Tel Aviv battles against striptease clubs

Eytan Halon, international press head at the Tel Aviv municipality, told Al-Monitor about one rehabilitation program that has already been launched, to help women who were driven by life’s difficulties into the prostitution and sex industry. “The Sal’it program offers these women someone to talk to, a hostel and a place to sleep and stay. It also helps them get what they are entitled to from the social security and other government bodies. It assists them with rent, with paying off their debts, looking for jobs and preparing for the labor market by taking part in professional courses, receiving study stipends, and more. We do all that in order to help these women step outside of the cycle they are trapped in — toward a life in the community.”

The Sal’it program is certainly a good start, but the Tel Aviv municipality recognizes that more efforts must be made. Special financial aid has been put in place to help women in difficult circumstances during the coronavirus pandemic, and all parties involved are now busy thinking of other, more comprehensive solutions.

Israel’s legislation against prostitution and strip clubs has been increasingly reinforced in the past few years. About two years ago, the state prosecutor’s office issued new instructions, stating that lap dances with customers at strip clubs would be considered under certain circumstances as a criminal offense. In other words, if there was intimate contact, it could be considered a form of prostitution. About a year and a half ago, the Knesset adopted a legislation banning the purchasing of sex. In July, this landmark law against consumption of prostitution went into effect.

With these legal tools in place, the Tel Aviv municipality and police have strengthened their measures against strip clubs, closing many of them for good. According to police assessments, there are still at least five striptease clubs operating in Tel Aviv without a specific permit. The new committee’s decision will prevent the opening of new ones.