Egyptian women at Cairo Bazaar. Photo: Ed Yourdon.

A recent claim from the Palestinian Authority’s Central Bureau of Statistics citing a “field study” which concluded that 77 per cent of  PA workers in Israel have been subject to sexual harassment by Israeli women, prompted anonymous pro-Israel blogger Elder of Ziyon to review the referenced material.

Elder of Ziyon‘s research found that the study, which was published in 2010 and appears to only be available in Arabic, and is titled “Risky Behavior by Migrant Laborers,”— suggests that the real concerns lie elsewhere.

The blogger found that not only where the claims false, but that “According to the study, some of the Arabs regard sex with Jewish girls as a form of ‘jihad’ – as a way to punish the Jews! As one puts it, this is a form of ‘revenge’ on Israelis.”

Elder of Ziyon writes that, “While indeed 77% in one focus group of workers, and 52% in another, claimed that they were ‘harassed or sexually harassed,’ those terms are not defined (their bold). From the context it appears that if they even see an Israeli woman with shorts on the bus they consider that harassment.”

In addition to the Bureau report, Shaher Saad, the President of the Union of the Palestinian Laborer Federations, stated in an interview with Gulf News, that, “Palestinian laborers should be extremely careful inside Israel knowing that some Israelis will take advantage of the laborers and harm them…The Israelis only care for their joy and interests and pay no attention or consider judicial consequences when they handle Palestinian laborers.”

Below is a video released in 2008 where an Egyptian lawyer says that Arab men should sexually harass Israeli women as resistance.