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<h1 class="gmail-">The geopolitics of labor: Israel’s quest to
replace Palestinian workers with Indians</h1>
<p class="gmail-">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.</p>
<div class="gmail-another-name">
<p><a href="https://thecradle.co/authors/fm-shakil-100"
style="color:rgb(164,4,4)" moz-do-not-send="true">F.M.
Shakil</a></p>
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<p><span>APR 24, 2024 - </span><font size="1"><a
href="https://thecradle.co/articles/the-geopolitics-of-labor-israels-quest-to-replace-palestinian-workers-with-indians"
moz-do-not-send="true" class="moz-txt-link-freetext">https://thecradle.co/articles/the-geopolitics-of-labor-israels-quest-to-replace-palestinian-workers-with-indians</a></font></p>
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<div class="gmail-inner-article-img"><img
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alt="" style="margin-right: 0px;" moz-do-not-send="true"
width="464" height="220"><span>(Photo Credit: The Cradle)</span></div>
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<p>On 10 April, in the thick of the war on Gaza, the <a
href="https://www.outlookindia.com/national/6000-workers-from-india-to-be-brought-to-israel-by-may-on-subsidised-charter-flights"
moz-do-not-send="true">Israeli government</a>,
facing a labor crisis, announced that it would fly in
6,000 Indian laborers during April and May on
state-subsidized shuttle flights.</p>
<p>This decision follows Israel's <a
href="https://thecradle.co/articles-id/11640"
moz-do-not-send="true">suspension</a> 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 <a
href="https://www.timesofisrael.com/finance-ministry-says-ban-on-palestinian-workers-could-cost-economy-billions/"
moz-do-not-send="true">three billion shekels</a> ($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).</p>
<p>Simultaneously, New Delhi, overlooking the genocide
and humanitarian crisis unfolding in Gaza, has <a
href="https://www.theweek.in/news/india/2024/04/04/first-batch-of-indian-construction-workers-fly-to-israel-under-g2g-agreement.html"
moz-do-not-send="true">agreed</a> 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.</p>
<p><strong>A colonial strategy </strong></p>
<p>Canadian immigration attorney Aidan Simardone,
speaking to <i>The Cradle</i>, 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. </p>
<p>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.</p>
<blockquote>
<p>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.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>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.</p>
<blockquote>
<p>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.</p>
</blockquote>
<p><strong>The plight of Palestinian laborers</strong></p>
<p>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 <a
href="https://www.aljazeera.com/podcasts/2024/2/12/the-take-is-israel-replacing-palestinian-workers-with-indians"
moz-do-not-send="true">100,000 Palestinian workers</a>,
cutting off their main source of income and depriving
them of a financial safety net.</p>
<p>Worse yet, many Palestinian workers did not receive
their September salaries as the war commenced before
their scheduled pay date. </p>
<p>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.</p>
<p><a
href="https://kavlaoved.org.il/en/jobless-unpaid-uncompensated-the-plight-of-palestinian-workers-amidst-crisis/"
moz-do-not-send="true">Kav LaOved</a>, 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:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>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.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>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.</p>
<p><strong>Muslim minority excluded</strong></p>
<p>A <a
href="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"
moz-do-not-send="true">Haaretz report</a> 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.</p>
<p>Simardone explains<i> </i>that Islam is seen as a
mutual threat by the right-wing ethnocentric regime
currently leading Israel and Hindutva-dominated India:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>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.</p>
</blockquote>
<p><strong>What changed India’s policy? </strong></p>
<p>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. </p>
<p>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.</p>
<p>Following the Palestinian resistance’s Operation
Al-Aqsa Flood on 7 October 2023, Modi <a
href="https://www.narendramodi.in/prime-minister-narendra-modi-expresses-shock-at-news-of-terrorist-attacks-in-israel-574814"
moz-do-not-send="true">conveyed</a> profound sorrow
over the news of ‘terrorist attacks’ in Israel. He
wrote on X: </p>
<blockquote>
<p>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.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Modi’s remarks exhibited a visible divergence in tone
and tenor from the policies India has diligently
pursued for the last 40 years. </p>
<p>Pakistan’s former caretaker minister of information
Jan Achakzai tells <i>The Cradle</i> that Israel and
India share striking similarities in their political
approaches by systematically failing to resolve
differences and disputes with neighboring states:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>They wear a mask of innocence, hiding their
aggressive and disruptive regional strategies while
portraying themselves as victims of violence
orchestrated by their neighbors.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>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.</p>
<p><strong>Ideological parallels </strong></p>
<p><a
href="https://www.orfonline.org/expert-speak/30-years-of-bilateral-ties-what-indo-israeli-relations-look-like"
moz-do-not-send="true">Trade</a> 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. </p>
<p>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.</p>
<p>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).</p>
<p>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:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>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.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>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 (<a
href="https://www.newsclick.in/israel-announces-arrival-6000-construction-workers-india-during-april-may-2024"
moz-do-not-send="true">CWFI</a>) has voiced strong <a
href="https://thecradle.co/articles-id/20298"
moz-do-not-send="true">opposition</a> to sending
Indian laborers to Israel, arguing that such actions
tacitly support Israel’s controversial policies in
Palestine. </p>
<p>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.</p>
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