Report reveals how Indian workers in Israel are being abused and harassed: Are Malawian workers spared?
In this article by a leading newspaper in India, the journalist reports about how Indian migrant workers in Israel are “being mistreated, harassed and abused”. A report published in Foreign Policy magazine said that the Indian workers who was sent to Israel over the “promise” of steady work hours and better salary are mistreated. Doesn’t this also apply to Malawians who are working there?
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Citing 30-year-old Mahesh Odedara from Probandar, the Foreign Policy (FP) said the conditions of workers taken to do farming in Israel are not given what were promised. Odedara said he signed five year contract to work in Israel as the job promised a steady “eight-hour workday, robust workers’ rights under Israeli law, and a 5,571 shekel ($1,500) monthly salary—many times more than what Odedara earned in Porbandar”, as reported by FP.
It was too good for the Indian farmer to turn down, who led a poor life. But soon after arriving at Israel, he realized that none of the promises given to him are going to be fulfilled. He said, in Ahituv, a farming community in northern Israel, he worked for 11 to 12 hours picking produce and was forced to work on the weekend also. He was told he would be paid below the legal hourly minimum wage, and by the end of the month, he was not paid at all. His employer told him that his wages has been sent to his employment agency.
When FP reached out to the former employer of Odedara, he denied that he had ever worked for him. However, another worker, who independently mentioned working for the same employer corroborated the same conditions of work and missing wages to FP. The mentioned employment agency also did not respond to the request for comment from the magazine.
Odedara also mentioned about sleeping in a makeshift room made out of wooden planks and panes of sheet metals in Khatsav. He said, he now “really regrets” coming to Israel. Odedara’s brother had worked in Israel for four years as caregiver. He said, “I used to meet all the new people coming in for agriculture. I was talking to them, and everyone has the same problem. They have to fight for their salary, for their rights, for their basic requirements. Nobody is helping them. They are helpless”.
Framing plays a key role in Israel’s identity as a nation. However, Tel Aviv’s agricultural sector has been largely reliant on non-Israeli labourers for decades. In 1967, after Israel captured Gaza and West Bank (the remaining of the Palestinian lands after Israel was formed in 1948 by occupying Palestine and forcing the Palestinians to flee), the Israeli government decided to integrate the actual residents of the territory, the Palestinians. Since then Palestinians have been an integral part of Israeli farming. After an attack from Palestinian resistance group in 1990s, Tel Aviv started to think about bringing migrant workers. However, until 2021, Palestinians made up a quarter of Israel’s total agricultural workforce, as reported by FP.
Since October 7th 2023, when Hamas, the resistance group of Gaza attacked Tel Aviv, paving way for the current brutal war on Gaza, the Israeli government barred Palestinians from working in Israel. Over 20,000 Palestinians agricultural labours were banned from working. This made Israel face a “manpower crisis” in agriculture and other sectors and decided to rely on other countries like India, Thailand and Sri Lanka for workers.
The war made the situation even more vulnerable for the migrant workers. The magazine report cited Melbin Paul, a 29-yrear-old from Kerala, the southern state of India, who said that Hezbollah, the militant group of Lebanon fired missile “nearly everyday”. Paul was assigned to work at a poultry farm close to Israel’s border with Lebanon. He recalled how his friend, Pat Nibin Maxwell was instantly killed when an anti-tank missile from Hezbollah charged towards them. Paul was left with a large wound on his body.
It is to not that earlier, the External Ministry of India said that the government has signed a framework Agreement and Implementation Protocol with Israel. Under the agreement, it said, the Indian workers shall enjoy equal treatment concerning labour rights as Israeli citizens. “Indian workers shall be provided with proper lodging, medical insurance, and relevant social security coverage,” the statement added.
Despite having war, thousands of Indians continue to apply for jobs in Israel willing to risk their lives, with many saying that they are struggling to find jobs in India citing the soaring unemployment.
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