[News] The geopolitics of labor: Israel’s quest to replace Palestinian workers with Indians

[Anti-Imperialist News]

  The geopolitics of labor: Israel’s quest to replace Palestinian
  workers with Indians

Israel is mitigating its labor shortage by importing Hindu-only Indians 
after revoking work permits for Palestinians – an old colonial practice 
that could impact its deepening geopolitical ties with New Delhi.

F.M. Shakil <https://thecradle.co/authors/fm-shakil-100>

APR 24, 2024 - 
https://thecradle.co/articles/the-geopolitics-of-labor-israels-quest-to-replace-palestinian-workers-with-indians

(Photo Credit: The Cradle)

On 10 April, in the thick of the war on Gaza, the Israeli government 
<https://www.outlookindia.com/national/6000-workers-from-india-to-be-brought-to-israel-by-may-on-subsidised-charter-flights>, 
facing a labor crisis, announced that it would fly in 6,000 Indian 
laborers during April and May on state-subsidized shuttle flights.

This decision follows Israel's suspension 
<https://thecradle.co/articles-id/11640> of work permits for Palestinian 
construction workers, a move that has significantly impacted its 
building sector. Israel’s Finance Ministry estimates that the absence of 
Palestinian laborers is costing the economy about three billion shekels 
<https://www.timesofisrael.com/finance-ministry-says-ban-on-palestinian-workers-could-cost-economy-billions/> ($828 
million) monthly, which could lead to a loss of three percent of GDP as 
the building and housing markets struggle with debt amounting to 400 
billion shekels ($106 billion).

Simultaneously, New Delhi, overlooking the genocide and humanitarian 
crisis unfolding in Gaza, has agreed 
<https://www.theweek.in/news/india/2024/04/04/first-batch-of-indian-construction-workers-fly-to-israel-under-g2g-agreement.html> to 
send Indian construction workers to replace the displaced Palestinian 
workforce. This decision aligns with a bilateral agreement to integrate 
100,000 Indian laborers into Israel’s construction industry, matching 
the number of ousted Palestinian workers.

*A colonial strategy *

Canadian immigration attorney Aidan Simardone, speaking to /The Cradle/, 
compares the situation to historical colonial practices in North America 
where marginalized European religious groups, like the Puritans, were 
brought in to service colonial interests.

Israel, he points out, is adopting a similar strategy by recruiting 
economically disadvantaged Hindu Indians from regions like Uttar 
Pradesh, aiming to manage demographic and political challenges seamlessly.

    The move is also an attempt by Israel to pull the rug out from under
    one of the thorns on the side of colonialism. Colonialism requires
    squeezing blood out of a stone, yet this squeezing depends on the
    sweat and tears of those who are at the bottom of the barrel.

Simardone notes the inherent risks for the colonizer in relying entirely 
on an indigenous labor force, as workers will rebel when colonialism 
reveals its true nature.

    To steer clear of this predicament, colonizers bring in labor from
    other parts. These laborers are often pushed to the sidelines as
    well, but unlike the Indigenous population, they go with the flow
    rather than swimming against the tide when it comes to the colonial
    project.

*The plight of Palestinian laborers*

Since Israel’s brutal assault on Gaza began over six months ago, the 
closure of the occupied territories has severed the economic lifeline of 
approximately 100,000 Palestinian workers 
<https://www.aljazeera.com/podcasts/2024/2/12/the-take-is-israel-replacing-palestinian-workers-with-indians>, 
cutting off their main source of income and depriving them of a 
financial safety net.

Worse yet, many Palestinian workers did not receive their September 
salaries as the war commenced before their scheduled pay date.

The fact that so many Palestinians are unable to support themselves in 
Israel may have disastrous effects on the Palestinian Authority’s (PA) 
economic agenda and, inadvertently, worsen the occupied West Bank’s 
security situation.

Kav LaOved 
<https://kavlaoved.org.il/en/jobless-unpaid-uncompensated-the-plight-of-palestinian-workers-amidst-crisis/>, 
a nonprofit dedicated to labor rights in Israel, reported that Israel’s 
restrictions have impacted 150,000 West Bank families, now unable to 
make ends meet or support the extended family, also reliant on a single 
paycheck:

    The PA views the majority of Palestinians employed in Israel as
    ‘middle class,’ and the fact that they don’t contribute financially
    is a serious blow to the local economy.

Kav LaOved notes that the minimum wage in areas under PA control is 
still significantly lower than in Israel, which stands at 5,572 New 
Israeli Shekels (NIS) per month. In the construction sector, which used 
to employ many Palestinians, a professional worker can earn up to NIS 
10,000 a month. The Hebron region alone makes up one-third of this 
workforce, with other significant contributions from cities like 
Ramallah, Jenin, Qalqilya, and Tulkarm.

*Muslim minority excluded*

A Haaretz report 
<https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/2024-02-19/ty-article-magazine/.premium/safety-concerns-and-moral-questions-arise-as-indian-workers-queue-up-to-work-in-israel/0000018d-b1fe-dc8c-a3df-f3ff42220000?lts=1713005870713> claims 
that Indian candidates seeking work in Israel were, in many cases, made 
aware that the jobs were not available to Muslim Indians, a move that 
undermined the rights of the Muslim minority in India.

Simardone explains//that Islam is seen as a mutual threat by the 
right-wing ethnocentric regime currently leading Israel and 
Hindutva-dominated India:

    For both countries, the very existence of Muslims undermines their
    fascist ethnonationalism, which seeks to build a country solely for
    Jews in Israel and Hindus in India. That is primarily the reason
    that job recruiters in India who are posting positions in Israel
    have specifically required Hindus and excluded Muslims, who are more
    likely to sympathize with the plight of Palestinians.

*What changed India’s policy? *

India’s geopolitical shift from a once notably pro-Palestine stance to a 
more pro-Israel alignment has been gradually unfolding since 1991 when 
the first Indian embassy was established in Jerusalem. This shift was 
significantly reinforced in 2017 with Narendra Modi’s historic visit to 
Israel, making him the first Indian premier to do so.

Before this, in 2003, the National Democratic Alliance government, which 
included the Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), had 
extended a warm welcome to Israeli prime minister Ariel Sharon during 
his visit to India.

Following the Palestinian resistance’s Operation Al-Aqsa Flood on 7 
October 2023, Modi conveyed 
<https://www.narendramodi.in/prime-minister-narendra-modi-expresses-shock-at-news-of-terrorist-attacks-in-israel-574814> 
profound sorrow over the news of ‘terrorist attacks’ in Israel. He wrote 
on X:

    I am profoundly horrified by the news of ‘terrorist attacks’ in
    Israel. Our condolences and thoughts are with the families of the
    innocent victims, and we extend our deepest condolences to Israel
    during this trying time.

Modi’s remarks exhibited a visible divergence in tone and tenor from the 
policies India has diligently pursued for the last 40 years.

Pakistan’s former caretaker minister of information Jan Achakzai tells 
/The Cradle/ that Israel and India share striking similarities in their 
political approaches by systematically failing to resolve differences 
and disputes with neighboring states:

    They wear a mask of innocence, hiding their aggressive and
    disruptive regional strategies while portraying themselves as
    victims of violence orchestrated by their neighbors.

According to Achakzai, the bilateral ties between Tel Aviv and 
New Delhi have been steadily improving due to the primary focus on 
demographic shifts, ghettoization, the genocide in Palestine and 
Kashmir, and demographic fluctuations.

*Ideological parallels *

Trade 
<https://www.orfonline.org/expert-speak/30-years-of-bilateral-ties-what-indo-israeli-relations-look-like> between 
the two countries has surged from a modest $900 million in 2000 to 
a whopping $7.86 billion today. This growth is accompanied by a 
significant increase in Israeli investments in India’s startups and 
technology sectors, totaling $270 million by 2021.

The defense sector particularly highlights the depth of this 
partnership. India is a major consumer of Israeli weapons, accounting 
for 40 percent of Israel’s annual arms exports. Since 1992, India has 
imported about $40 billion worth of fully formed Israeli armaments and 
prime subsystems.

Their defense cooperation extends to sharing advanced technologies in 
missiles, electronic warfare, radar, navigation, and weapon control 
systems, largely facilitated by India’s Defense Research and Development 
Organization (DRDO).

Analyst Simardone explains that Israel’s political investment in 
India reflects a strategic decision to diversify its foreign policy with 
Asian powerhouses and increase its strategic depth on the continent:

    The rising power of Ia Modi-governed India presents Israel with a
    unique opportunity to befriend a country that has ideological
    similarities with Israeli methodology. A rich irony also exists in
    the reality that India and Israel have fallen into the position of
    oppressors, primarily because European nations had previously
    subjected both Indians and Ashkenazi Jews to oppression. They have
    now become the fascists and the colonizers themselves.

However, the partnership faces criticism domestically, especially 
concerning the program to shift thousands of workers into an insecure 
environment. The Construction Workers Federation of India (CWFI 
<https://www.newsclick.in/israel-announces-arrival-6000-construction-workers-india-during-april-may-2024>) 
has voiced strong opposition <https://thecradle.co/articles-id/20298> to 
sending Indian laborers to Israel, arguing that such actions tacitly 
support Israel’s controversial policies in Palestine.

The association reflects the views of a much broader Indian worker 
demographic who naturally reject collaboration with an oppressive 
occupation state that so clearly exploits the Palestinian working class. 
Instead, CWFI has urged New Delhi to leverage its diplomatic relations 
with Tel Aviv to advocate for the observance of UN resolutions and to 
reconsider Israel’s labor-import demands.
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