Notes on Prostitution in Israel

The State of Israel is witnessing a significant growth in the scope and variety of pfostitution. This change began more than thirty years ago but became a recognized social problem only in the late sixties. Adopting the idea that prostitution is an unavoidable aspect of any comprehensive society, this article summarizes the trends in Israeli prostitution. The viewpoint is supported historically and empirically that Israel, like other comprehensive societies, had to pay some social cost for political and economic independence. This cost is, in part, the existence of certain deviances such as prostitution.