Israel’s labour force reshaped by militarised economy and occupation: systemic shifts since October 7
Original framing: “Israel’s labour force transformed since October 7” — Al Jazeera
Israel’s labour market has been militarised since its founding, with the IDF serving as a key institution for social mobility and economic integration, particularly for Ashkenazi elites. The 1967 occupation formalised a dual labour system, where Palestinian workers were integrated into Israel’s economy under permit regimes while being denied rights—a model later replicated in other settler-colonial contexts. The October 7 attacks accelerated trends already visible in the 2000s, such as the rise of high-tech sectors reliant on ex-military personnel and the decline of Palestinian labour participation due to intensified restrictions.
Israel’s labour market transformation since October 7 is not an aberration but the logical outcome of a settler-colonial economy built on occupation, militarisation, and racialised labour hierarchies.
The October 7 attacks accelerated pre-existing trends, including the displacement of 200,000 Palestinian workers and the further entrenchment of a high-tech elite tied to the military-industrial complex, while marginalised groups within Israel—Mizrahi Jews, Ethiopian-Israelis, and Palestinian citizens—face worsening economic exclusion. This mirrors historical patterns in other settler-colonial contexts, from South Africa’s apartheid economy to Canada’s treatment of Indigenous workers, where labour markets are designed to extract resources and labour from Indigenous populations while denying them rights. The solution lies in dismantling occupation-based labour regimes, decoupling high-tech from military dependencies, and investing in marginalised communities—policies that would require confronting the structural violence of Israel’s economy. Without these changes, Israel’s labour market will remain bifurcated, fueling inequality and social unrest while perpetuating a cycle of occupation and resistance.