Dependence on Foreign Labor in Israel's Agricultural Sector Amidst Hamas Attacks
Hamas militants launched a devastating attack on kibbutz Alumim, targeting and brutally murdering innocent Thai and Nepali farm workers who were peacefully residing in a nearby dormitory This tragic event underscores the crucial need for foreign laborers in Israel's farms
Hamas fighters entered kibbutz Alumim on the morning of October 7, causing destruction and death. The victims were primarily Thai and Nepali farm workers sleeping in a dormitory, and were not Israeli or Jewish. They were forced, escorted by armed men, to their tragic ends.
The security staff could only watch on CCTV from a short distance as 23 men were brutally killed. Among the 1,200 victims of the Hamas attacks, Thais were the largest group of foreign nationals. Most of them were workers on agricultural sites near the fence that separates Israel from Gaza. While a group of 10 Thais were released by Hamas, others are still being held captive.
The outbreak of violence in Israel has led to a mass departure of foreign workers, with an estimated 10,000 farmworkers leaving the country since October 7, according to the Israeli government.
This exodus has created a significant challenge for Israel's dairy and agricultural farms. Milking dairy cows requires skilled personnel to perform the job multiple times a day, and the past few weeks have been crucial for harvesting many crops.
of much-needed foreign workers has left farmers in near Gaza fearing the future of Israeli farming, despite efforts from volunteers across Israel to support crops and animals that would have been left to die without hands to work on the farms.
"I'm still scared," shared Nattaphong Duangchan, a farm worker from Thailand, in an interview with CNN after the attacks on October 7. He has since returned home after being wounded by shrapnel and hiding for two days near the Gaza border. Duangchan expressed that returning to the farm is not something he's considering at the moment.
"There is nothing left there, and I am too scared to return."
However, workers like him are in high demand. On Israeli farms, "the majority of those doing the difficult and low-paying labor are Thai, and have been since the early 90s," explained Matan Kaminer, an anthropologist researching Thai labor in Israel, in an interview with CNN.
Since the October 7 attacks, farmer Yosi Inbar patrols his fields with his rifle to protect his staff and volunteers.
Joseph Ataman/CNN
After many foreign workers fled Israel following the October 7 attacks, farmers were forced to abandon crops or rely on volunteers for the harvest.
Joseph Ataman/CNN
Israeli farms previously depended on Palestinian workers for labor until the 1990s. However, due to the unrest during the First Palestinian Intifada and the subsequent restrictions on Palestinian employment outside of the occupied territories, Israel turned to other sources for farm labor.
Currently, many farm workers are from impoverished regions in northeastern Thailand, and they provide a low-cost labor force for Israel. They are subject to strict terms of employment, including short contracts for manual labor and no allowance to settle down and start families in Israel. Before the outbreak of the war, approximately 6,000 Thai workers were employed on farms near Gaza, as reported by the Israeli Ministry of Interior.
The Israeli Ministry of Agriculture reported to CNN that approximately 30,000 to 40,000 workers are absent from the country's farms, with half being Palestinians who are unable to enter Israel from the Israeli-occupied West Bank due to the October attacks.
As there is no indication of a large-scale return of Thai workers, the Israeli government is seeking to hire around 5,000 workers from other countries, such as Sri Lanka.
Following the fatal attack, a significant blow was dealt to Israel's economy. Agriculture Minister Avi Dichter expressed to CNN that he believed Hamas militants intentionally aimed to harm Israel's economic sector, given the extensive damage caused to local industries on October 7th.
Agriculture holds a significance in Israel that goes beyond just economic factors. According to Lior Simcha, the chief executive of the Milk Producers Association, agriculture and farming are integral to Zionism and are highly valued among the people of Israel.
However, as Israels economy developed, the countrys citizens were able to take higher-paying jobs in different sectors, leaving agricultural jobs unfilled.
Soot still clings to the walls of the dairy farm that Stevie Marcus manages, several weeks after Hamas fighters raided the settlement and set buildings alight.
Joseph Ataman/CNN
The 350 milking cows on Stevie Marcus' farm are now milked by volunteers twice a day.
Farming in the arid plains of southern Israel is deeply rooted in the nation's identity. The pioneering spirit of the kibbutz founders, who played a significant role in developing large-scale agriculture in the southern region, is a point of pride for many Israelis.
The farmers along the Gaza border need strong assurances of safety in order to continue their work and ensure the well-being of their families. Yosi Inbar, a vegetable farmer, expressed a candid and resolute stance on this issue, mirroring the sentiments of other locals interviewed by CNN.
"We should open the border with Egypt so that the people in Gaza can relocate there and start new lives. By closing the border, we can focus on cultivating potatoes all the way to the sea," he said from one of his fields. "This is the safety we need to restore. You can't just throw or shoot two million people."
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has not provided a clear strategy for post-conflict Gaza, where over two-thirds of the 2 million inhabitants are now internally displaced. More than 40% of all housing units have been destroyed or damaged, according to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs citing the Ministry of Housing in Gaza.
Any forced displacement of Gazas population into Egypt would constitute a war crime and the United States has warned against Israel re-occupying Gaza.
A lifeline in the fields
Inbar expressed his gratitude to CNN as a small group of volunteers harvested zucchini plants, with the yellow flowers swaying in the wind. Approximately half of his workers from Thailand chose to remain in Israel, while his neighbor has only a third of his previous staff.
The few foreign workers who stayed with Inbar diligently work among the zucchini rows. Meanwhile, nearby, Israeli volunteers chat as they carefully pick up the zucchinis that were accidentally spilled from a cart. The noticeable difference between the two groups is stark.
Inbar lamented the lack of manpower, which has already led to him abandoning his tomato crop. He expressed that without the volunteers, the zucchini would have faced a similar outcome. Looking ahead, he is unsure how he can maintain his farm at full capacity without the return of foreign laborers.
Hamas militants set fire to the barns containing hay for the dairy cows at Kibbutz Alumim. They entered the settlement unchallenged and proceeded to attack and kill foreign workers and people attending the nearby Nova music festival.
The dairy farm at Kibbutz Alumim overlooks the buildings of Gaza City, just under 3 miles away. The burned-out barns and living quarters, where nearly two dozen Thai and Nepali workers were killed, serve as a constant reminder of the violence that occurred on October 7. "Before October 7, the foreign workers were in charge of running the farm and handling all the milking," stated farm manager Stevie Marcus.
Today, four volunteers assist him in milking his herd twice daily. These volunteers are in short supply, as they require special training from a veterinarian to work with the animals.
"We are only doing the essential tasks, ensuring they have food, clean water, and milking them," he stated.
Before October, the 350 cows were being milked three times daily. However, after the workers abandoned the farm during the attacks, the cows are now only receiving milk during two sessions.
In recent weekends, the Inbars volunteers, organized by Brothers and Sisters for Israel, have gathered up to 1,000 volunteers from across the country to support local farms. Even on weekdays, hundreds of volunteers have given up their time, according to organizer Lisa Perlman. Since the war began, her organization has matched around 50,000 volunteers with farms throughout Israel.
Twenty-three Thai and Nepali workers were killed in the dormitory and safe room where they lived in the Hamas attack.
Joseph Ataman/CNN
Standing among Inbars zucchini, tech worker Avi Leibovich - volunteering on a day off from his day job - said he came to help Israeli farms survive.
"They are essential, without them, the markets would likely be empty," he stated. "I don't believe that this industry can depend solely on imports." The government has implemented an increase in import quotas for foreign produce as a short-term solution to the labor shortage.
"These vegetables are locally grown, this produce is from our own farms," stated Danny Parizada, a solutions engineer and volunteer farm worker, in an interview with CNN. At 35 years old, he emphasized that working in the fields was the "bare minimum" that they could do.
He had a relaxed attitude towards the risk of being so close to Gaza, even though rockets occasionally streak across the sky. Volunteers only have seconds to find shelter when the alarm sounds.
"We are living in a completely chaotic environment where this is considered normal. It's like being in a war zone," he said, acknowledging that he had not informed his mother of his whereabouts.
After the October 7 attacks, a fellow farm volunteer named Mei, who preferred not to disclose her last name, took it upon herself to transport soldiers and civilians around Israel's southern region in her car, providing assistance in any way she could.
The intensity of the Hamas attacks led to widespread calls for immediate retaliation among many Israelis. Additionally, the continuous bombing of Gaza has been met with approval in certain circles. However, during Mei's extended car rides, she began to feel uneasy with what she described as the "celebration" of the destruction in Gaza expressed by some of her passengers.
She decided to focus on harvesting vegetables, feeling better knowing that her efforts were not contributing to Israel's violent campaign in Gaza. Providing food to people, instead of aiding in their combat, didn't raise any moral concerns for Mei.
"Theres no question about it," she said of her labor in the fields. "Its undeniably good."
With additional reporting from CNNs Tamar Michaelis.
