Oh be serious....most Israelis don't want the kind of jobs most of these people do....and before they did those jobs it was the Palestinians and we know how unlikely it will be for them to be allowed to work once again within Israel. We also know how inhumanly and unfairly these people get treated by the so called "immigration police"...There has to be a better way to more effectively deal with illegal’s to determine whether they are helpful or detrimental to our society and whether we should be helping them to stay instead of just dumping them – Jewish or not. There are reasons why the public aren’t against them. Perhaps all the Israelis working illegally around the world should be treated in such a manner. Just consider that when you are hauling these people off in the middle of the night.

Gosh, another clever move of the Government, do they really think that the unemployed Israeli's will take the job from the illegal workers? This is a joke, but the word "deportation" rings another bell in the past with me.

i don't see the high tech folks working on building constructions, cleaning after other high techistim or doing other physical work. there's another rumor going on. That care takers from Moldavia are not permitted to re-enter the country after vacation at home. even though they have valid working visas. Also the Romanian ladies start to worry and cancel their 2009 home vacations.

Will Israelis be willing to take up the job of the foreign workers? It seems that most people in this country would rather ask for dole out money than sweat for their keep.

The illegal ones need to go now, no exceptions. Then reduce teh number of legal foreign workers until every Israeli has a job. Only then when we have excess jobs should foreign workers be used - it is a privallege to come to another country to work, not a right, and it is a privallege we cannot aford to give right now.

other countries. unforunately arabs from west bank work in israel instead of israelis, see the article about har adar 2 weeks ago. work that illegal workers do should be done by israelis who lost their jobs due to recession. unemployment is on the rise constantly. if you are an employer who can't pay salaries, you should consider getting your own hands dirty, and work.

jail time. If they are employing illegal mpalis,then quadruple the fine and give them 1 year in prison with no vacations or days off. A solid twelve months. And #1 is right, let the authorities around the world do the same to Israelis illegally working in their countries. Fine them and make them buy a one way ticket home.

I imagine it would ring a bell with you since the Dutch had the highest proportion per capita of cooperative meaning Dutch assisted of sending Jews to extermination camps. Sending foreign workers home is not sending them to death camps like the Dutch willingly did with Jews.The workers go home to family,wifes and children with 200,000 Israelis unemployed it will help the economy in long run.Hard work never hurt anyone i do it all the time.

that Israelis don't want to do? If you and your relatives are going to volunteer to work those dirty jobs, then Israel can send the illegal immigrants home. If not, then Israel is going to need some of those people.

because of the Socialistic set up of unemployment do you really blame our folks for not wanting to go back to hard work. Its easier to collect a check and have coffee at 10:30.

Make the employer pay for the repatriation of the worker and all of the fees they have payed to come here. Tax the work of the foreigners to create a level of expense to the employer that would make hiring Israelis desirable. Make sure that the health of all workers is checked before they are employeed in food services. It is time the concept of punishing the employer rather then the employee be adapted.

It just occurred to me that for many people around the globe it is a full time occupation to put down and condemn our nation. Now for Eric who is a member of a very hypocrite nation that has a long history of suppressing and colonizing people around the world and that played a very dirty role in "DEPORTING the Dutch Jews to the concentration camps to their death. No opportunity is left untouched to compare us to the Nazis so our European ant-Semites can justify their long and bloody hatred towards our nation. Now for Eric and his fellow Humanists, who have a very selective memory, this time of year between "good Friday" and their Easter, was and still is symbolized by increased hatred , blood libels and pogroms against us. And as a reward for their perfect past history, especially during the Shoah and their collaborating ways with the Nazis, the Dutch get overrun by the Muslims. Eventually we are going to see how truly tolerant the Dutch really are, because underneath that veneer of civility, I know how cruel and ruthless they can be. As Eric has left his email address so clearly I will send him another reply in Dutch and explain to him why Ann Frank and another 110000 Jews were murdered, due mostly to the support of most of the Dutch population. As both my parents and part of my grandparents survived and saw at first hand the dirty role the Dutch played, by for instance getting paid 10 guilders for each Jew they turned in and getting Deported.

The people who are being laid off are mostly skilled workers and very highly skilled and educated workers and they are unlikely to go from an office job to picking fruit in the fields, working construction, or cleaning other people's toilets.

I am arab of East Jerusalem and believe it or not I have been unable to get a decent job from the time I graduated in late 1979 up till now ! I was often offered to do mighty-menial work like being a janitor in five-star Israeli hotels although my academic qualifications should suffice to enable me to get a prestigious municipal or governmental job ... ! I simply ask myself : did I waste my time by attending university , or rather is it better to remain almost illiterate and ignorant ? It seems a tradeoff between education + unemployment and ignorance + money income ... !

at an alarming level. Given the tangled beaurocracy and stringent requirements required to collect unemployment, laid off workers whom I know are not collecting benefits and are really desperate. Some of them are skilled/technical workers who are willing to do construction but it is hard to beat the low wages paid to Palestinians and illegal workers from other nations. Under any circumstances, it behooves us to look after our own first and not citizens of other nations. We arre not the only country with such problems. In the USA, there are several million Mexican illegals who work for bottom wages at jobs which, at this point, with the economy being so bad, could and should be filled by Americans.

They allow the affected industries and services to maintain primitive standards that only third-worlders find worthy. They thwart modernization that would attract Israelis and pay them well. They create an unassimilable population group of the sort that has caused other countries anguish. Deport them civilly, but deport them.

When you have children that need to be fed, any job, no matter how menial, will do. In addition to fixing the illegal immigration problem, Israel should set up an office for Sudanese refugees and others fleeing their countries like Erithrea and have the UNRWA pay for their shelter, food, clothing and medical care in Israel. After all, these people are true refugees - from a real genocide and it is part of the UNRWA mandate to take care of them. That process in itself would see some Israeli workers, doctors, etc. employed in Israel! And some of the money Israel pays in dues to the UN would be utilized for something other than resolutions condemning it!

I think there are plenty of poor Israelis out there with families to feed and with the financial crisis most of them are left with no choice but to do the dirty work.

I've been writting that very difficult times are about to wash over the entire world and did anyone listen? Did you save one dime? Did you worry about your future? No you went about spending like no tomorrow and today you sing the blues. Well quess what...happy days are not here again. Food prices are climbing fast. Oil may be down but food a basic is rising. Housing may be cheaper but no one is about to give away their house. My former tenant wanted to sub let..Threw him and his sub leasee out..Didnt want to put up with schnorrer windbags. Why because I've got what you may cal;l dry powder. Very very rough timers are ahead..The welfare stste as you know it will change in one fell swoop and many many people will be left out in the cold. Get to work, sharpen your skills and suck it up..Israel cant print the money the west is simply manufacturing. If you have a job keep it and work it hard. iF YOU DONT HAVE A JOB DEVELOP SKILLS. If you are in school be the best you can be. If you have some money use it wisely. And finally start being wise consumers and earners.

would you do the jobs these illegal workers are doing now? That you cannot get a job according to your intellect and background, is something else.

Although I reside in Israel, I have very little knowledge of the reality of the Palestinian Arab population other than what I read. Most of it, to be honest, is negative. However, one Israeli Jew who was very familiar with people from the Arab population said that your predicament, being educated but unable to obtain work commensurate with your education, is, in fact, the case. He said that one reason for the friction between Palestinian Arabs in Israel and Jews as well as the alienation of Arabs from the state lies exactly in the dilemma which you experience: the inability to function according to your educational qualifications. I would appreciate it if you could clarify this situation for me. I'm sure other Talkbackers would be appreciative as well. Your remarks, past and current, on these talkbacks add considerably to the quality and breadth of our readership. I think YNet would gain were it to consider publishing some of your opinion pieces if you, in turn, would consider writing them.

This comment was mine but being impulsive, I pushed the wrong button before I completed the details.

Whatever happened to Pan-Arabism? Where are your bethren in the 25 countries and territories in the Arab world? I'm surprised they don't reach out to you and other educated Arabs living in Israel.

"ring" a bell...

Its nice to hear a little logical straight talking for once. Could it be that for once we have got the right man in the right job? If real action is taken and its not more bullshit for the cameras then Steinitz will have earned the respect. We also need to go further slash the number of legal foreigners and get Israelis into those jobs. The Israelis might not like low paid manual labour but its a job which is better than being unemployed. Netanyahu must also reverse his policy to increase the number of work permits given the palestinians because he wants to boost the palestinian economy...... charity begins at home help the unemployed Israelis first. The palestinians want i

funny how the Jews in the ACLU don't like us talking about deporting illegals in the US, but it is okay in Israel?

I have an aunt who works illegally in Israel,she's taking care of 2 children for 8yrs. they love her so much,until one day she was caught by the immigration police.after she was deported one of the children got angry with all the police she meet on the street.one day i went out with her and we saw a police and she's shouting "why did you take my babysitter?she's not criminal!"now they took her to psychiatrists.sometimes she's ok and sometimes not...she keeps on saying she's american not an israeli.