'We're better without Palestinian workers': Construction heads say foreigners better for Israel

Executives in Israel's construction industry are asserting that the sector is performing better without Palestinian laborers, citing improvements in wages, output, and work quality. Zeev Salant, co-CEO of Omer Construction and Engineering, stated that the workforce situation is "better for us than it was before the war," with output reportedly 30% higher.

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The state of the workforce in our industry is better for us than it was before the war. Wages have risen, but roughly, output is 30% higher.

Salant detailed that Palestinian workers previously adhered to earlier start and end times, observing Muslim and Jewish holidays. The current situation, with foreign laborers, reportedly allows work to begin earlier and continue later, including on Fridays. He also claimed that "work safety and quality have improved immeasurably," leading to a much better operational environment for the company.

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We're better off without Palestinian workers.

Baruch Hadad, co-CEO of Omer Construction, welcomed the shift to foreign laborers, highlighting their advantages in "quality, the number of managerial staff that must be kept on the site to obtain the required quality, and construction time." He believes these factors are making projects "more economically worthwhile than in the past," and anticipates a significant upgrade for the construction industry if this trend continues, despite a persistent worker shortage.

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They celebrated the Muslim holidays and also took time off on the Jewish holidays. This is no longer the case. Work now begins at the site at 6:30 a.m. – 6:45 at the latest – and continues until 7 p.m. The laborers also work on Fridays, not to mention that work safety and quality have improved immeasurably. As far as we're concerned, the current situation is much better than it used to be.

Company leadership, including founders Salant, chairperson Israel Rosenblatt, and co-CEO Baruch Hadad, noted that for years, the Association of Contractors and Builders in Israel (ACBI) and other organizations attempted to increase their foreign workforce. However, the state reportedly refused to allow it, leaving them reliant on Palestinian workers. Salant explained, "We were stuck with the Palestinian workers. The government did not allow us to bring high-quality foreign personnel until the war began and the entry of Palestinian workers was halted."

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I welcome the change taking place in the workforce and the switch to foreign laborers. They have many advantages: quality, the number of managerial staff that must be kept on the site to obtain the required quality, and construction time.