Last week, a Kerala-based farmer, member of a government delegation sent to Israel to learn farming techniques, went missing. Much to the embarrassment of the government, it soon became evident that Biju Kurian, from the Kannur district, had planned his misadventure much in advance. His wife too came out, stating that Kurian had contacted his family from Israel to tell them he was "safe and not to search for him."
The authorities now believe that Kurian might have gone underground in Israel, which has a large Keralite population engaged in jobs like home care and nursing. The plan must have been to resurface later after his visa expires in May and then apply to the Human Rights body in Israel for a residence permit.
While the Kerala Government, which went into defence over the issue, wrote to the Indian embassy in Israel seeking immediate revoking of his visa, similar cases of people going "missing" in Israel have now come to the limelight.
Immediately after Kurian's incident, a priest from Kerala too came to the fore about how six members of an international pilgrim group from Kerala went missing in Israel.
According to Fr George Joshua, the group of pilgrimage set off on an Israel-Palestine holy land trip from Kerala's Pathanamthitta district on February 8. However, six of the 26-member group, including a 69-year-old woman, disappeared from their accommodation facility in Israel. Fr Joshua told Manorama Online that he immediately contacted the Indian Embassy and the local police in this connection.
He added that though this was the first time people were absconding from his travel group, he believes the practice has been rampant and grown stronger since Covid.
Reports quoting Indians working in Israel too add that many people try to sneak into the country, hoping to gain menial jobs like in care homes, using Holy Land tour as a ruse. They go underground near the Israeli-Jordan and Israeli-Egypt border and later sneak into the country via buses. Agents help these illegal immigrants do this, for a huge sum.
Most illegal immigrants come to Israel on a B-2 visa, the tourist visa, which is considerably cheaper than the B-1 employment visa which costs around Rs 20 lakh. Once they are settled down, these immigrants then seek refugee status, which will allow them to stay here for some time.
According to a recent report that appeared in The Times Of Israel, a multi-million criminal industry that thrives in Israel, aiding such illegal immigrants. "The illicit business extorts money from would-be caregivers — people who are often driven by financial desperation to leave their families and loved ones and travel to Israel — to secure jobs for them here," the report added.
These black market operations have been ongoing for almost three decades, and the authorities are well aware of the practice. But, nothing has been done yet, the report added.
However, crackdowns happen once in a while, like in 2019 when a four-member Indian family was detained in Israel for staying illegally before being deported.
