More Indian workers head to Israel as relations between the two countries strengthen

An influx of Indian workers is expected to arrive in Israel in the coming weeks as part of an effort to overcome a labor shortage due to the Israel-Hamas war. Thousands of laborers are expected to work in the embattled construction sector, which relied almost exclusively on Palestinian workers before the war. Last week, Indian national security adviser Ajit Doval visited Israel and met with senior officials, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, in Jerusalem.

All the while, India has repeatedly called for a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip.

The evolving partnership between India and Israel has intensified in recent years. Increasing technology, trade, and security ties have seen the countries grow closer at the expense of a decadeslong Indian nonalignment policy that carefully avoided taking sides on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

The policy shift occurred in 2014 when Narendra Modi, the leader of the Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP), was elected prime minister of India. Modi’s inauguration marked a significant departure from the decades of governance under the Indian National Congress party. Under Modi’s leadership, the BJP adopted a markedly different approach toward Israel compared to its predecessor. Concurrently, with Modi’s ascension to office, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu recognized India as a crucial ally in Israel’s effort to enhance relations with the developing world.

In 2017, Modi became the first Indian Prime Minister to conduct a state visit to Israel, symbolizing the burgeoning relations between the two countries and the personal rapport between Modi and Netanyahu. A year later, Netanyahu returned the gesture with a visit to India.

Under Modi’s leadership, the Indian government has engaged with Israel more openly than any previous administration. Historically, India followed a nonaligned foreign policy, striving to maintain balanced relations with both Israelis and Palestinians. However, Modi deviated from this tradition. The early years of Modi’s tenure, alongside Netanyahu, were marked by a particularly warm relationship, highlighted by a viral photo of the two leaders walking barefoot together on an Israeli beach.

In the wake of Hamas’ incursion into Israel and mass terrorist attacks on October 7, 2023, Modi condemned Hamas. A few weeks into the war, India abstained from a United Nations resolution calling for a truce in Gaza.

“Modi has been very supportive of Israel,” Lev Aran, a former coordinator of the Israel-India Parliamentary Friendship League and an Israel-based freelance columnist and journalist, told The Media Line. “But at the same time, the Indian Foreign Ministry has made more moderate statements that are more demanding of Israel.”

“India was always very balanced in its responses,” said Dr. Oshrit Birvadker, an expert on foreign and defense policy, a senior fellow at the Jerusalem Institute for Strategy and Security, and a member of Forum Dvorah, told The Media Line. “The denouncement of Hamas was exceptional but not surprising and appropriate to the relationship forged between Delhi and Jerusalem in the past two decades.”

War broke out amid plans for India-Mideast-Europe network

Just a few weeks before the war erupted, US President Joe Biden unveiled a plan to connect India to Europe through the Middle East. The announcement on the massive rail and shipping network, an economic corridor, was made at the G20 Leaders event on the Partnership for Global Infrastructure and Investment that took place in India. The network is to include India, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Jordan, Israel, and the European Union, all sponsored by the US.

Optimism was replaced by scenes of bloodshed as Hamas’ surprise attack on Israel saw the latter open its most aggressive offensive on the Gaza Strip ever. Approximately 1,200 Israelis were killed in the initial attack and thousands were injured. Over 250 people were abducted by Hamas and taken into captivity in Gaza.

According to the Hamas-run Health Ministry in the Gaza Strip, over 31,000 Palestinians have been killed as a result of Israel’s offensive, and over twice that number have been injured. The damage in Gaza because of Israel’s air, naval, and ground operation is extensive. Billions of dollars will be needed to reconstruct the already impoverished territory. The war has cast doubt over the possibility of normalization of relations between Israel and Saudi Arabia and could also cast a shadow on India’s plans to assert its influence in the Middle East.

India and Israel are also part of the I2U2 group, a framework whose members also include the US and the United Arab Emirates, aimed at increasing cooperation in the fields of water, energy, transportation, space, health, and food security.

“India wants to realize the potential of the I2U2; therefore, it will not distance itself too much from the UAE and also from Saudi Arabia, even though [Riyadh] is not a member of the I2U2,” Aran said. “India is therefore very careful to be precise in its statements regarding Israel and the conflict, in order for it to be able to promote a regional move and not to decrease its ability to maximize its strategic potential in the region.”

India sees itself as a leader of the “global south” or the developing countries. For Israel, this brings a significant advantage. It needs India on its side. As the fighting drags on and the humanitarian situation in Gaza worsens, Israel struggles to maintain international legitimacy for its war on Hamas.

“India is perceived as a balancing actor on the international stage,” Birvadker said. “Many countries look to India as the voice of the global south. It has great influence in Asia and Africa and in countries with Muslim populations, which is important to Israel.”

“India is seen as a springboard for audiences that Israel is still struggling to speak to,” she added.

India wants Israeli defense technology

There are also Indian interests in play.

“India is very much after Israeli defense technology,” said Aran. Increased tensions between India and China in recent weeks have highlighted this need.

Doval’s visit was the first of a senior Indian official since the beginning of the war. Neither side released many details from the visit, but it was likely meant to secure the significant defense relationship between the countries.

“The visit was meant to secure future arms deals and make sure Israel will still uphold its commitments to India,” said Birvadker. “But also, and most importantly, India has an interest that Israel normalize its relations with Saudi Arabia. This could have influence on internal Indian politics.”

Last week, India implemented the citizenship law legislated in 2019. The law fast-tracks naturalization for Hindus and members of religious minorities—Buddhists, Christians, Jains, Parsis, and Sikhs—who have fled to India from Afghanistan, Bangladesh, and Pakistan, all of which have large Muslim majorities, but excludes Muslims. Many Muslim countries have condemned the law as discriminatory.

India is home to approximately 200 million Muslims.

Modi and the BJP, known for their Hindu nationalist stance, have been perceived by many as contributing to the greater alienation of the Indian Muslim population. Engaging Saudi Arabia in regional networks could mitigate Saudi criticism of BJP policies.

The deepening ties between Israel and India in recent years stem not only from mutual interests but also a shared core ideology.

“In its relations with Israel, the ruling party in India, which is expected to win the upcoming election, sees beyond interests,” said Birvadker. “They see a similar destiny with Israel, as a country based on a religious Jewish majority. This shared destiny, as peoples with ancient cultures who were both under British rule, serves as a framework for those mutual interests. Also, both countries are dealing with the challenge of global terrorism.”

“There is a lot of support within the Indian right wing for the idea of Israel as the nation-state of the Jewish people,” said Aran.

Still, India strives for a balanced approach, critiquing Hamas while expressing concerns over Israel’s stance toward the Palestinian Authority (PA), which is viewed by many in the international community as a potential alternative to Hamas in Gaza.

“India’s tolerance for Israel’s disregard for the PA has waned, especially as Palestinian violence begins to impact strategic geopolitical dynamics,” explains Aran. “They want to see greater Israeli generosity toward the PA as the representative of the more moderate, secular Palestinians.”

The conflict between Hamas and Israel has exacerbated Israel's housing crisis, heavily reliant on Palestinian labor, which was restricted after October 7.

Eyal Sisso, director general of the Israeli Population and Immigration Authority, told The Media Line that approximately 20,000 Indian construction workers have been screened and are ready to travel to Israel once travel arrangements for them are finalized.

Before the war, there were approximately 100,000 Palestinian construction workers in Israel, most of them legal. The Indian workers are meant to take up “wet construction” jobs and stay in Israel for five years.

“The shortage is acute,” Sisso said. “We are making extensive efforts to bring more workers for both construction and agriculture.”

A bilateral agreement between Israel and India regarding workers was signed before the war, in May 2023. It is expected to come into effect in the coming days.