The rise of Filipino women in Israel

Filipino women caregivers

With the prodigious amount of Filipino caregivers throughout Israel, many elderly persons have been dealt with extraordinary care due to the high professionalism and reliable work skill that the Filipino caregivers have to offer.  With wages much higher than that in the Philippines, it is a popular profession to get involved within Israel.  inside the three articles that are presented, the purpose will be to explain how and why Filipino caregivers are Israelis top choice for their au pair and what negatives come with the profession.

The first article chosen was in a book called Foreign workers in Israel, by Yisrael Drori. Within the book, the chapter, “Living and working as non-Israelis” gave a great summary of how exactly Filipino caregivers came about to be the most popular caretakers in Israel, as well as what their overall duties are and what it takes to become one through employment agencies.  Drori explains that women of all cultures often choose care-giving as their profession, and this is especially true for Filipino women.  Filipino women have been the most popular caregiver in many countries, and as stated, “For Filipino women...domestic work and care-giving have become a trademark all over the world.” (89)  What makes Filipino women so popular, especially in Israel are due to many factors.  Drori explains that in the early 1990’s the

Filipino caregiver helping an elderly person

increasing number of elderly people produced a large demand for in home care.  With new health and welfare laws, this helped the influx of Filipino women into Israel.  This was both good for the people of Israel and Filipino women because work is being provided at affordable costs and giving employment opportunities to many Filipino immigrants.  Filipino women are not the only ethnicity of caregivers in Israel, but Israelis find Filipino women to be the most reliable, responsible, and professional out of all other ethnic caregivers, which makes them the most prominent and favored.  Even though Filipino women are the most desirable caretakers for the Israeli people, Drori explains that at many times, these women can be brutally taken advantage of for their services.  To become employed as a caregiver, one must contract through an employment agency.  Both Israel and the Philippines are making profit from the caregivers work through certain fees and price cuts the workers must pay.  Upon signing a contract, not all caregivers are treated fairly, as stated, “To date, no official monitoring mechanism has been installed to ensure the caregivers’ legal rights are upheld.” (94)  New immigrants to Israel may be unsure of their working rights and are just signing papers in order to make money without thinking entirely about their rights as a worker under Israeli law. Their goal for working in Israel is to provide for their families back in the Philippines, as they are not allowed to bring them along with their work visas. The most common issue regarding caregivers rights is being overworked, meaning they are working more hours than they are legally required to do.  This puts a lot of stress on a caretaker, yet they will sometimes have little to no control in these situations.  Other common problems include lack of privacy within the caretaker's living quarters, and unfair payment,  However, many caretakers often find solitude by joining support groups, and gathering with friends when they do get time off.  Drori speaks of empathy for the Filipino women who are subjected to unfair treatment, while still implementing the risks that happen when choosing an employer.  Drori does mention that even with the risks, the wages are much higher compared to work outside this industry.  Throughout her chapter, she uses many first-hand stories about caregivers and their journey through the business.  By providing such information, Drori is able to give reputable resources as to what Filipino caregivers actually have to go through in order to make a living in Israel.  

The second resource was from a news article on the 972mag website, and titled, “Family life forbidden for migrant workers in Israel” by Mya Guarnieri.  This article talked a great deal about the legal aspects of incoming workers from the Philippines and how restrictive it is to live and work in Israel with a work visa.  When a worker comes to Israel with a work visa, there are many rules that apply in regards to keeping the sanctity of Israel culture pure.  When Filipino workers come into Israel, they are on a 63 month work visa.  Having the ability to take part of a work visa in a country that pays well is very attractive to many Filipino women.  However, while being able to make a great deal of money is luring, these women are not

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allowed to bring their families along with them, nor are they able to leave to visit until their contracted visa has expired.  Israel presents itself as a pious Jewish state, and wants to keep it that way.  Having immigrant workers in the state to work is perfectly fine, but when it comes to bringing families or trying to start a family in Israel, there a strict rules preventing this.  The Israeli government believes that Israel remain as much of a Jewish state as possible, and as Director of the Association for Civil Rights in Israel, Rotem Ilan mentions, “they will ‘put down roots’ in Israel… the state’s goal is to prevent them [non-Jewish migrant workers] from ‘putting down roots’ in Israel.” So, to the state, family life becomes a “threat”(Guarnieri)  With the restrictions of having children in Israel and bringing their children with them to Israel, the stress puts a huge toll on the women working, the husbands, and children.  What makes a situation even worse is if a woman happens to give birth while four and half years into her five year visa contract, she must choose between her child or legal working status.  The whole idea is that Israel wants nothing to do with anyone non-Jewish, making this a very unfair rule considering they allow immigrants to work in their country but will not deem them fit enough to become a member of their society and religion.  The Association for Civil Rights in Israel points out that with new legislative laws, many immigrant workers are so restricted and bound to their working contracts that they have coined the term “slavery law” due to the harsh regulations and restraints these workers are dealt with.  This new “slavery law” does not allow workers to leave their employers more than three times, gives prearranged working locations, and sometimes prevents workers from leaving abusive employers.  It is easy to say that these immigrant workers are being violated of their basic human and working rights.  Guarnieri shows great concern towards the immigrant workers in Israel by agreeing with Association for Civil Rights in the statements of how these workers are treated unfairly and reference this to a modern day slavery.  Guarnieri uses statements from a caregiver and a child of an immigrant worker to provide a deeper understanding of the struggles these immigrants face.  In addition Guarnieri references the Association for Civil Rights of Israel via the director, Rotem Ilan on his views from the human rights aspect of this situation.

The last source was from the Haaretz website and titled, “Filipino Reform Converts Help Their Lapsed Israeli Partners Find Love, and God”, and written by Judy Maltz.  This article was by far a more uplifting read compared to the previous ones.  The article focused on couples whose ethnic and religious backgrounds seemed clashed.  Mosh and Rina are one of the handful of couples where the wife (Rina) is a Filipino woman who has converted to Judaism through a reform movement.  The husband (Mosh) are native born Israelis that were brought up in

Filipino getting married because of reform

traditional and Orthodox homes, but have stopped practicing the religion until their Filipino wives have influenced them into practicing it again.  This has been known as the Reform movement, and its headquarters is at Beit Daniel.  This reform has been a great way to have more diversity in the religion, and as stated by Rabbi Gilad Kariv, “Our congregations are becoming more diverse and interesting, not only because of these Jews of choice who have been joining, but also because of their spouses...We now have coming through our gates a new group of native-born Israelis who might not have discovered us otherwise, and this is one of the reasons it is so important for us to embrace Jews of choice.” (Maltz)  The state usually did not want to have non-native Jews, but from a Supreme Court ruling in 2002 that mandated anyone who converted to Judaism by the non-Orthodox movement shall be identified as a Jewish in the population registry, this was the fuel that inspired many to join the Reform.  However, even though one will be identified as Jewish in the population registry, the Chief Rabbinate still will not recognize them as Jewish.  This means weddings cannot be officiated, and a marriage within the state will not be considered valid.  The Chief Rabbinate view on the reform is that many Filipinos will try and seek citizenship rather than faith in the religion.  Yet regardless, the reform does not promise or guarantee automatic citizenship or other benefits from converting.  Many seek for the reform movement because it is a much more comfortable and relaxed way to worship. In prayer, women and men are allowed to sit next to each other, and one can dress casually.  This reform movement has brought people closer together and have helped many who want to become apart of the Jewish religion.  The author, Judy Maltz has very high compassion for the couples who embark on the reform.  This is especially true for the Filipino women who would be considered unworthy of holding the title “Jewish” in the eyes of many.  Maltz shows sympathy and rejoices for the couples who go through the reform and has a positive outlook for their marriage and religious practices.  Malz uses interviews from two couples who had gone through the reform process, and their story helps give true insight into what exactly happens in their life during the reform.  Maltz also uses the viewpoint from Rabbi Gilad Kariv, who is the executive director of the Israel Movement for Reform and Progressive Judaism.  Having his input gives an even more helpful understanding of the reform movement for non Jewish people.  

The prostitution dilemma

Prostitution has been around for years in Israel, and is regarded as a lucrative business regardless of the new laws being implemented trying to prevent it.  With a business that uses humans as its resource in the most disturbing ways, prostitution is becoming a subject matter that is being addressed rapidly.  After reading three articles and sources that have dealt with prostitution and human trafficking within Israel, there is much discussion as to what needs to be done in order to solve this huge issue regarding such an unfortunate line of work.  Each article explicated gives information on what the issues are in relation to prostitution and human trafficking, as well as the authors viewpoints as to how a process can be established in order to stop it.    

The first article from the HAARETZ news website, “Human Trafficking to Israel Has Been Beaten. Let’s Now Tackle Prostitution” by Vered Lee, discusses the finalizing ban and punishments of human trading while still trying to enforce heavier regulations on prostitution.  In the article, human trafficking has been deemed illegal and the state made huge efforts in enforcing this by adding new laws and regulations.

 One example stated was, “Section 203A of the penal code, which mandates 16 years in prison for anyone who sells or buys a human being, or acts as a mediator in the sale of a human being for the purposes of prostitution.” (Haaretz)  Lee describes the women being trafficked as victims now rather than criminals.  Even though these new laws have been implemented, the rise of prostitution has increased dramatically.  Lee says that there are over 15,000 men and women involved in the sex industry, including young children, single mothers, drug addicts, and transgenders.  According to Lee, “In Tel Aviv, between 250 and 300 brothels are operating...and other cities have lively prostitution scenes...Prostitution occurs unhindered at hotels, bed and breakfasts, apartment buildings, industrial zones and nightclubs, as well as on the street and on websites.” (Haaretz)  In the past, Israel was a huge importer of women from the Soviet Union, but because of these new regulations put in place, pimps and brothel operators have resorted to recruiting their workers locally.  Lee describes them doing this by marketing prostitution as a legitimate and lucrative field of work to entice and make the business seem more licit.  Lee seems to be very against the idea of prostitution in Israel and inquiries as to why authorities have not taken proper action to enforce prostitution as they did for human trafficking with the existing laws. Lee also puts in her own opinions on how this issue could be addressed to further enforce prostitution, by stating, “Israel also needs to show responsibility toward weaker communities...It must enact legislation that criminalizes clients, stiffen the penalties for pimping and promoting prostitution.” (Haaretz)  Lee uses only one reliable base to make her article legitimate by adding actual law code sections of the laws for enforcing human trafficking.  Lee seeks a definite end to human trafficking and prostitution, because as a women herself, she sees this as an unfair treatment towards women and inhumane.

The second article was also from the Haaretz news website and was also written by the same author, Vered Lee, and titled, “One Woman's Journey to the Bleak Israeli Underworld - and Back”.   This article gives the perspective of a what a women had to face during her journey during and out of prostitution.  The women, named Alma, was interviewed by Haaretz writer Vered Lee on her beginning to end in her life as a prostitute.  Alma describes her childhood as harsh, especially the traumatic experience from being sexually abused at a young age.  From then on Alma was uncomfortable with her own body while growing up.  By age 17, she was married and had a child on the way.  Her husband conned Alma into using heroin.  "He explained that it expands the mind and does your soul good," she says. "With the naivete of a 17-year-old, I thought that if I went along with him, I wouldn't lose him. I began to drink and use heroin.

I had been depressed before, during and after giving birth. I was a very sad person and the heroin fit in with those feelings." (Haaretz)  Shortly after, her husband started to suggest that Alma start prostitution to make extra money to pay for their drugs.  Outraged at the thought and feeling disgusted at the idea, she was persuaded otherwise.  Alma described prostitution as a dirty line of work and with her drug addiction, the situation got even worse when she had to lose her child to social services.  Alma continued to spiral downhill from this, and was working and using drugs even more.  Eventually the worse happened to her as she was gang raped by four men.  However, in an ironic twist, this was the blessing in disguise to turn her life around.  She says of the trial of the perpetrators, “The trial gave me strength and empowered me. All of the defendants [were convicted and] got sentences of between two and a half and four years. It was an experience that in a strange way restored control to my life.” (Haaretz)  From this, Alma checked herself into a rehabilitation facility,

and started to find a better profession of work.  Alma describes prostitution as a rape against the human body and soul, and should be a crime.  Within the article, Lee’s point of view on this subject is very much in favor of women's rights and equality.  Lee also seems to be very concerned and interested in Alma’s fight to be who she is today, a recovering drug addict and prostitute.  Lee learned of the story of Alma from the London-based organization Equality Now, which is intended to raise awareness globally about sexual abuse and to stop the trafficking of women.  Lee wants to see an improvement in women’s rights due to the story presented by Alma, and hopes to see an end to prostitution.

The last source was a chapter within the book, “The Israelis”, by Donna Rosenthal.  The chapter, “Hookers and hash in the holy land” gives a great perspective on the sex profession of prostitution and on the individuals who are apart of it and society's views as well.  Rosenthal describes how prostitution in Tel Aviv is run under and fronted as massage parlors

and escort services that work in hotels and around popular tourist destinations.  What is shocking is when Rosenthal mentions that the advertisement for prostitution is very straight forwardly publicized next to tourist attraction ads, and as stated, “one-of-a-kind offer! Beautiful girls age 19 and up! $20 up to half an hour, taxis included - Visa and MasterCard are accepted.” (Rosenthal)  There is so much advertisement for sex, Rosenthal even mentions that one could see sex selling billboards from cemeteries and even synagogues.  Rosenthal also notes how prostitution is “modern day slavery”

as many women are tricked or forced into the profession under pimps.  The women that are unfortunate enough to be haggled into this trade is mournful, many are drug addicts, single mothers, and have no other means to make money to support themselves are tied to this profession.  On the other hand, the pimps are the profit makers in this business, and according to Rosenthal, “Some bosses earn up to $4,000 a day.  A women “purchased” for between $5,000 and $20,000, depending on her looks...can earn $50,000 to $100,000 a year tax-free for her pimp.” (Rosenthal)  Prostitutes make such a small percent of what they put out, a prostitute for example will charge $50 for her service, but only get around $7 as her cut from the pimp.  Rosenthal is in definite favor of women’s rights and is a defendant for the women having to and forced to work under pimps.  Rosenthal had numerous examples from different women’s situations on their prostitution life.

Even though prostitution, while legal in Israel, and there are several examples that it is tolerated.  Certainly it is not deemed as a safe or reasonable career choice.  All of the women mentioned from these three sources have been lied to, taken advantage of, hurt and abused on many levels.  None of the women can say anything positive about the line of work that over ranks the negative sides.  It would be hopeful to see that women are not to be exploited anymore, and hopefully in the near future prostitution will see its end for the sake of women’s rights.