Between Legislation and Implementation: The Fight Against Prostitution as a Test of Israeli Governance

The Prohibition of Consumption of Prostitution Law, which entered into force in 2020, adopted the Nordic model, placing criminal responsibility on the consumer of prostitution rather than on the person within the cycle of prostitution. This was an important value-based decision. The state did not settle for establishing a criminal prohibition; the government decision that approved the move allocated tens of millions of shekels for a national system of treatment, rehabilitation, and education to accompany enforcement.

However, a recent report by the Knesset Research and Information Center, published in May, points to a worrying gap between policy setting and actual implementation. According to police data, between January 2021 and December 2025, about 6,400 fines were imposed. The cumulative figure hides a troubling trend: after enforcement efforts in the first year, there has been a general decrease in the number of fines since the first quarter of 2022 (with the exception of a slight increase in the first quarter of 2025).

Enforcement is not nationwide: most fines were issued in the Tel Aviv and Central districts, while only a few dozen reports were made outside these areas. It is difficult to view this as the systematic enforcement of a state-mandated policy.

One could see this decline as a success story if there were data showing that the scope of prostitution was also in decline. However, there is no public evidence of this. National surveys previously estimated tens of thousands of prostitution consumers weekly, and available reports do not indicate that the phenomenon has diminished. It is hard not to conclude that the decrease in fines reflects a weakening of enforcement and an erosion of deterrence. Furthermore, the alternative path to a fine is almost unused, with only 177 people applying to participate in the rehabilitation workshop over five years.

Is this a change in police priorities, a shortage of manpower, or a neglect of the government program after the public spotlight faded? The report does not provide a full answer, partly because of a lack of reporting for 2024 and incomplete data for 2025. Even the annual reporting mechanism established by law fails to provide a full picture.

This is a story about governance or the lack thereof. In Israel, many laws are enacted, but the real test—the execution test—is too often pushed to the margins. Legislation is only the starting point. Public policy is measured by its ability to persist over time, to collect data, and to make adjustments.

Prostitution is not just an enforcement problem. In many cases, it is the result of untreated sexual abuse, addictions, mental distress, and poverty. Therefore, the fight against it cannot start with a fine and end in court.

The government must return to fully implementing the program it approved. It must ensure ongoing reporting to the Knesset and the public, measure the scope of the phenomenon, and establish a shared information system for government ministries. At the same time, it must deepen investment in mental health, trauma treatment, and rehabilitation options.

We cannot accept the exploitation of human beings, nor can we accept a situation where the state retreats from its own policy. The fight against prostitution will be decided not only by the number of laws enacted, but by our ability to persist in their implementation with transparency and public responsibility. The Government of Israel must return to implementing the law and the rehabilitation programs intended to support it. The victims of the prostitution industry cannot continue to wait.