– The Op-Ed EditorText and Photos by Julia SchillerThe predominant perception of Israel tends to be one of modernity and progress in the Middle East, yet there is a prevailing ambivalence to child labor in our country. Developed nations abolished it over a century ago. In 2009 I undertook the project of documenting child labor in Jerusalem’s Mahaneh Yehuda market. Over the years one child in particular, “K.,” has explained the dynamics of the working in the market. He started working on Friday afternoons as a seven-year-old and can now be seen behind a vegetable stall every day drinking Red Bull, playing with his light-up yo-yo and bargaining with customers over the price of tomatoes.It wasn’t until 1998 that Israel passed its version of child labor laws with The Youth Employment Law, prohibiting children under the age of 15 from working long hours or in a strenuous work environment. Combined with the Compulsory Education Law of 1949, that requires every minor to attend school until the age of 16, it makes it illegal to employ children under the age of 16 on weekdays. The police seem to turn a blind eye in Mahaneh Yehuda.Israeli shopkeepers employ children as young as eight, paying them considerably less than minimum wage.Finding out the true ages of these children is difficult as they know better than to reveal the truth. Most are Arab children who come from east Jerusalem and surrounding areas to work long hours. Such blatant violation of Israeli and international law, meant to protect our most vulnerable citizens, is abhorrent in a modern Jewish state.
View Point: Confronting child labor
A new column featuring a "visual commentary," in the form of a graphic essay; this week: underage workers in Mahane Yehuda market.
– The Op-Ed EditorText and Photos by Julia SchillerThe predominant perception of Israel tends to be one of modernity and progress in the Middle East, yet there is a prevailing ambivalence to child labor in our country. Developed nations abolished it over a century ago. In 2009 I undertook the project of documenting child labor in Jerusalem’s Mahaneh Yehuda market. Over the years one child in particular, “K.,” has explained the dynamics of the working in the market. He started working on Friday afternoons as a seven-year-old and can now be seen behind a vegetable stall every day drinking Red Bull, playing with his light-up yo-yo and bargaining with customers over the price of tomatoes.It wasn’t until 1998 that Israel passed its version of child labor laws with The Youth Employment Law, prohibiting children under the age of 15 from working long hours or in a strenuous work environment. Combined with the Compulsory Education Law of 1949, that requires every minor to attend school until the age of 16, it makes it illegal to employ children under the age of 16 on weekdays. The police seem to turn a blind eye in Mahaneh Yehuda.Israeli shopkeepers employ children as young as eight, paying them considerably less than minimum wage.Finding out the true ages of these children is difficult as they know better than to reveal the truth. Most are Arab children who come from east Jerusalem and surrounding areas to work long hours. Such blatant violation of Israeli and international law, meant to protect our most vulnerable citizens, is abhorrent in a modern Jewish state.