Trafficking horror: Israeli cops rescue SA women in Jerusalem, Tel Aviv

Grim news of a South African human trafficking prostitution network in Israel surfaced on Thursday, 1 August, after Israeli police dismantled the operation in Jerusalem and Tel Aviv.

Some of the five South African women who were rescued shared some horrific details of their ordeal, claiming they were sometimes thrown naked into the street for “poor performance”.

According to Israel’s national broadcaster KAN, police in June raided an apartment in Jerusalem suspected of being used as a brothel. There, they found three women they said had been forced into prostitution.

Sex trafficking network: SA women in Jerusalem and Tel Aviv

The network, which is believed to have been operating from Tel Aviv, is believed to have illegally imported women from South Africa to Israel with the intent of employing them as prostitutes.

The women said they had been lured to Israel via Jordan and had travelled using paperwork identifying them as pilgrims. 

That discovery led to apartments in Tel Aviv, where another two South African women were found.

SA trafficking arrests

Israeli police announced that they arrested two men and a woman—all South Africans and all in their 40s. They remain in police custody in Jerusalem.

A fourth South African was arrested in Tel Aviv a few days later. Police also apprehended a Nigerian-South African dual national in July at Ben Gurion Airport while trying to flee Israel.

KAN reported that the rescued women said they had been imprisoned and were subjected to assault as they were forced to work as prostitutes.

The Israeli broadcaster also said that it was suspected that the detainees’ modus operandi was to bring women to Israel through Jordan and Ben Gurion Airport under the cover of being pilgrims.

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Women transferred to shelter

The Department of International Relations and Cooperation (Dirco) has yet to respond to news of the incident, with its spokesperson, Clayson Monyela, saying they are currently following up on the report.

Meanwhile, the women have been transferred to a shelter for trafficked victims.

According to a News24 report, Israel has a history of human trafficking, both in the sex trade and for labour in agriculture and construction. 

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