At Haryana camp for jobs in Israel: ‘War is going on… But if we sit back scared, what will we eat?’

In December, the Haryana government issued advertisements, calling for candidates to fill 10,000 positions in Israel — of carpenters, iron benders, ceramic tile fixers, and masons, among others, for a monthly salary of Rs 1.37 lakh. The ongoing recruitment drive in Rohtak is being organised by the Foreign Cooperation Department of Haryana, Haryana Kaushal Rozgar Nigam Limited (HKRNL), and Haryana Skill Development Mission.

Today, on the third day of the six-day screening camp, Prasad finally got called for the interview. “They said they would let me know about the results… We do not know which company will hire us. Depending on that, we will know where we are posted in Israel,” says Prasad, who has studied up to Class 12 and has a family of eight back in Dausa.

Prasad says that when he got to know of the job openings, he registered at a NSDC centre in Dausa, which then told him to report to the Rohtak centre for the interview. All that is on his mind now, he says, is the money and the difference it can make to his life and that of his two children in Dausa. “Accha paisa mil raha hai (the money is good). I have been working as a mason for many years and over the last 10 years, my income has gone up by around Rs 4,000, but look how costly everything is. We have to find jobs that pay more… if not in India, then abroad,” he says. Did the war in the region deter him? “No… If it is as unsafe (in Israel) as people claim, why would the government send us? Anyway, I hear the fighting is happening at the border. I will hopefully be posted elsewhere in the country,” he says.

Until now, the largest group of about 80,000 workers in the Israeli construction industry came from the Palestinian Authority. But with Israel prohibiting their entry since the conflict began on October 7, there’s been a huge demand for these jobs — a gap Israel hopes can be plugged with workers from other nations, including India. There are about 18,000 Indians working in Israel, with most of them being caregivers.

At the Rohtak centre, Rampal Gahlot, a 25-year-old History post-graduate from Rajasthan’s Sikar, is waiting for his turn to be called for the interview. “After college, I appeared for five government recruitment exams, but didn’t get through any. Then I took up farming on my family land, but the money was not enough. At the NSDC centre in Sikar, I applied for the posts of driver and security guard but got no jobs. Then, when I heard about this recruitment drive in Israel, I decided to apply for the post of steel fixer.”

Ravinder Pradhan, a construction worker from Odisha, came three days ago to take the test, but until late evening on Thursday, he hadn’t been called. Pradhan, who has studied till Class 7, says, “…I have worked in Saudi Arabia, UAE, and Mauritius in the past. I came back from Saudi 10 months ago after my permit expired. Since then, I have been looking for a job. I got to know about these openings, and decided to apply. I know it is risky, but it’s a good offer,” he says.

Pallavi Sandhir, an officer with the HKRNL, said, “The recruitment drive is on till January 21 and UP will also conduct a drive from January 23.” She added that as part of the interview, the labourers were asked to demonstrate their work to a team of Israeli nationals.

In April last year, visiting Israeli Minister of Economy Nir Barkat had discussed the possibility of bringing workers from India. With the war in the region creating a shortage of workforce, last month, the Prime Ministers of the two countries are said to have discussed advancing the arrival of workers from India to Tel Aviv.