Israel’s workers and employers made history this week when they launched a joint and nationwide strike to protest a controversial piece of legislation that seeks to overhaul the country’s judiciary. The proposed law, according to the unionists, would virtually deprive Israel's highest court of its independence and weaken the country's courts by allowing the government to pass laws without judicial review.
“We are on a historic day and nothing less than that. Here today are the workers’ representatives, committee members, the Histadrut leadership members, and the employers in the State of Israel. There are CEOs here, former Shin Bet members, and Generals in the reserves. We all worry about the fate of the people of Israel. Something unclear happens to all of us. We lost our way. Now is the time when together, we will return the State of Israel to sanity and the right path,” Histadrut Chair Arnon Bar-David said.
Histradut urged the administration of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to listen to the Israeli people and drop its attempt to overhaul the judiciary. It also condemned the dismissal of Israel's defense minister for opposing the judicial reforms that Netanyahu wants to implement. “I call on the Prime Minister – stop this legislation before it’s too late! Last night, what turned on a red light for me was the dismissal of the Minister of Defense. A Minister of Defense stands up and warns of security dangers. This is his duty, a brave Minister of Defense! And they fire him with a wave of the hand. What are we, a banana republic? Sitting in rooms and firing a Minister of Defense? Does this make any sense? Last night, all red lines were crossed. Prime Minister, reconsider the dismissal of the Minister of Defense,” Bar-David stressed.
