As Israel grapples with a shortage of workers in agriculture and construction, India promised on Tuesday to send 10,000 laborers by June.
Israeli Minister of Labor Yoav Ben Zur met with India’s Ambassador Sanjiv Singla, where the two discussed the scarcity of laborers since the outbreak of the October 7 War with Hamas.
Israeli agriculture in particular is facing staggering losses in production and manpower. Before October 7, 2023, Israel had 29,900 foreigners, mostly Thais, working in farms, orchards, greenhouses and packing plants. Nearly all have returned to Thailand.
Israeli workers who might have filled the gaps have been called up for military reserve duty while Palestinian Authority Arab laborers are currently banned as security risks.
At the meeting, the Ministry of Labor’s Commissioner for Foreign Workers’ Rights, Shiri Lev Ran, reviewed the protections the state provides for the social rights of foreign workers in Israel and the ministry’s enforcement activities.
The first group of Indian workers has already departed for Israel, Indian officials announced Thursday.
India issued an advisory in March for its nationals living in the border areas of Israel to relocate to safer areas after Patnibin Maxwell, an Indian agricultural worker, was killed in a Hezbollah rocket barrage while working in an orchard near Moshav Margaliot in the Upper Galilee.
Ben Zur and Singla also discussed the expansion of bilateral ties in the fields of innovation, economy, agriculture.
“The Israeli government has set itself the goal of expanding cooperation with the Indian government and promoting the bringing in of tens of thousands of foreign workers who will respond to the needs and challenges of the economy,” Ben Zur said.
