The rise of Filipino women in Israel

Filipino women caregivers

With the prodigious amount of Filipino caregivers throughout Israel, many elderly persons have been dealt with extraordinary care due to the high professionalism and reliable work skill that the Filipino caregivers have to offer.  With wages much higher than that in the Philippines, it is a popular profession to get involved within Israel.  inside the three articles that are presented, the purpose will be to explain how and why Filipino caregivers are Israelis top choice for their au pair and what negatives come with the profession.

The first article chosen was in a book called Foreign workers in Israel, by Yisrael Drori. Within the book, the chapter, “Living and working as non-Israelis” gave a great summary of how exactly Filipino caregivers came about to be the most popular caretakers in Israel, as well as what their overall duties are and what it takes to become one through employment agencies.  Drori explains that women of all cultures often choose care-giving as their profession, and this is especially true for Filipino women.  Filipino women have been the most popular caregiver in many countries, and as stated, “For Filipino women...domestic work and care-giving have become a trademark all over the world.” (89)  What makes Filipino women so popular, especially in Israel are due to many factors.  Drori explains that in the early 1990’s the

Filipino caregiver helping an elderly person

increasing number of elderly people produced a large demand for in home care.  With new health and welfare laws, this helped the influx of Filipino women into Israel.  This was both good for the people of Israel and Filipino women because work is being provided at affordable costs and giving employment opportunities to many Filipino immigrants.  Filipino women are not the only ethnicity of caregivers in Israel, but Israelis find Filipino women to be the most reliable, responsible, and professional out of all other ethnic caregivers, which makes them the most prominent and favored.  Even though Filipino women are the most desirable caretakers for the Israeli people, Drori explains that at many times, these women can be brutally taken advantage of for their services.  To become employed as a caregiver, one must contract through an employment agency.  Both Israel and the Philippines are making profit from the caregivers work through certain fees and price cuts the workers must pay.  Upon signing a contract, not all caregivers are treated fairly, as stated, “To date, no official monitoring mechanism has been installed to ensure the caregivers’ legal rights are upheld.” (94)  New immigrants to Israel may be unsure of their working rights and are just signing papers in order to make money without thinking entirely about their rights as a worker under Israeli law. Their goal for working in Israel is to provide for their families back in the Philippines, as they are not allowed to bring them along with their work visas. The most common issue regarding caregivers rights is being overworked, meaning they are working more hours than they are legally required to do.  This puts a lot of stress on a caretaker, yet they will sometimes have little to no control in these situations.  Other common problems include lack of privacy within the caretaker's living quarters, and unfair payment,  However, many caretakers often find solitude by joining support groups, and gathering with friends when they do get time off.  Drori speaks of empathy for the Filipino women who are subjected to unfair treatment, while still implementing the risks that happen when choosing an employer.  Drori does mention that even with the risks, the wages are much higher compared to work outside this industry.  Throughout her chapter, she uses many first-hand stories about caregivers and their journey through the business.  By providing such information, Drori is able to give reputable resources as to what Filipino caregivers actually have to go through in order to make a living in Israel.  

The second resource was from a news article on the 972mag website, and titled, “Family life forbidden for migrant workers in Israel” by Mya Guarnieri.  This article talked a great deal about the legal aspects of incoming workers from the Philippines and how restrictive it is to live and work in Israel with a work visa.  When a worker comes to Israel with a work visa, there are many rules that apply in regards to keeping the sanctity of Israel culture pure.  When Filipino workers come into Israel, they are on a 63 month work visa.  Having the ability to take part of a work visa in a country that pays well is very attractive to many Filipino women.  However, while being able to make a great deal of money is luring, these women are not

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allowed to bring their families along with them, nor are they able to leave to visit until their contracted visa has expired.  Israel presents itself as a pious Jewish state, and wants to keep it that way.  Having immigrant workers in the state to work is perfectly fine, but when it comes to bringing families or trying to start a family in Israel, there a strict rules preventing this.  The Israeli government believes that Israel remain as much of a Jewish state as possible, and as Director of the Association for Civil Rights in Israel, Rotem Ilan mentions, “they will ‘put down roots’ in Israel… the state’s goal is to prevent them [non-Jewish migrant workers] from ‘putting down roots’ in Israel.” So, to the state, family life becomes a “threat”(Guarnieri)  With the restrictions of having children in Israel and bringing their children with them to Israel, the stress puts a huge toll on the women working, the husbands, and children.  What makes a situation even worse is if a woman happens to give birth while four and half years into her five year visa contract, she must choose between her child or legal working status.  The whole idea is that Israel wants nothing to do with anyone non-Jewish, making this a very unfair rule considering they allow immigrants to work in their country but will not deem them fit enough to become a member of their society and religion.  The Association for Civil Rights in Israel points out that with new legislative laws, many immigrant workers are so restricted and bound to their working contracts that they have coined the term “slavery law” due to the harsh regulations and restraints these workers are dealt with.  This new “slavery law” does not allow workers to leave their employers more than three times, gives prearranged working locations, and sometimes prevents workers from leaving abusive employers.  It is easy to say that these immigrant workers are being violated of their basic human and working rights.  Guarnieri shows great concern towards the immigrant workers in Israel by agreeing with Association for Civil Rights in the statements of how these workers are treated unfairly and reference this to a modern day slavery.  Guarnieri uses statements from a caregiver and a child of an immigrant worker to provide a deeper understanding of the struggles these immigrants face.  In addition Guarnieri references the Association for Civil Rights of Israel via the director, Rotem Ilan on his views from the human rights aspect of this situation.

The last source was from the Haaretz website and titled, “Filipino Reform Converts Help Their Lapsed Israeli Partners Find Love, and God”, and written by Judy Maltz.  This article was by far a more uplifting read compared to the previous ones.  The article focused on couples whose ethnic and religious backgrounds seemed clashed.  Mosh and Rina are one of the handful of couples where the wife (Rina) is a Filipino woman who has converted to Judaism through a reform movement.  The husband (Mosh) are native born Israelis that were brought up in

Filipino getting married because of reform

traditional and Orthodox homes, but have stopped practicing the religion until their Filipino wives have influenced them into practicing it again.  This has been known as the Reform movement, and its headquarters is at Beit Daniel.  This reform has been a great way to have more diversity in the religion, and as stated by Rabbi Gilad Kariv, “Our congregations are becoming more diverse and interesting, not only because of these Jews of choice who have been joining, but also because of their spouses...We now have coming through our gates a new group of native-born Israelis who might not have discovered us otherwise, and this is one of the reasons it is so important for us to embrace Jews of choice.” (Maltz)  The state usually did not want to have non-native Jews, but from a Supreme Court ruling in 2002 that mandated anyone who converted to Judaism by the non-Orthodox movement shall be identified as a Jewish in the population registry, this was the fuel that inspired many to join the Reform.  However, even though one will be identified as Jewish in the population registry, the Chief Rabbinate still will not recognize them as Jewish.  This means weddings cannot be officiated, and a marriage within the state will not be considered valid.  The Chief Rabbinate view on the reform is that many Filipinos will try and seek citizenship rather than faith in the religion.  Yet regardless, the reform does not promise or guarantee automatic citizenship or other benefits from converting.  Many seek for the reform movement because it is a much more comfortable and relaxed way to worship. In prayer, women and men are allowed to sit next to each other, and one can dress casually.  This reform movement has brought people closer together and have helped many who want to become apart of the Jewish religion.  The author, Judy Maltz has very high compassion for the couples who embark on the reform.  This is especially true for the Filipino women who would be considered unworthy of holding the title “Jewish” in the eyes of many.  Maltz shows sympathy and rejoices for the couples who go through the reform and has a positive outlook for their marriage and religious practices.  Malz uses interviews from two couples who had gone through the reform process, and their story helps give true insight into what exactly happens in their life during the reform.  Maltz also uses the viewpoint from Rabbi Gilad Kariv, who is the executive director of the Israel Movement for Reform and Progressive Judaism.  Having his input gives an even more helpful understanding of the reform movement for non Jewish people.