Sri Lanka's dispatch of workers to Israel farms sows controversy

Muslim politicians urge rethink amid concerns over safety and ethics

20231208 israel farm

An Israeli volunteer walks with a weapon as he helps farmers from Kibbutz Be'eri, one of the communities attacked by Hamas. © Reuters

MUNZA MUSHTAQ, Contributing writer

COLOMBO -- Buddhika Bandara, a father of two, is desperate for work. He lost over 450,000 Sri Lankan rupees ($1,370) to recruitment scams he thought would find him jobs in Canada or the U.S. Now he has set his sights elsewhere: Israel.

The war raging between Israel and Hamas in Gaza, he says, does not faze him. "I'm not worried about going and working in Israel if I get a job there," he said, adding that he regularly checks the news and "not all areas are affected by the war."

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