Carrie Keller-Lynn is a former political and legal correspondent for The Times of Israel
The head of the Israeli Strippers Association is protesting at a Labor party press conference held at the former Pussycat gentleman’s club, charging that the repurposed Tel Aviv landmark has left her and fellow colleagues without a source of income.
“This is our place of work,” Efrat Rubinstein says. “They took it from us without any compensation… People have kids, how is it humane?”
Wearing a shirt emblazoned with the phrases “Sex work is work” and “Blow job is job,” Rubinstein says she came to the event in order to raise awareness of what she feels is discrimination against her profession.
Stripper Efrat Rubinstein, left, speaks with Labor MK Ibtisam Mara’ana at a Labor press event at a converted strip club in Tel Aviv on September 8, 2022. (Carrie Keller-Lynn/Times of Israel)
Labor MK Ibtisam Mara’ana sits with Rubinstein, telling her that “it’s your right to do what you want, and it’s my right to worry about you.”
She is eventually forced out.
A dancing pole at the former Pussycat club (Cnaan Liphshiz/JTA)
Labor sources tell The Times of Israel that the party chose the unusual location for a campaign press conference to highlight its conversion from a strip club to a community center.
“It was a place that symbolized taking advantage of women,” party leader Merav Michaeli says.
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From the Liveblog of
Thursday, September 8, 2022
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