Addressing social justice issues in Israel is not easy. There is always something “more serious” to deal with. Security usually trumps all. However, something changed with this past summer’s national social justice protests. The topic of conversation shifted. Suddenly, there were serious issues on the table that did not have to do with security or war. There was room to talk about education, child care and public health. It was finally possible to discuss our goals and aspirations for our society.  The seeds planted over the summer bore fruit last week, when Israel moved one step closer to joining the ranks of countries working towards ridding our world of modern day slavery in one of its most globally pervasive forms: sex trafficking and prostitution.

On a global scale, countries are more open to discussing measures to prevent human trafficking. Part of these efforts involve finding ways to decrease prostitution – a form of violence and degradation against women and children, many of whom have been trafficked. As Israel evolves and grows, and as global attention to this issue intensifies – spurred on by North-South, wide-spread socio-economic disparities, in addition to endemic war and the emerging phenomena of climate change – we are forced to deal with immigration and, therefore, with human trafficking. Today, Israel has a staggering 15,000 women working in the prostitution industry, an estimated 5,000 of whom are minors.  

For eight years now, ATZUM’s Task Force on Human Trafficking has worked to eradicate modern day slavery. Together with Israeli law office Kabiri-Nevo-Keidar, we aim to engage the public and government agencies to confront and eradicate modern slavery in Israel, and lobby for reform in the areas of prevention, border closure, protection of escaped women, and prosecution of traffickers and pimps.

To this end, we put together the Women-To-Go campaign, a powerful portrayal of prostitution in which women stood in store windows as objects to be purchased; organized CREATE, a conference for religious educators on trafficking and exploitation; and launched Project 119, a volunteer lobbying effort whereby individuals were assigned to members of Knesset to lobby for legislation proposing the criminalization of the purchase of sexual services.

On Sunday, February 12, 2012, the Ministerial Legislation Committee of the Israeli Knesset passed this legislation dealing a blow to the ‘supply chain’ for sexual services in Israel and setting in place a proven deterrent (in countries such as Sweden, Norway, Iceland and most recently France) for human trafficking and prostitution. This decision represents a huge victory for Israel. The Israeli government made a statement that human beings are not for sale in our society, and that trafficking in sexual services is no longer a legitimate enterprise on our streets.  Most importantly, women who are in this industry, will know that the Israeli government is no longer turning a blind eye to their suffering and has resolved to put an end to this societal malady.

Kayla Zecher
Projects Coordinator for ATZUM’s Task Force on Human Trafficking

On Friday, December 9, ATZUM honored newly-identified “Righteous Among the Nations” Klavdia Likholetova, for her heroism and selflessness in saving Jewish lives during the Holocaust, at a special ceremony at the Eylon School in Holon.

Likholetova, who passed away in 2003 in Bat Yam, was represented by her husband, Iliya Leiberman, at the student-run ceremony arranged by ATZUM and the Eylon school staff.  Likholetova was recently recognized by Yad Vashem as a Righteous Among the Nations.  Leiberman accepted the certificate and medal on her behalf.

“It is vitally important that we honor the memory of each of these courageous rescuers, exceptional individuals who provided light in an era of unparalleled darkness and a moral compass to a lost generation,” said Rabbi Levi Lauer, Founding Executive Director of ATZUM. 

“We believe it is only fitting to celebrate Klavdia’s life with the children of Holon, the third generation of Jews she has a hand in saving and those she chose to make her neighbors later in life.”

In November 1941, Klavdia and her parents, Olga and Ivan, took in Maria Dawes, and her daughter Yekaterina, two Jews who were left homeless and penniless after a failed offensive by the Russian Red Army.  Though the Likholetova family home in the Ukrainian port city of Feodosiya was small and cramped, and they were in mortal danger for harboring Jews, they willingly hid and cared for Maria and Yekaterina for over two months.

Like more than 130 other rescuers, Klavdia chose to deepen her solidarity with the Jewish people following World War II and took up residence in Israel in 1998.  Her story remained a well-kept secret until recently. 

At the ceremony, opening remarks were made by Ronit Haimov, principal of the Eylon School; Miri Moshkowitz, the teacher who worked with ATZUM to organize the ceremony; and Yael Rosen, coordinator of ATZUM’s Righteous Among The Nations Project. The students then told the story of the Likholetova family, screened a presentation that they prepared with pictures of the family, read Haim Heffer’s poem on Righteous Among the Nations and sang a musical tribute to rescuers.

It was not clear until the last moment if Mr. Leiberman, who is in very poor health, would be able to attend the ceremony.  In the end, he not only attended but pooled his strength in order to stand and sing Hatikvah at the end of the ceremony with the students.  Following the ceremony, Russian speaking students approached Mr. Leiberman to thank him for coming and express how much Klavdia’s sacrifice meant to them.

On Tuesday, September 13, 2011, Levi Lauer, Founding Executive Director of ATZUM, spoke at Brandeis University on the topic of “When Hope Ends in Slavery: Human Trafficking in Israel.” He discussed sex slavery and the trafficking crisis in Israel in general and the tactics employed by ATZUM’s Task Force on Human Trafficking (TFHT) to combat these egregious violations of human rights.

The event, which took place in the University’s Rapaporte Treasure Hall, was hosted by the Schuster Institute for Investigative Journalism and the Schusterman Center for Israeli Studies, and was co-sponsored by the Hadassah-Brandeis Institute; the International Center for Ethics, Justice, and Public Life; the Peace, Conflict and Coexistence Studies Program; the Social Justice & Social Policy Program; the Women’s and Gender Studies Program; and the Women’s Studies Research Center at Brandeis University.

Prof. Ilan Troen, director of the Schusterman Center for Israel Studies, delivered the opening remarks during which he introduced Rabbi Lauer as an “unusual and exceptional individual who blends the vision of a utopia with an energetic activist who is prepared to engage in unwelcome realities.” Florence Graves, the Founding Director of the Schuster Institute for Investigative Journalism was very pleased with the turnout and the considerable and intense interest generated by the topic. She noted, “Rabbi Lauer is a wonderfully eloquent speaker, and I think he has made a huge impact here at Brandeis.”

LISTEN TO LEVI’S FULL PRESENTATION HERE.

On June 1st, 201l the downtown NYC community commemorated Yom Yerushalayim with a Benefit concert for ATZUM at the 14th St. Y. Five extraordinary Hazzanim from the downtown Manhattan area all participated to make this event a great success. It was an evening of sacred and secular music sung by Cantors: Shira Ginsburg (East End Temple), Bat-Ami Moses (The Conservative Synagogue of Fifth Avenue), Shayna Postman (Town and Village Synagogue), Marina Shemesh (The Brotherhood Synagogue) and Faith Steinsnyder (The Village Temple) accompanied by Dan Rosengard on piano and Norbert Goldberg on percussion. Ellen Singer spoke at the conclusion of the concert about ATZUM’s current projects. There were over 100 people in attendance, and raised $5000.00 for the Roberta Bernstein’s Survivors of Terror Project.