In the not-so-distant past, Israeli workers reported daily with pride to factory assembly lines, feeling that they were contributing to building the country. As the young nation established itself and its economic situation improved, Palestinian workers took their place, as Israelis no longer performed physical labor. After October 7, when Palestinian entry into Israel was banned, the labor shortage became acute, and the state began importing workers from India, Sri Lanka, and the Philippines to take their place.
However, foreign worker allocations for industry fail to even scratch the surface of demand. A few days ago, hundreds of companies across the country received notice that they would not receive the foreign labor allocations they had requested. Some received none at all, while others received minute quantities – both because of the meager quota approved in the current round and because of the priority granted to defense industries.
In the latest allocation round, industry had only about 3,000 foreign workers available to meet requests ranging between 60,000 and 70,000 workers. Behind these numbers are factories with orders, machinery, and production lines that simply lack enough people to operate them.
Industry struggles to find enough workers
“The allocation process for foreign workers opened on June 1 and closed at the end of June,” says Shir Sela, CEO of Global Bridge, a firm that connects employers with foreign workers. “Across all industry, between 60,000 and 70,000 workers were requested, while the allocation for the entire economy stood at just 3,000 foreign workers. Among our clients, 37 companies received zero workers, and out of the 1,000 we requested, we received 50 workers. I am talking about giant companies like Ashtrom and Readymix – companies that are critically short on manpower.”
“Prioritizing defense industries sounds logical, but it is not entirely accurate,” Sela adds. “After all, whoever works on vehicle bodywork is also serving the security forces, not to mention bakeries or other businesses that act as secondary suppliers to the defense establishment.”
According to figures for 2026, the total quota approved for the industrial sector through the end of the year stands at 21,200 workers. Of these, 3,600 are designated for Atarot under a separate track for Palestinians. As of a discussion held on April 28, 15,100 workers were already approved for private bringing, while another 2,500 workers remained without approval for private bringing.
Yet a quota on paper does not place a worker at a machine. The path from a government decision to the arrival of workers at factories runs through allocations and approvals – and that, according to employers, is where one of the main bottlenecks lies.
“The quotas are approved by government decisions, with the prime minister promising several weeks ago that the total number of foreign workers for the entire economy would rise from 30,000 to 50,000, including 18,200 for industry. As of now, more than 15,000 have already entered, and it is simply not enough. The problem is that the committee responsible for approving allocations convenes once in a blue moon. The attorney-general opposes bringing foreign workers over concerns regarding human trafficking, even though workers in industrial sectors earn between 50% and 110% of the average national wage, with even basic production line workers earning NIS 6,000, which is high.”
“What will companies do? They are left without hands to work. Israeli employees are unwilling to work on assembly lines – which is routine and dull work – for any price in the world. So Israeli industry remains without working hands.”
Defense priorities leave other factories behind
The prioritization given to defense industries angers some industrialists. They argue that the division between a defense factory and a civilian factory does not always reflect the actual production chain. Metalworks, bodywork plants, bakeries, and other businesses may not be defined as defense industries, but they serve as suppliers to the defense establishment or companies working for it, and they too require workers to meet orders.
The Economy Ministry said in response: “The distribution policy for foreign worker quotas is set exclusively by the Directors-General Committee on Foreign Workers. In accordance with the committee’s decision, the last allocation of 3,000 workers was designated for industry supporting the defense effort. The ministry issued a call for proposals and distributed the quota according to these guidelines, taking into account, among other things, the immense demand from all applicants. It should be emphasized that the Economy and Industry Ministry is well aware of the hardship facing the entire manufacturing sector, and thanks to an ongoing campaign it led, quotas for more than 20,000 foreign workers for industry have been approved to date. The ministry will continue to fight to expand quotas and create a comprehensive response for all sectors and factories under its responsibility.”
