ROHTAK, India - Thousands of men queued in the northern state of Harayana this week during a recruitment drive to send workers to Israel, where the offensive in Gaza, now in its fourth month, has caused a shortage of labour.
Indian masons, painters, electricians, plumbers and some farmers said they were looking for jobs in Israel, with some willing to risk going into a conflict zone because they could make five times more money in a year than they would at home.
“There is unemployment here and its because of it that people want to leave,” said Lekharam, a mason who was among the workers gathered at a recruitment camp in Rohtak, 66 kilometres from the capital, New Delhi.
“If it’s in our destiny to die, then we can die either here or there. My hope is that we will go and do good work and spend some time and come back.”
Officials at the Israeli embassy in New Delhi and in the Indian foreign ministry did not respond to questions about the recruitment.
India, now the world’s most populous nation with a population of 1.4 billion, has an urban unemployment rate of 6.6%, government data shows, but more than 17% of workers younger than 29 are unemployed and others work as casual labour.
Unemployment and underemployment are a key concern for authorities, despite world-beating economic growth of 7.3%.
This month an Israeli financial newspaper said the country planned to bring in about 70,000 foreign workers from China, India and elsewhere to boost its construction sector, which has come to a standstill since the Oct 7 attack by Hamas militants.
Thailand has long been a major contributor of workers to Israel, especially in the agriculture sector. About 8,000 of the 30,000 Thai workers in the country have returned home since the war began, though some are reportedly considering going back.
India’s National Skills Development Corporation canvassed in recent weeks for workers to live and work in Israel.
Recruiters at the camp refused to comment on the drive.
Vivek Sharma, a 28-year-old mason, said he was aware of the risks in Israel from the conflict but was willing to take the risk if he could earn more.
“Yes, I am aware of the conflict, but I can earn a lot of money in a short time,” said Sharma, who estimates he could end up earning more than a million Indian rupees ($12,000) by working in Israel for a year.
“It could take me at least five years to earn the same amount of money in India.”
Government data shows about 13 million Indian nationals work overseas as labourers, professionals, and experts.
Israel and India signed an agreement last year to allow more than 40,000 Indians to work in the Jewish state in the nursing and construction sectors.