The Sri Lankan government has announced a new concession aimed at expanding labour migration to Israel, further entrenching Colombo’s cooperation with Tel Aviv even as Israel continues its devastating assault on Gaza.
The Sri Lanka Bureau of Foreign Employment (SLBFE) said this week that Sri Lankans seeking work in Israel will, for a limited period, be allowed to apply for up to three job categories instead of the previous cap of two. The concession applies only to the current recruitment round, with the bureau’s official website set to open on Thursday (6) to accept online applications.
According to the SLBFE, applications must be submitted exclusively through its official portal, and candidates will be able to select a maximum of three job categories during this window. The vacancies on offer are largely in the construction sector, including wire fixing, plastering, shuttering, carpentry and ceramic tile work. Additional opportunities are available in renovation-related roles, such as general labour, plastering and tile work.
The bureau urged applicants to apply only through official channels and to take advantage of what it described as a limited opportunity. These placements fall under bilateral labour arrangements between Sri Lanka and Israel, which the government has steadily expanded in recent years as part of its broader strategy to boost foreign remittances amid the country’s ongoing economic crisis.
However, the expansion of these labour schemes has drawn increasing scrutiny, particularly given the political context in which they are unfolding. Sri Lanka has continued to send thousands of workers to Israel over the past year, many of them filling roles vacated by Palestinian labourers who have been barred from work following Israel’s war on Gaza. Palestinians from the occupied West Bank and Gaza had long formed the backbone of Israel’s construction workforce, before mass permit cancellations and movement restrictions pushed them out.
Human rights advocates have warned that foreign workers are being used as a substitute labour force, helping Israel sustain key sectors of its economy while Palestinians face collective punishment, mass displacement and unprecedented levels of violence. Israel’s assault on Gaza has killed tens of thousands of Palestinians, devastated civilian infrastructure and prompted allegations of war crimes and genocide at international forums.
Despite this, Colombo has maintained and, in practice, deepened its ties with Israel. Labour migration has become a central pillar of this relationship, with Sri Lankan workers now present in both the construction and domestic care sectors. While the SLBFE has previously highlighted opportunities for trained Sri Lankan caregivers in Israel, the latest recruitment drive underscores a broader push to meet Israel’s labour shortages across multiple industries.
For Sri Lanka, the political calculus is closely tied to economics. Remittances from migrant workers remain one of the country’s largest sources of foreign exchange, and successive governments have prioritised overseas employment over the years.
