Almost 200,000 unemployed Israelis registered with the Employment Service could replace the foreign workers in construction, farming, industry, catering and nursing, Employment Service director general Esther Dominicini told the Knesset Committee on Foreign Workers yesterday.

Some of the unemployed Israelis would have to be trained for these professions, but they are healthy and able to work, she said.

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Dominicini outlined a plan to replace some of the 85,000 legal foreign laborers, following the government's decision to phase them out.

Eilat hotels currently employ some 500 migrant workers, but will be prohibited from employing them from March 1. The hoteliers say they need 1,500 Israelis to replace them, because each foreigner does the work of three Israelis.

The Employment Service and hoteliers have held dozens of job fairs throughout the country to enlist Israeli workers for Eilat, but the hoteliers say only few applicants were suitable or agreed to work in the city.

More than 100 job-seekers came to the job fair held by the Isrotel chain in Jerusalem's Employment Bureau yesterday.

They were offered menial hotel jobs such as dishwashing and cleaning.

One said he would agree to work in Eilat during the week and return to his family in Jerusalem over the weekend "like a career army officer."

At least half of the job-seekers were found suitable for the jobs on offer.

"We have proved that for the right wages and conditions, there are enough Israelis willing and able to replace the foreign workers," said committee chairman MK Ran Cohen (Meretz), who visited the job fair.

Eilat hotel chains are offering workers lodging and meals for NIS 350 a month, weekly transportation to and from Eilat, bonuses and scholarships for the workers or their family members, as part of an agreement with the treasury.

They are also offering the workers a pension and funds for continuing education.

Hoteliers are also offering hotel training courses and English lessons if the workers agree to work in menial jobs for a year.

Most hoteliers prefer older workers, assuming that they are more stable.

Dominicini said that if the government were to invest NIS 100 million in training workers, subsidizing trips and paying grants and scholarships, it could significantly reduce the number of foreign workers and create jobs for unemployed Israelis over three years.

"A long-term dependence on foreign labor not only increases domestic unemployment, but sets back the modernization of construction and farming, raises unemployment allocations and reduces the bargaining power of Israeli workers over their wages," she said.