– A group of people who had applied for jobs in Israel staged a protest in front of the Presidential Secretariat today, demanding solutions to the difficulties faced by them who claim to have been waiting in the web system for more than 15 months after qualifying for jobs in Israel’s restaurant sector.

The protesters claimed they were among the first applicants selected under the ‘Israel Reston’ program in 2024 and said more than 500 people have been affected by the delay in recruitment.

They said they had successfully completed strict physical tests, including running two kilometres within 11 minutes and carrying a 50 kg sandbag for 100 metres.However, the protesters alleged that the current recruitment process no longer includes such demanding tests and that authorities are overlooking them while sending newly selected groups to Israel.They further claimed that attempts are being made to remove them from the system despite meeting all the required qualifications.

Holding placards that read, “Stop the attempt to remove us from the system immediately” the protesters said many of them had resigned from their permanent jobs in anticipation of employment opportunities in Israel and are now facing severe economic hardship for more than a year.“We request the authorities to give us priority on humanitarian grounds and arrange for us to be sent to Israel for employment,” they said.The protesters also noted that authorities had earlier promised they would receive job confirmation messages by February 20, 2025, but no proper update has been provided since then.They said their main objective was to present their grievances to Anura Kumara Dissanayake and Vijitha Herath and seek justice over the issue.