Palestinian labourers working in Israel are at a high risk of sexual harassment by Israeli women, according to a recent field study conducted by the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics. The study found that 77 per cent of the Palestinian labourers in Israel had been subject to sexual harassment by Israeli women.
This scene from a movie may be the basis for the "field study."
In an interview with Gulf News, Shaher Saad, the President of the Union of the Palestinian Labourer Federations, said the Palestinians face a real problem with the labourers who work in Israel on permits other than the official legal work permits.
He stressed that the problem increased further with the illegal labourers who are smuggled into Israel and spend days and weeks there for work. He said those labourers usually are blackmailed, harassed and forced to get involved in illicit and intimate affairs.Those horny Israeli temptresses!
“There are about 55,000 Palestinian labourers who enter Israel for work through illegal and unacceptable methods,” he said. “The real focus needs to go to those illegal labourers who get sexually harassed.”
Before we go on, let's get one thing clear: the Gulf News didn't even bother checking the webpage of the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics, which links to no such study as of this writing.
So the only person making this claim is president of the Union of the Palestinian Labourer Federations, who is obviously against any Palestinian Arab working in Israel - and is willing to do anything to stop it.
Saad said his union has come up with extensive programmes to raise the awareness of the Palestinian labourers, mainly targeting illegal workers. “Aids is a key enemy fought by the union,” he said.Maybe Israel should impose venereal disease tests on all incoming Palestinian Arab laborers? Sounds like it is a public health issue!
He said Palestinian labourers should be extremely careful inside Israel knowing that some Israelis will take advantage of the labourers and harm them. “The Israelis only care for their joy and interests and pay no attention or consider judicial consequences when they handle Palestinian labourers,” he said.
“We are forcing Palestinian labourers outside the West Bank in searches for better work place and Israel is the ideal destination,” he said.
So far, the Palestinian authorities have failed to imposed an HIV test for labourers who have worked in Israel, especially before they marry. An increasing number of HIV patients have been reported by Palestinian medical authorities. “This is an alarm and this issue should be taken in a more serious way,” Saad said.
I can't wait for Mondoweiss to publish this....
(h/t Israel Muse)
UPDATE: I actually found the study. It is quite different, and very revealing. See here.