Crossroads Asia | Society | Central Asia

Israel: An ‘Invisible’ Migration Destination for Uzbeks

Israel is rarely mentioned in discussions of Uzbek labor migration. Yet thousands of Uzbek workers have quietly made it a significant destination.

Jewish communities, particularly Bukharan Jews, have lived in Central Asia for centuries and were an integral part of the social and cultural fabric of cities such as Bukhara, Samarkand, and Tashkent. Compared with many other regions, Jewish communities in Uzbekistan experienced relatively peaceful coexistence with their Muslim neighbors and were largely spared the widespread antisemitism and discrimination that affected Jewish populations elsewhere.

During the late Soviet period and especially following perestroika and the collapse of the Soviet Union, many Bukharan Jews emigrated to Israel, the United States, and other countries. Yet despite their departure, many continue to maintain strong cultural and emotional ties to Uzbekistan, often referring to it as their homeland and preserving Uzbek traditions, cuisine, and language within diaspora communities.

Meanwhile, a growing number of Uzbek citizens have migrated to Israel seeking work, particularly in the caregiving and elderly care sectors. This migration corridor remains underexplored in both media and research. Public discussions of Uzbek labor migration continue to focus on Russia, South Korea, Türkiye, or, more recently, Europe and the United States. Israel has emerged as something of an “invisible” migration destination, hosting thousands of Uzbek workers while receiving relatively little attention from policymakers, scholars, and journalists.  

Although a large share of Uzbek migrants in Israel are employed in the care sector, an occupation predominantly filled by women, the country is not commonly framed as a “feminized” migration destination for Uzbekistan. In contrast, destinations such as Türkiye and the United Arab Emirates are more often associated in public and academic discourse with feminized labor migration, in domestic work and service sectors. 

In 2022, Uzbekistan and Israel signed an agreement on the temporary employment of Uzbek workers in the Israeli labor market. By the end of 2025, Israel hosted 227,583 foreign........

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