Forced labor and violence: Indictment filed against Netanya farmer
The State Attorney's Office has filed an indictment against 74-year-old Shmuel Gross of Netanya. He is charged with forced labor and indecent acts against Thai foreign workers employed on his farm.
The State Attorney's Office filed an indictment today, Wednesday, at the Netanya Magistrate's Court against a local resident, 74-year-old Shmuel Gross, charging him with forced labor and indecent acts using force or pressure against foreign workers from Thailand whom he employed on his farm.
It is alleged that Gross housed workers in squalid conditions, demanded that female employees provide him with massages, used physical violence, and even drove a tractor toward them, forcing them to flee in fear of being harmed.
The indictment, filed by Adv. Hagit Zakai of the Central District Attorney's Office, reveals that between 2021 and 2023, Gross employed Thai workers at a moshav in the center of the country under an agricultural work permit. He exploited their distress and their dependence on him regarding their legal status and housing in Israel.
Gross forced them to perform tasks outside the scope of their permits, paid wages in cash in violation of regulations, and frequently withheld or failed to pay their full salaries. The workers were kept in temporary structures lacking beds, blankets, hot water, and basic sanitation.
To enforce compliance, Gross utilized "punishment" measures, including withholding overtime and isolating workers. He systematically subjected them to physical and verbal abuse. Two female workers were forced to perform domestic chores in his home and office, and he allegedly committed indecent acts against them using force. When one worker resisted, he assigned her more strenuous labor and withheld her wages when she requested to leave.
Adv. Dr. Haim Vismonsky, Central District Attorney, stated: "The State Attorney's Office views the exploitation of the victims' dependence on the defendant to violate their rights and autonomy with great severity."
Adv. Dina Dominitz, Government Coordinator for the Fight Against Human Trafficking, added: "Foreign workers are entitled to human, fair, and respectful treatment. Protecting their rights and dignity is a shared responsibility of all sectors of society."
