The Chairman of the Knesset's Committee of Inquiry on the Problem of Foreign Workers, Yaakov Katz (Ketzaleh) of the National Union, said Sunday that he fully supports the struggle of the agriculturalists of the South for more permits to employ foreign workers.
The agriculturalists are “the pioneers of the land,” he said. He demanded that the Minister of Interior raise the quotas for Thai foreign workers whom the agriculturalists of the South “desperately need.”
While combating the phenomenon of illegal infiltrators from the Sinai, Ketzaleh demanded that the quota of Thai workers be increased, adding that they are necessary for Israeli hi tech agriculture, which he called “one of the sources of production that glorify our country.”
"We must not hurt our agriculturalists,” Ketzaleh said. “They are wonderful, idealistic citizenry. We must not, G-d forbid, cause agricultural land to be lost to non-Jewish hands. We must not repeat mistakes we made in the past and hurt our agriculturalists professionally.”
Ketzaleh added, however, that the Thai workers would have to abide by the laws which state that they must not stay in Israel for more than five years. In this way, new workers come in to replace those who have left, and workers do not have grounds for claiming citizenship for themselves or their children. He also said that he would act to advance projects that would encourage Jewish labor in agriculture.