Labor union chief threatens general strike if government defies court rulings

Arnon Bar-David, the head of the powerful Histadrut Labor Federation, threatens to again call a nationwide strike over what he perceives as danger to democracy due to the actions of the government, saying his “red line” would be refusal to adhere to High Court of Justice rulings.

The Histadrut has called two strikes since the current hardline government was formed. One was part of unprecedented nationwide protests against the March 2023 firing of defense minister Yoav Gallant who had warned of the dangers of steamrolling the judicial overhaul plan through the Knesset, leading to the pausing of the legislative blitz and to the temporary reversal of the dismissal.

The other was a short-lived strike in September following the murder of six hostages by their terrorist captors in Gaza, as part of demonstrations against the lack of a comprehensive hostage deal.

In an interview with the Maariv daily, Bar-David says that while he isn’t looking to call a strike over any minor thing, “when I felt democracy was in danger, I called a nationwide strike twice.”

“Democracy is still in danger and under attack every day, and the justice system and the security establishment are those who suffer the blows,” he says, referring to government clashes with the Shin Bet security service and with prosecutors and Attorney General Gali Baharav Miara.

“My red line is failure to comply with court rulings,” he says. “If this happens, we will head toward anarchy. If needed — I won’t hesitate to announce a strike.”

The High Court has issued a temporary injunction against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s firing of Shin Bet hed Ronen Bar, and some ministers have been boycotting him since and urging the premier to avoid communicating with him.

Bar-David says he has “excellent” ties with all political parties, including ministers in the ruling Likud, except Netanyahu and Justice Minister Yariv Levin.

“They lost me with the judicial overhaul. What government ministers tell me in private about Bibi, they won’t dare to say in the media,” he says, using the premier’s nickname. Bibi lost me with the overhaul and even more so with the current war. Unlike in the past, he hasn’t tried to contact me and there is nothing going on between us, and he knows why.”