Unworkable: Swapping Palestinian workers with Indians

Israel has an aging population. The Times of Israel reported that the country's 75-plus population is expected to increase by 48 per cent by 2030, increasing the demand for foreign caregivers

The government has denied that there are requests by Israel to export 100,000 Indians to replace Palestinian workers. Glossing over such reports, a spokesperson of the Ministry of External Affairs said the government was not aware of any specific requests and if taken up, the initiative would be a “long-term” issue.

Yet, India signed the Framework Agreement on facilitation of Temporary Employment of Workers in Specific Labour Market Sectors with Israel on May 9 this year. This was done during the visit of Israeli Foreign Minister Eli Cohen to enable 42,000 Indian workers to go to Israel. Of these, 34,000 were earmarked for the construction industry. After the October 7 attacks by Hamas, Israel’s labour shortage became even more critical, with cancellation of work permits for Palestinians from Gaza as “collective punishment”.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office declared, “Israel is cutting off all contact with Gaza. There will be no more Palestinian workers from Gaza, and the workers who were in Israel when the war broke out will be returned to Gaza.” Media reports suggest that the number of Palestinian workers whose work permits have been cancelled after October 7 is about 90,000. This probably is the origin of the figure of 100,000 Indian workers needed to replace them.

Another confirmation of plans to import Indian workers came from Haim Feiglin, Vice-President of the Israel Builders Association. He told the Voice of America, “Right now, we are negotiating with India. We are waiting for the decision of the Israeli government to approve that. And, we hope to engage 50,000 to 100,000 workers from India to be able to run the whole sector and bring it back to normal.”

The “plan” has been opposed by trade unions both in India and Israel. The Central Trade Unions, a conglomerate of Indian trade unions, has opposed the move, stating, “Nothing could be more immoral and disastrous for India than the said “report” of [sending] workers to Israel. That India is even considering “exporting” work[ers] shows the manner in which it has dehumanised and commodified Indian workers.” Indian trade union leaders have pointed out that “exporting” workers has no legality in law and warned the government against the danger of workers being made “cannon fodder” in Israel.

The Palestinian trade unions have thanked their Indian counterparts for their support. A statement signed by the General Union of Palestinian Workers, the Palestinian Union of Postal, IT & Telecommunications Workers, Palestinian Federation of New Unions, and Federation of Independent Trade Unions has described the proposal for the export of Indian workers to Israel as reflective of “Israel’s racism and commodification of Indian workers, where they are being asked to “replace” another set of workers enduring genocide”. They urged Indian trade unions to “reject any racist agreement with Israel that would facilitate the replacement and further oppression of Palestinian workers. It dehumanises us all.”

Palestinians with work permits constitute 25 per cent of the workforce in Israel. The revocation of their work permits has reportedly already brought down the operating capacity of the country’s construction sector to 15 per cent of its pre-war capacity. There was already a shortage of workers in the Israeli construction and caregiving industry. Even before the war, Israel was trying to source workers from India, China and Morocco.

Israel has an aging population. The Times of Israel reported that the country’s 75-plus population is expected to increase by 48 per cent by 2030, increasing the demand for caregivers. Of the 18,000 Indian workers already in Israel, most are in the caregiving sector. Israel had been exploring inducting more foreign workers in phases, including from India, at the rate of 10,000 a year.

There are also logistical and moral problems with the proposal of labour swap. Not least, given Israel’s housing shortage there is no place to house them or even space to set up workers’ camps for even half the number sought. Moreover, once the war is over, where will these workers go? Israel has a poor record of treating foreign workers. A 48-page report of Human Rights Watch, “A Raw Deal: Abuses of Thai Workers in Israel’s Agricultural Sector”, documents the abuse of Thai workers – low pay, long working hours, dangerous working conditions, poor housing and retribution by employers if they protest.

That Indians are not welcome in Israel is also apparent from some social media posts. One called Indians “sexually hungry” and “uncivilised” and said: “Some called me a racist. I am not a racist. I just fear for my family and my country from rapists. Opening Israel's doors to third-world countries will destroy it.” Another said: “This is actually making me sick; I don’t want to see brown people that are not Jewish walking around in Israel. Something must be done about this. This is a Jewish state, not Bangalore station. 100 thousand is one too many.”

Besides, India will also lose whatever sympathy it has in the Arab world. Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s overtures to Arab dictatorships were facilitated by muting their historical animosity towards Israel. This was facilitated by the Abraham Accords midwifed by the US. Now, the Abraham Accords lie in tatters. The Arab nations are unable to decide on a unified course of action but if Gazans continue to face concerted attacks or Israel decides to annex Gaza and West Bank, perhaps the Arab streets will force them to formulate a clearer stand towards Israel. Already, the grave implications for India and Indian expatriate workers in the Arab nations have made New Delhi retreat from the initial enthusiastic support for Israel’s war on the Palestinians.

It would be utter madness to go ahead with any proposal to send Indian workers to “replace” Palestinian workers in Israeli industry. When every other country is evacuating their citizens from the war zone, the Indian government will invite criticism for sending in 100,000 Indian citizens. India would be treating its workers as dispensable pawns in a larger geo-strategic game where it is necessarily a wannabe player scrambling for a place at the high table.