Histadrut labor union announces nationwide strike, over failure to release hostages
‘A deal is more important than anything else,’ says Bar-David, amid outrage over killing of 6 captives; Smotrich says strike illegal, accuses him of representing Hamas interests
Sam Sokol is the Times of Israel's political correspondent. He was previously a reporter for the Jerusalem Post, Jewish Telegraphic Agency and Haaretz. He is the author of "Putin’s Hybrid War and the Jews"
Histadrut Labor Federation chief Arnon Bar-David declared a general strike on Sunday afternoon over the government’s failure to secure the release of hostages held in Gaza. He stated that “a deal is more important than anything else,” in light of mounting outrage over the killing of six captives by Hamas.
During a press conference in Tel Aviv, Bar-David said that the action — the union’s first foray into politics since October 7 — will start at 6 a.m. and is currently planned as a one-day strike, with decisions beyond Monday to be made later. (It was also announced that Ben Gurion Airport would be shut down at 8 a.m., with all incoming and outgoing flights canceled, but reports later Sunday indicated the airport could function as usual, and passengers were advised to check for updated information.)
“It is impossible to stand idly by in the face of the cries of our children who are being murdered in the tunnels in Gaza. It is unacceptable,” he declared after meeting with representatives of the Hostages and Missing Families Forum — which earlier Sunday called on the public “to join a massive demonstration, demanding a complete shutdown of the country” and appealed to the powerful Histadrut to stage a mass strike.
The call angered the government, with far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich branding the strike illegal and saying that the union was playing into the hands of Hamas. Several cities and municipalities announced they would not take part.
The Histadrut’s call was taken up by the Israel Business Forum, which represents most private-sector workers from 200 of the country’s largest companies, as well as Opposition Leader Yair Lapid.
Their demand for a strike came amid widespread anger over the slaying in captivity of six Israeli hostages whose bodies were recovered over the weekend, with many blaming Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for failing to agree to a deal with Hamas to secure their release.
Early Sunday morning, the IDF announced the deaths of Hersh Goldberg-Polin, 23, Eden Yerushalmi, 24, Ori Danino, 25, Alex Lobanov, 32, Carmel Gat, 40, and Almog Sarusi, 27, hours after saying it had found six bodies in an underground tunnel in southern Gaza.
The bodies of the six hostages all had signs of gunshot wounds, according to initial autopsy findings.
Bar-David said that after speaking with various security officials, he believes the deal is stuck “because of political considerations” and argued that, due to political polarization, “we are no longer one people; we are camp against camp” and “we need to bring back the State of Israel.
“We are getting body bags instead of a deal. I have come to the conclusion that only our intervention might move those who need to be moved,” he declared.
“I call on the people of Israel to go out to the streets tonight and tomorrow and for everyone to take part in the strike,” he continued, noting that he would take part in a Sunday evening demonstration at Tel Aviv’s Hostages Square.
Bar-David’s call for a nationwide strike was welcomed by representatives of the Hostages and Missing Families Forum, which is planning a series of demonstrations calling for a deal and tweeted that “Israel’s social, financial, and municipality leadership voices the people’s demand: Seal the deal now!”
It was also welcomed by Opposition Leader Yair Lapid, who stated that “no Israeli can stand by while the country is falling apart,” and Israel Bar Association (IBA) chief Amit Becher, who called on “all lawyers to go on strike tomorrow.”
The Hostages Families Forum commends the Histadrut (National labor union) for the announcement of a one-day strike tomorrow.
Israel's social, financial, and municipality leadership voices the people's demand: Seal the deal now!
The Hostages Families Forum applauds the Histadrut… pic.twitter.com/BJYDyQIj60
— Bring Them Home Now (@bringhomenow) September 1, 2024
In line with the general strike called by the Histadrut, the Teacher’s Union, a branch of the Histadrut, announced Sunday that all K-12 schools in Israel would be open only until 11:45 a.m. on Monday, except schools for special needs students. A similar notification, sent by the union’s early childhood director, said that all kindergartens would be completely closed Monday, except for special needs centers.
A high-school teachers’ strike, which began on Sunday, not connected to the national labor stoppage, will continue on Monday, the Secondary Schools Teachers Association announced in an earlier statement.
For the time that the schools remain shuttered, Israel’s research universities will also “join the economic shutdown,” though some scheduled exams will still be held, depending on the university, the Association of University Heads said in a statement.
“The university heads repeat their call to the government of Israel to make freeing the hostages the highest national mission,” the association said.
Several municipalities and local councils announced work stoppages tomorrow, including Ra’anana, Kfar Saba, Tel Aviv-Yafo, Hod Hasharon, and Herzliya.
“I call on all mayors in the country to join our measure. The return of the hostages is a national mission that needs to be carried out immediately,” Givatayim Mayor Ran Kunik said in a statement announcing that the city’s civil servants instead will demonstrate together with hostage families to urge the government to reach a deal to release captives held in Gaza.
“Tomorrow, beginning in the morning until midday, there will be no reception of the public [at our offices] and we will allow all employees to go out and support the families’ struggle,” Tel Aviv Mayor Ron Huldai tweeted on Sunday, even before Bar-David’s announcement.
Despite this, numerous municipalities have stated that they will not take part in the general strike.
Israel Gantz, the head of the West Bank’s Mateh Binyamin Regional Council, said that his employees would “not take part in an illegal strike that weakens the country” while the Safed city hall argued that it was irresponsible to halt municipal services during wartime.
In court rulings, “it was specifically established that a workers’ committee does not have the right to shut down the economy due to a political debate in protest of political and security issues. With all due respect, no one is above the law,” stated Samaria Regional Council chief Yossi Dagan.
“We will not take part in the Histadrut’s political strike,” he said.
According to Hebrew media, other cities not taking part include Jerusalem, Ashdod, Bnei Brak, Netanya, Ramle, Dimona, Holon, Petah Tikva, Kiryat Gat, Arad, Beit Shemesh, the northern town of Katzrin, the Merom HaGalil Regional Council and the settlements of Efrat and Ma’ale Adumim.
In addition, the National Committee for Heads of Arab Local Authorities in Israel has said it will not support the strike.
The White Coats – Healthcare Professionals for Democracy called on doctors, nurses, and healthcare workers from all fields to join the planned strikes tomorrow to demand the return of hostage and in support of their families.
“We can no longer carry on with business as usual and stand by while the values of the sanctity of life and mutual responsibility are trampled before our eyes, and the hostages pay with their lives,” the organization said — citing their colleague, Carmel Gat, 40, an occupational therapist from Tel Aviv, who was visiting her parents in Kibbutz Be’eri on October 7, when Hamas terrorists attacked, killing her mother, Kinneret.
Gat was murdered alongside five other hostages by their captors not long before their bodies were found on Saturday night.
Fulfilling Sinwar’s dream
Addressing reporters during a press conference in Jerusalem, Smotrich slammed Bar-David’s call for a national strike on Monday, arguing that rather than lending a hand to the Israeli economy during wartime, the union chief was “actually fulfilling [Hamas leader Yahya] Sinwar’s dream, and instead of representing the Israeli workers, he chooses to represent the interests of Hamas.”
Smotrich said that he instructed Finance Ministry officials not to pay anybody who strikes on Monday and said that he was “happy to see that there are local authorities who do not align themselves with the decision of the chairman of the Histadrut.”
“I call on the workers to come to work tomorrow and not lend a hand to a shutdown that harms the State of Israel during wartime,” Smotrich continued, arguing that those in favor of the strike wanted to see Israel “surrender… [and] immerse yourself in illusions about arrangements that are not worth the paper they are written on.”
“If, God forbid, we listen to these voices and stop in the middle it will be a disaster,” he stated — contending that for the past 30 years, since the Oslo Accords, “we surrendered and fled, gathered behind walls and fences. We asked for artificial peace and tranquility in the present and mortgaged the future for it.”
“We brought terrorists here and armed them, we released terrorists and gave them a second chance to attack us. We destroyed settlements, surrendered territories, neutered the land forces and allowed terrorist monsters to develop under our noses and next to our fences and settlements. Now is the time for correction,” he stated.
“This time, we can and must eliminate terrorism, to prove to ourselves and the world that there is a military solution to terrorism, that it can be destroyed with determination and persistence.”
Likud MK Ariel Kallner struck a similar note, tweeting that “Bar-David kidnapped the workers and endangers the kidnapped” and that his “criminal strike…is a gift to Sinwar and a danger to the State of Israel.”
Diana Bletter and Gavriel Fiske contributed to this report.
