Israel Set to Bring 10,000 Indian Labourers for Jobs Traditionally Held by Palestinians

Influx of Indian workers to Israel would be tangible sign of cooperation with New Delhi filtering down to daily Israeli life

By Middle East Eye
Global Research, June 19, 2023
Middle East Eye 29 May 2023
Region: ,
Theme:
In-depth Report:

All Global Research articles can be read in 51 languages by activating the Translate Website button below the author’s name.

To receive Global Research’s Daily Newsletter (selected articles), click here.

Click the share button above to email/forward this article to your friends and colleagues. Follow us on Instagram and Twitter and subscribe to our Telegram Channel. Feel free to repost and share widely Global Research articles.

***

Israel is set to bring 10,000 workers from India to staff jobs in construction and nursing industries, in a sign of deepening economic and political cooperation with New Delhi, according to multiple Hebrew language news sites.

Reports say workers will arrive in stages, with 2,500 filling jobs in both construction and nursing. The final agreement for labour is still being worked out between Israeli and Indian officials.

“We expect the agreements to be approved shortly, and we will soon be able to start setting up the necessary mechanisms to employ skilled labour in a proper and supervised manner,” a spokesman for the Israeli Ministry of Population and Immigration said.

The talks come on the heels of Foreign Minister Eli Cohen’s visit to India in early May where he signed an agreement with his Indian counterpart, Subrahmanyam Jaishankar, to bring some 42,000 Indian foreign workers to Israel, with 34,000 earmarked for construction and 8,000 in elder care.

Israeli officials reportedly toured workplace training centres in India in March ahead of the talks. Israel’s Population and Immigration Authority described the Indian workers as diligent, experienced and fluent in English. 

Israel and India have been forging closer ties for years. In January, India’s Adani Group acquired a 70 percent stake in the now privatised Haifa Port, for $1.2bn. The two are also part of US efforts to deepen security and economic cooperation with the UAE and Saudi Arabia.

Washington is promoting a plan for a vast infrastructure network that would connect Gulf and Arab countries to India via rail and shipping lanes. President Joe Biden’s top national security advisor met with Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and officials from India and the UAE to discuss the plan this month.

But the influx of Indian workers to Israel would be one of the most tangible signs of cooperation with New Delhi filtering down to daily life in Israel.

Roughly 100,000 Palestinians from the occupied West Bank and Gaza work legally in Israel, with the bulk of those jobs in the construction sector. They often face hazardous working conditions and exploitation. Almost half of the West Bank workers are forced to pay around 2,500 shekels ($746) a month to brokers to secure work permits.  

Meanwhile, Palestinian citizens of Israel have also faced discrimination for their political actions. In 2021, when Israel and the occupied Palestinian territories were swept by mass protests, hundreds of workers were fired by Israeli employers for participating in a general strike.

Israel also regularly uses the issuing of work permits to exert influence and control over the Palestinian economy, experts say.

Indian officials have pointed to Israel’s policies as a model for their control of Kashmir, where New Delhi has been accused of conducting a mass eviction drive against Muslims to alter the disputed valley’s demographics.

*

Note to readers: Please click the share button above. Follow us on Instagram and Twitter and subscribe to our Telegram Channel. Feel free to repost and share widely Global Research articles.
Articles by: Middle East Eye

Disclaimer: The contents of this article are of sole responsibility of the author(s). The Centre for Research on Globalization will not be responsible for any inaccurate or incorrect statement in this article. The Centre of Research on Globalization grants permission to cross-post Global Research articles on community internet sites as long the source and copyright are acknowledged together with a hyperlink to the original Global Research article. For publication of Global Research articles in print or other forms including commercial internet sites, contact: [email protected]

www.globalresearch.ca contains copyrighted material the use of which has not always been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. We are making such material available to our readers under the provisions of "fair use" in an effort to advance a better understanding of political, economic and social issues. The material on this site is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving it for research and educational purposes. If you wish to use copyrighted material for purposes other than "fair use" you must request permission from the copyright owner.

For media inquiries: [email protected]