
people and body parts.  The law will provide law enforcement 
officers better tools to combat the phenomenon."  (END 
SUMMARY) 
 
¶2.  The new law stipulates trafficking offenses for the 
purposes of stealing organs, kidnapping newborn children, 
slavery, forced labor (including the taking of passports), 
prostitution, pornography and sexual abuse.  The definition 
of slavery, the first in the Israeli legal system, is "a 
situation in which authority normally exercised over property 
is imposed on a person."  An unofficial translation of the 
draft law (no official translation of the final law is yet 
available) said that the existing Legal Aid Law will be 
amended to provide legal aid to all victims of trafficking 
and slavery, including those trafficked for the purposes of 
labor.  Previously, legal aid was accorded only to victims of 
trafficking for the purpose of prostitution.  According to 
the unofficial translation, the victim does not have to meet 
economic criteria to receive the aid. 
 
¶3.  Highlights of the new law include increased sentences for 
trafficking and compensation to victims. 
-- The maximum penalty for trafficking in persons under the 
law is 16 years, increasing to 20 years if the victim is a 
minor. 
-- The maximum penalty for kidnapping for any of the purposes 
of trafficking is 20 years, with a maximum penalty of 10 
years for taking a person outside the borders of the country 
in which they reside for the purposes of trafficking. 
-- The law increases from one to three years the penalty for 
withholding a passport, increasing to five years with certain 
aggravated circumstances, such as placing the person deprived 
of their passport in jeopardy. 
-- The law instructs the court to grant to trafficking 
victims compensation to be paid by the offender or through a 
dedicated fund to be set up for such purposes. 
-- The courts will be authorized to hold trials involving 
trafficking in persons behind closed doors and to prevent the 
publication of details that identify the victims. 
 
¶4.  When the bill passed a committee reading in September, 
Justice Ministry Trafficking Coordinator Rachel Gershuni 
described the initiative as a pilot program -- to be reviewed 
after two years -- that will expand legal aid to all 
trafficking victims, not just those trafficked for 
prostitution.  After the law was approved October 17, the 
media quoted Knesset Constitution, Law and Justice Committee 
Chairman Menachem Ben-Sasson (Kadima) as saying "this law 
places Israel in line with the world's most enlightened 
nations, and deals with one of the worst problems in crime 
and corruption worldwide." 
 
¶5.  Anti-trafficking NGO Hotline for Migrant Workers praised 
many aspects of the new law, calling it comprehensive and an 
important tool in the prevention of trafficking in persons, 
notably increasing the prison terms for trafficking and 
expanding the definition of trafficking to include all forms 
of trafficking, including trafficking in labor, organs and 
children.  The Hotline did criticize the law for allocating 
confiscated property and fines from traffickers to the 
government rather than directly to the victims, and for 
failing to include in the expanded definition of trafficking 
the charging of fees for job placement absent a legal job to 
offer in Israel.  The Hotline also urged stronger steps for 
the rehabilitation of victims, notably clearer policy for the 
issuance of visas to encourage victims to testify against 
their traffickers and to assist in the rehabilitation process. 
 
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