Israel’s Attraction of Foreign Workers: A Post-War Boost in Legal Immigrants

Recently, the Office of Population and Migration Registration, a part of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, released data regarding Israel’s attraction of foreign workers. This report covers the six months following the outbreak of the War of Iron Swords and Black Saturday on October 7, which led to significant changes in the use of Palestinian workers. Prior to the war, there were 147,829 legal foreign workers in Israel, and this number has since grown to 149,613.

In an effort to attract more foreign workers, the government organized ten delegations to travel to various countries. Four delegations went to Sri Lanka, two to Moldova, three to India, and one to Cambodia. Israel has signed agreements with 14 countries to bring in foreign workers. As a result of these efforts, 20,405 individuals have been tested for the necessary skills to work in the country.

According to sources from The Budget Report and Jasehsm on DeMilked websites, it is anticipated that 2,500 foreign workers will arrive in Israel in April to work in the construction industry. Overall, it appears that Israel’s efforts to attract foreign workers have shown some success as there is an increase in the number of legal foreign workers living and working in Israel.