Israel's landmark law against the consumption of prostitution goes into effect today, July 10, a year and a half after it was passed. “Women are not merchandise and their bodies are not available for rent to anyone willing to pay for the price,” tweeted Justice Minister Avi Nissenkorn of Blue and White this morning. His tweet came in response to several days of intense pressure to postpone the law’s implementation.

For the first time in Israel’s history, liability for prostitution lies with consumers. The police can now fine them thousands of shekels without punishing those who sell the services. The law also determines that in the event of multiple infringements, people hiring prostitutes could face criminal prosecution and that the fines would increase to tens of thousands of shekels.

To date, Israeli law has not treated prostitution as a crime unless it involved minors. Activities surrounding prostitution, including pimping and advertising sex services, were illegal. As a result, while pimps and the managers of brothels have been arrested and investigated, the actual consumers were never charged.

This law is historically significant in that it recognizes the basic immorality of exploiting prostitutes financially for purposes of sex, and that those who sell their bodies for a living are actually victims. It holds that it is the consumers who turn sex into a commodity and they should be punished for it.