The 1990s ushered in a new phenomenon in the migratory patterns to the state of Israel. Women began to be trafficked into Israel for the purpose of prostitution. Before this period, prostitutes were largely local women, with a smattering of foreign women who arrived by and large by their own initiative. With the opening of this new era, networks of criminals began to exploit the poverty and vulnerability of young girls to prevail upon them to journey to Israel in the hopes of earning enough money to support themselves and their families. In this essay, I endeav or to describe the reasons underlying the trafficking phenomenon, its characteristics, and the steps taken by the government and nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) in Israel to combat it. Since it is impossible to analyze trafficking without placing it in its global context, many of the processes and underlying causes referred to are common to the forms of trafficking worldwide. While trafficking may be undertaken for a number of purposes such as slave labor, removal of organs, sexual exploitation, or prostitution, this article deals only with trafficking for the purposes of prostitution, as this form of trafficking is the most prevalent in Israel.

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strategic approach immigration policy World Eurasia Israel prostitution illegal immigrant Eastern Hemisphere Middle East Asia