Foreign Workers

Tens of thousands of job vacancies remain unfilled, factories are left without labor, and bureaucracy is stalling the economy. Despite record demand following the war, foreign worker quotas cover only a fraction of the need, while Israelis remain unwilling to take on production line roles.

Palestinian workers are no longer here and the industry is far from recovering. Restaurateur Ilan Zagdon says in an interview with Globes that he promoted a plan with Finance Minister Smotrich that will bring thousands more foreign workers: "The best restaurateurs have become dishwashers." But not everyone is impressed: "It's a joke. It's not even a band-aid," says restaurateur Bernardo Belhovich.

While employers in Israel praise the productivity of the approximately quarter-million workers who replaced the Palestinians, severe rights violations and appalling living conditions are being exposed, threatening to lead to an unprecedented humanitarian crisis.

The Population and Immigration Authority has notified contractors that the government quota for direct hiring of foreign construction workers is fully exhausted. All applications, including those in progress, are frozen, threatening construction timelines.

The heads of the construction company Omer Handasa welcome the replacement of Palestinian workers with foreign ones, claiming: "The workforce today is more stable and of higher quality." They estimate that the peak of the crisis in the industry is behind us, protest against the authorities' lack of recognition of the industry's difficulties, and state: "When we dealt with state tenders, we did not...

The State of Israel is working towards a significant reduction and the severance of dependence on the employment of Palestinian workers from Judea, Samaria, and the Gaza Strip. As recalled, already at the beginning of the war, the Security Cabinet made a decision to cancel the entry permits of over 100,000 Palestinian workers.

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.

Since July 2024, fewer than 1,000 foreign workers for the renovation industry have arrived in Israel via the bilateral route, out of a quota of 5,000. Now, the Population and Immigration Authority is approving a temporary procedure that will allow for rapid bringing, directly and not through the existing route. The entry of workers to Israel via this route will be possible only until the beginning...