Union leader threatens general strike over public broadcast row

3 November 2016, 9:15 pm

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The head of Israel’s largest labor union is threatening a country-wide general strike if Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu goes ahead with plans to shut Israel’s public broadcaster.

Histradrut Labor Federation chief Avi Nissenkorn tells Israel Radio he won’t stand by if the government tries to shut down the public broadcasting system.

Avi Nissenkorn, chairman of the Histadrut Labor Federation, at a press conference in Jerusalem, October 7, 2014. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)

Netanyahu is embroiled in a row over the issue. In 2014 Israel decided to shut the ailing Israel Broadcasting Authority, which politicians at the time described as increasingly irrelevant and costly, and replacing it with a new broadcasting corporation called “Kan.”

Now, Netanyahu wants to reverse the decision or possibly close both.