…In response to growing labour demand in Israel and to deepen their political relationship, India and Israel signed an agreement in May 2023 for 42,000 Indians to head to the Jewish state to work in construction and nursing.

The move was widely reported by Indian and international media as one that didn’t account for the safety and security of its workers. And that was before October 7.

The ongoing Israel-Hamas conflict that exploded in October resulted in Israel banning more than 90,000 Palestinian workers – who formed the backbone of Israel’s construction industry – to be replaced by workers from India, Sri Lanka and Uzbekistan.

India signed a deal a month after the outbreak of hostilities to allow the emigration of Indian workers to an active conflict zone.

Against the backdrop of an ongoing war, with tens of thousands of civilian deaths, there are well-founded fears that India’s agreement with Israel may come at a heavy price.

As Israel finds itself in the middle of another crisis after Iran’s missile attack, an increasingly urgent question for India to consider is the safety of its migrant workers.

The agreement seems to be a case of putting the cart before the horse: a knee-jerk response to maintain bilateral relations and an opportunity to ameliorate India’s ongoing unemployment crisis…