Yossi Schwartz ISL ( RCIT section in Israel/Occupied Palestine) 04.07.2025
Some centrists like the ISA and their section in Israel – “socialist struggle” are speaking as if it is possible to convince the Jewish Israeli workers to join the struggle of the oppressed Palestinians. They often talk of a joint battle across borders. They deny the nature of Israel as a society of settler colonialists and its apartheid. They argue that it is necessary to grant the Israelis the right to a state to convince the Israeli workers to struggle for workers’ solidarity and socialism. Thus, they try to combine Zionism with Marxism, like another party in the history of Israel, Mapam, which has disappeared. Such centrists are closer to Borchov rather than to Lenin and Trotsky. In the following article, I will deal with the gap between the Israeli workers who are a labor aristocracy and the Palestinian working class.
14 cabinet ministers from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Likud party urged the arch-criminal Netanyahu to annex the occupied West Bank immediately. Such annexation will make Israel an apartheid state officially. The question is whether Trump supports such annexation as part of the ceasefire agreement with Hamas. Reformists and some centrists ignore the material interests of the Jewish Israeli workers who do not oppose such annexation. As a labor aristocracy, the Israeli workers support the super-exploitation of the Palestinian working class, because it grants their position as a labor aristocracy. Without cheap Palestinian workers, they will be the cheap labor as the North African Jews were before 1967.
Most Israeli workers are white color and the highest salaries are paid in High technology. The labor force in Israel is 4,065,500 (May 2020) Labour force by occupation : Agriculture: 1.1% Industry: 17.3% Services: 81.6%
The income gap between average Jewish Israeli and Palestinian workers in the West Bank is significant, with Jewish Israelis earning substantially more. This disparity is evident in both hourly wages and monthly incomes, with Jewish workers typically earning between 35% and 40% more than their Palestinian counterparts. This gap reflects broader socioeconomic inequalities and discriminatory practices within the Israeli labor market. Here’s a more detailed breakdown:
Wage Differences:
Studies indicate that Palestinian workers in Israel earn considerably less than their Jewish counterparts, even when controlling for factors like education and occupation. For example, one study found that the average hourly wage for Palestinian workers was 29 NIS compared to 44 NIS for Jewish workers. Another study showed that the average monthly income of a Jewish worker was NIS 11,191, while it was NIS 7,338 for an Arab worker.
Occupation and Education:
The income gap is also influenced by the types of jobs held by each group. Palestinians are often overrepresented in lower-paying jobs, such as manual labor and service work, while Jewish Israelis tend to be concentrated in higher-paying professional and managerial positions.
Discrimination:
Palestinian workers also face discrimination in the labor market, which can further exacerbate the wage gap. This discrimination can manifest in the form of lower wages for the same work, limited access to promotions and opportunities, and difficulty securing employment in certain sectors.
Impact of Conflict:
The Israeli-Palestinian conflict also plays a role, with events like the Second Intifada and the recent war having significant impacts on the Palestinian economy and labor market. For example, a recent International Labor Organization report highlighted the impact of the war on the West Bank, with widespread job losses and rising unemployment rates.
West Bank vs. Israel:
There are also disparities in wages and economic conditions between those working in the West Bank and those working in Israel. Palestinian workers employed in Israel or Israeli settlements often earn significantly more than those working within the West Bank itself, although they may still face discrimination.
Overall Economic Disparity:
The Palestinian economy is considerably smaller and weaker than the Israeli economy, contributing to the income gap. Israel’s GDP per capita is significantly higher than that of the West Bank and Gaza.
According to Springer: The study’s findings show that over the years, the real gap between Jews’ and Palestinians’ wages in Israel is between 40 and 60 percent in favor of Jews[i].
According to the ILO, the economic downturn due to the war has severely undermined the living standards of the Palestinians, with real GDP per capita dropping by 33.4 percent across the West Bank. In the Gaza Strip, the per capita GDP declined by 84.9 percent, while in the West Bank, it decreased by 23.4 percent. Gaza’s per capita GDP now stands at just 5.2 per cent of that in the West Bank.
The labor market has borne the brunt of the war, with the unemployment rate in the OPT surging to 51.1 per cent, reaching 34.9 per cent in the West Bank and 79.7 per cent in the Gaza Strip. Total unemployment averaged 734,685 over the past year, marking an increase of 363,213 compared to the previous year”.[ii]
Thus it means that there will never be a chance to reach the Israeli Jewish workers? No, but only the Arab revolution or a major defeat of the Zionist state will make a real opening.
[i] https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1057/9781137336453_4
[ii] https://www.ilo.org/sites/default/files/2024-10/A%20Year%20of%20War%20in%20Gaza-Bulletin%205-October%202024-FINAL%28en%29.pdf