He references his decision to not formally join the strike, which has enlisted a long roster of companies, organizations and local authorities.
When he decided last week to refrain from striking, Bar-David said the action “has no practical outcome.” Today, he adds that he feared joining in would politicize the issue of freeing the hostages, which he says is “the last thing I want to happen.”
The Histadrut, the country’s main labor federation, said Monday that it would not join a general strike called for August 17 to protest the continuation of the war and the government’s approval of a plan for a military takeover of Gaza City. However, the labor union said it would support workers planning to participate in a protest rally that day.
Meanwhile, much of Israel’s private tech sector declared that it would back the general strike action next week, as did the Israel Bar Association.
(March 30, 2023)
The strike on Monday of Israel‘s largest worker‘s union, the Histadrut Labor Federation, was coordinated with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu‘s inner circle, a senior member of the coalition confirmed on Thursday.
According to the report, one of Netanyahu‘s spokespersons, Yonatan Urich, contacted senior Histadrut officials on Monday morning urging them to launch a strike, in order to give the prime minister a decisive reason to announce that he was postponing the legislation, against the wishes of Justice Minister Yariv Levin.
Histadrut labor union chief Arnon Bar-David warns that he won’t sit idly if the government doesn’t abide by High Court rulings after ministers dismissed the injunction issued by the top legal body. However, Bar-David doesn’t explicitly say that he’ll launch a labor strike if the government ignores the High Court, but …
(March 30, 2023)
The strike on Monday of Israel‘s largest worker‘s union, the Histadrut Labor Federation, was coordinated with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu‘s inner circle, a senior member of the coalition confirmed on Thursday.
The head of the Histadrut labor federation urges again far-right Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to set a date for early elections, indicating that if the premier refuses, the organization could take steps aimed at forcing his hand.
Speaking at a conference hosted by Yedioth Ahronoth on Wednesday, May 8, Arnon Bar-David declares that Netanyahu and his government “cannot avoid responsibility for the failures of October 7.”
Last year, when protests against the same government’s divisive judicial overhaul plan reached a tipping point following Netanyahu’s firing of Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, the Histadrut declared a general strike, helping force the prime minister to walk back that decision and to pause the overhaul.
Such a nightmarish spectacle had never been seen in Israel: The president, the prime minister, the chairman of the opposition and the head of the country‘s largest labor federation were trading proposals on the issue of judicial review as if they were cryptocurrency.
Likud minister David Amsalem launched a public attack on Bar-David, anticipating that the latter could end up launching a nationwide strike.
“I remind you that you represent workers who are mostly Likud people who are struggling to make a living,” Amsalem tweeted. “The issue of the judicial reform should be decided in the Knesset, not in the corridors of the Mapai-like Histadrut,” he argued, citing the workers’ party that was a precursor to left-wing Labor and was the ruling party for Israel’s first three decades.
Lapid and Histadrut Chairman Arnon Bar-David reportedly discussed the outline for dialogue that the chairman and his colleagues had recently presented to the prime minister.
Bar-David said after meeting with Lapid: „I will continue to turn over every stone and work with all my might to try and find the right compromise.
Following the meeting, Lapid said he commends „the efforts of the chairman and the framework set by the Histadrut as a basis for shared dialogue.“ Bar-David said „I call on the other parties to show responsible leadership.„
Opposition leader Yair Lapid is meeting with Histadrut labor federation chair Arnon Bar-David in the latter’s office in Tel Aviv.
Bar-David has come under pressure from anti-overhaul protesters to call a strike over the coalition’s bill to curb the authority of the courts.