Solidarity in the Shadows: Bedouin Support for Undocumented Migrant Workers in Israel

In 2017, there were nearly 80,000 asylum seekers and undocumented migrant workers in Israel, most of whom did not have health insurance. We evaluated trends in medical visits of asylum seekers and undocumented migrant workers who presented to Terem Refugee Clinic (TRC), a large clinic in Tel Aviv available only to uninsured residents of Israel. Data were collected from electronic medical records at TRC from 2013–2017. Diagnoses were grouped into categories using ICD-10-equivalent diagnosis codes. We used a chi-squared test for trends to test the significance of trends 2013 to 2017. There were 99,569 medical visits from 2013 to 2017 at TRC. Visits were lowest in 2013 (11,112), and relatively stable from 2014–2017 (range: 19,712–23,172). Most visits were among adults aged 18–35 (41.2%) and children <2 years old (23.7%). Only 3% of visits were from patients aged >50. The percentage of infectious disease diagnoses decreased over the study period, from 9.4% of all diagnoses in adults in 2014 to 5.2% in 2017, and from 32.0% of all diagnoses in children in 2013 to 19.4% in 2017. The annual percentage of respiratory diagnoses in children and adults 18–35 years of age, musculoskeletal in all adults, and digestive in adults except women ≥35 years old increased. Over time, asylum seekers and undocumented migrant workers visited TRC with fewer infectious diseases diagnoses overall but more respiratory diseases, including acute respiratory infections and more musculoskeletal diseases.

This chapter outlines the legal and social status of foreign home care workers in Israel, a country that identifies itself as a Jewish state, yet increasingly relies on foreigners to provide the most intimate personal care to older adults and frail individuals. Currently, there are 52,000 documented foreign home care workers and at least 40,000 undocumented workers in Israel. Most of these workers are from the Philippines, but workers from other Asian and East European countries are also represented. Several human rights organisations have been working towards improving the status of foreign workers in the country. Their efforts as well as potential achievements and drawbacks are discussed in detail in the chapter.

This article looks at the experiences of Filipino migrant workers in Israel to argue that a conceptual reliance upon notions of political security and formal political activity has overstated the relevance of changing national identity among migrants in globalised times. The political conditions linked to the transformation of migrant national identity appear to be absent in the Philippines–Israel case. Officially, there is no general system for permanent residency or political incorporation in Israel for non-Jewish foreign workers. Yet research amongst Philippine workers show that some Filipinos develop attachments to elements of their lives in Israel despite episodes of substantial political and economic insecurity. New belongings arise from multiple social and political contradictions impacting Filipino workers in Israel. These derive in part from the different migration careers of Philippine workers over globalised time, shaped by modulating Philippine and Israeli migrant labour regimes amid wider social and political contexts. To understand new belongings, more emphasis should be placed on everyday processes beyond formal politics. However, incipient belongings do not yet signal the development of new progressive coalitions which could address Israeli state domination over Palestinian populations

8. "Illegality," Mass Deportation, and the Threat of Violent Arrest: Structural Violence and Social Suffering in the Lives of Undocumented Migrant Workers in Israel was published in Trauma and Memory on page 168.

Since the late 1990s, Israel has become a new destination for Chinese migrant workers. In the view of many studies conducted in Israel, the Chinese migrant workers are often a neglected and almost invisible group. The purpose of this paper is to explore the initiation of this migration trend and its social consequences. The major discussion of this study focuses on how the whole process of migration is carried out at the interface between legality and illegality. Research in the sending area suggests that the urgent need for manual labour in Israel provides possibilities to attract both documented and undocumented migrant workers and therefore turns labour transportation into a profitable business. Although no one agrees that undocumented working activities should continue, all of the factors interact and result in a permissive situation allowing this particular combination of the illegal but licit to persist in transnational labour migration. More than anything else, this micro‐level study attempts to find the true story from the individual voices of local people.

Psychological distress among Thai migrant workers in Israel

CIMI is a professional NGO that has partnered with the government of Israel to oversee the arrival of Thai migrants and implement best practices as part of that process. Approximately 25,000 Thai migrants work in remote agricultural areas around Israel, and have little knowledge about life and working conditions in the country. Studies show that increased internet access, specifically mobile information and communications technology (ICT), can lead to a significant improvement in migrants’ effective access to information, informed decision-making and work standards. Building on literature that examines how internet usage gaps still exist across social categories despite equal access, the study presented in this paper examines how Thai migrant workers in Israel use mobile ICT, in order to find ways to enhance and utilize it to improve their wellbeing. As a next step and based on a survey conducted among this population for this research, CIMI would aim to apply the findings and operationalize solutions for internet usage which can benefit these migrants by targeting their specific needs and assets. A technological platform to deliver reliable information and utilities can have a significant impact on over 25,000 Thai migrants in Israel. The project also has the potential of being expanded to include other migrant workers’ communities in Israel, ranging from over 40,000 Filipino caretakers to over 10,000 Moldovan, Ukrainian and Chinese construction workers.

Upholding the human rights of migrant workers raises a host of legal problems for a State that desires cheap foreign labour. Israel has reaped the benefits of such labour without incurring any significant responsibility to these exploited workers. Yet, their growing presence in Israel is beginning to raise legal and social concerns given the small size of the State and its rising unemployment. Similar to other States with migrant workers, attempting to carve out legal protections for migrant workers in Israel proves quite difficult in the absence of any formal legislation. This article begins to identify various legal sources that can serve as a framework for explicating the emerging customary human rights of migrant workers. Such customary human rights can be derived from unincorporated treaties and conventions and from the domestic laws and judicial decisions of the State.

The article describes and probes the conversion of Chinese temporary migrant workers in Israel to evangelical Christianity. Since 1995 thousands of Chinese workers have been recruited, mainly from villages across Fujian, for construction work in Israel. In 1998 an evangelical church was established in Tel Aviv, and its personnel evangelize with considerable success among Chinese workers. The work visa of Chinese workers in Israel is limited to a maximum of five years. Consequently, their church membership is limited in duration, and the church plays no role in the facilitation of migrants' settlement. The constricted role of the church forcefully raises the question of why Chinese workers convert to Christianity. This article draws attention to the impact of conversion on the life of Chinese workers upon their return to China. The article argues that a conversion to Christianity in Israel permits Chinese temporary migrants to accumulate cultural, symbolic, and social capital, which can be effectively deployed in China.

PurposeEconomic adversity, geopolitical, and climate crises leading to the lack of decent and sustainable work are resulting in growing and diverse migratory movements. The precarious situation of many migrant workers in their countries of employment results in a state of social exclusion due to a lack of access to relevant information sources. The purpose of this paper is to further the understanding of the information behavior of migrants by examining the role that La Escuelita, a Hebrew night school for domestic migrant workers in Israel, plays as an information ground helping migrants struggling with social exclusion.Design/methodology/approachA qualitative methodology was used and data were collected using participation observation over a three-months period. Eight students at the school were interviewed using in-depth interviews.FindingsLa Escuelita served as a vehicle for social inclusion by providing valuable everyday information to the students in a caring environment. Information was shared in multiple directions between both the staff and the students and between the students. Language barriers were revealed as one of the main factors for social exclusion. Findings revealed that although the migrant workers who study at La Escuelita are information poor regarding their struggle for social inclusion into Israeli society, they wish to learn Hebrew as a way to overcome this exclusion.Originality/valueUnderstanding the information behavior of marginalized populations is the first step into designing and implementing information services to help them toward social inclusion. This research presents an innovative contribution by examining the significance and roles of social connections in the setting of a unique information environment.

This article examines the experiences of Ukrainian pre‐war female migrant workers in Israel's eldercare and cleaning sectors, focusing on how employer relations and workplace conditions shape their dignity. Drawing on in‐depth interviews with 26 Ukrainian migrant women, the study explores the structural constraints and power dynamics that influence their lived experiences. The analysis identifies three key themes shaping migrant women's dignity: employer‐inflicted abuse, the pursuit of dignity and resistance to humiliation and the impact of war in Ukraine on dignity construction. Findings reveal that while many women face economic control, emotional manipulation and social exclusion, they also engage in strategies of resistance to reclaim dignity. By framing vulnerability as a site of agency, this study demonstrates how Ukrainian migrant workers challenge systemic inequalities through defiance, negotiation and solidarity, asserting their dignity despite restrictive labour conditions.

This chapter describes how migrant workers' lives are shaped and constrained by multiple, overlapping forms of “structural violence.” It concentrates on the mass deportation campaign of migrant workers in Israel since mid-2002 and the construction of their “illegality.” Israel has been eager to apply both legally recruited transnational migrant workers and their undocumented counterparts in multiple labor sectors. The immigration police uses physical violence and brutality in the course of arrest. Some narratives of violent arrest affected the average Israelis. The quality of relative communality and social support that led the mass deportations has decomposed. It can be stated that the deportation campaign has brought a heightened sense of vulnerability, anxiety, and terror into undocumented migrants' individual lifeworlds, and destroyed the social fabric of their collective, group lifeworlds.

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