US State Dept. Slams Israel Over Human Trafficking

28 June 11 12:35, Ran Dagoni, Washington
"The Government of Israel does not fully comply with the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking; however, it is making significant efforts to do so," says the US Department of State in its "Trafficking in Persons Report for 2011". It adds, "Israel continued law enforcement actions against sex trafficking and continued to make strong prevention efforts. The government continued to take inadequate steps, however, to identify and protect labor trafficking victims and prosecute and convict labor trafficking offenders in the reporting period."

The State Department classifies countries with three ratings, "tier 1" countries that comply with the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking, mostly countries in Europe and North America; "tier 2" countries that not comply with the minimum standards, and have large numbers of human trafficking, but which make efforts to combat it; and "tier 3" countries that neither comply with the minimal standards and make no effort to do so. Israel is classified as a "tier 2" country.

Israel's "tier 2" peers include Afghanistan, Angola, Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Belarus, Burkina Faso, Ethiopia, Iraq, Jordan, Pakistan, Rwanda, Syria, as well as India, China, Russia, and developed countries such as Iceland, Japan, Greece, and Switzerland.

The report on Israel is little different from the previous reports. It says, "Israel is a destination country for men and women subjected to forced labor and sex trafficking. Low-skilled workers from Thailand, China, Nepal, the Philippines, India, Sri Lanka, and, to a lesser extent, Romania, migrate voluntarily and legally to Israel for temporary contract labor in construction, agriculture, and home health care provision.

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http://www.globes.co.il/serveen/globes/docview.asp?did=1000658474

When you read about huge ecstasy busts or human trafficking in Israel, there's usually some Russian/Ukrainian element that you can trace it back to. Israel is the center of the European ecstasy drug trade and it sure as shit isn't because Israelis just love ecstasy that much: Israel is a convenient springboard to Europe and the US and organized crime has seized on that.

I would also add it's probably uncontroversial to say that no small portion of the most absolutely racist political ideology is also a Russian import- aka Avigdor Lieberman and the Yisrael Beiteinu party.

PB

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