Ethnic Cleaning: Housekeeping service sets prices based on origin

A cleaning service in the Israeli city of Tel Aviv faces criticism for its pricing scheme that varies based on the ethnicity of the housekeepers.

In what has been described as “blatant racism,” the flyers circulating in an affluent neighborhood offers a “solution” to hiring “illegal foreign workers,” for those who don’t want to hire an “Arab cleaner for security reasons”.

“Are you tired of hiring illegal foreign workers and getting fined? Are you tired of employing according to the law and being sued by temporary workers? There is a solution,” the ad reads.

The flyers offer “legal only” cleaners and lists the different prices.

Africans are the cheapest at $12.60 per hour, followed by eastern Europeans and eastern Europeans with Israeli citizenship, who cost $17.70 per hour.

Arab cleaners are not on the menu - and neither are Israelis.

The cleaners are referred to in the feminine form throughout, so no male cleaners are thought to be on offer either.

News organization Mako spoke to someone from the company who confirmed that the ads were not a joke and said “eastern Europeans work better.”

A flyer was shared on Facebook by journalist and blogger Tal Schneider.

“Blatant racism permeates Israeli society,” she said.